Norway and Fjords for winging?

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Hello,

I met 2 norwegian guys a while back that were mentionning that fjords close to Oslo had rolling swells that were epic for winging.

Unfortunately I didn’t get their contact. Fast forward to now I have been exploring norway a bit but have not seen proper bumps in fjords so far, although I have not checked Oslo specifically. They are usually super deep, several hundred meters, and super sheletered from the wind. I was looking up hoodriver which actually is quite shallow in comparison, 10-20m.

Is it a winter season phenomenon? Location/condition specific? Is it wind swell and/or groundswell that work best?

If anyone has experience with norway and/or fjord type spots I am keen to hear advices on the subject, searching for a nordic hood river…

Thanks!
Remy

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Need pressure systems to bring wind over a big enough area to get good bumps (as opposed to local thermal winds) so it is generally a spring/fall thing when more low pressure systems roll through. Can still get lows in the summer, just less often. The wind has to line up with the fjord, so n-s in the oslo fjord, w-e in the Trondheim fjord, and sw-ne around Mo i Rana. You can get current against wind in all of these which definitely stand the bumps up, probably most predictably on some of the narrower stretches of the Oslo fjord. Even the most magic crystal ball can’t predict currents on the Trondheim fjord.

Conditions are extremely localized in Norway, I’ve seen geography and thermal effects turn a 6kn breeze into 25kn down a mountain lake and generate awesome bumps, same for stretches of Søgnefjord and elsewhere. If you are touring around, just have your gear with you, enjoy the nature, and aieze the chance for a session when it comes up like we all do here. Some of the best bumps I’ve seen were on a lake in Northern Sweden in 35-40kn of wind. Would’ve been an epic session if my board leash didn’t snap on the first crash.

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Thank you for all the info! I will keep an eye out for wind in line with fjord direction, gear always ready.
Very localized indeed… saw some wind turning almost 180 degrees in certain valleys, also noticed some glacier effect where the wind accelerates on the way down the mountain by being cooled, resulting in a really strong local wind.
Thanks again :raised_hands:

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No prob! Hope you manage to score a few sessions. High pressure can bring wind too, but more so along the western coast rather than inland or to the east around Oslo. There are only a few stretches of the west coast that are actually unobstructed in terms of swell. Terrible for surfing but it does mean plenty of places for some great long fetch wind swell. Biggest challenge there is getting crossed up seas from current effects or wind shifts, depth and diffraction rarely an issue.

The tidal runs generally get stronger further North. I had an epic session just west from Henningsvær in Lofoten last summer in a Northerly wind. Kinda surprising as the fetch is short, but the current was running North between the islands at 2-3kn so the bumps were lined right up and steep.

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Noted, thanks a lot for all the info :ok_hand: So far I went for exposed coastline. I had some decent prone sesh in hoddevik, karmøy also nice for winging but sandbanks are very abrupt. Stavanger area is on the list when forecast aligns and maybe lofoten end of august as it seems to be really good for both surfing and foiling. But will definitely keep an eye on fjords and channels when the wind picks up :crossed_fingers:

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Actually found a hood river replica of some sort. Between the islands of lofoten. The tidal current opposes to the wind and the bumps are the best I have ridden (10/10?), I have not been to hood so cannot compare but surely looks similar.
The current can be really strong (>5kts), to the point where it’s hard to stand on foil and/or restart, if going there please proceed carefully. Current seems to be north to south at its strongest on dead low tide.

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