In this new short film, called ‘The Dark and the Light’, Powder brings viewers to the peaceful seaside town of Narvik, Norway, and highlights the great contrasts of the surrounding landscape. The town wasn’t always so peaceful. Narvik was once occupied by German forces in World War II—an event that greatly shaped the town’s culture and identity. Now it’s a skier’s paradise.
Produced by Hennie Van Jaarsveld, this is not your typical ski film. The crew, including a handful of locals and professional skier Chad Sayers, explores everything Narvik has to offer: stellar backcountry and resort skiing, and a whole lot of history.
The light shapes our days. Narvik, Norway, is a tale of contrast. December and January are a perpetual dawn. On an evening in April, the sun was unwilling to set, lingering above the mountains a few fjords away with the stubbornness and vigor of a child avoiding bedtime.
At 9 p.m. I stood in an area called Mørkholla—“The Dark Hole”—about a 30-minute skin from the chairlifts near the top of 4,000-foot Tredjetoppen at Narvikfjellet Ski Area, which, though it has just a few lifts, has the best lift-accessed skiing in Scandinavia. Kids from the small harbor town slapped slalom gates while others lapped the gondola or went for walks along the cat track with their dogs. We saw a few other backcountry skiers, but it didn’t require much effort to find untracked snow. It was a Tuesday night. The lifts run from 5 to 9 p.m. during the week—without the use of floodlights this time of year. In most places, people go to the gym or for a run after work. In Narvik, they start their ski day.
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