Jacob Wester
Unfiltered Skiing – Maydaze
MAYDAZE
There are places on this planet where the concept of time loses its relevance. Upon entering these sanctuaries, the outside world fades away, and our souls seem to find rest from all the noise, the harsh cacophony we have grown so accustomed to. Weeks on end may pass, while we explore our surroundings and ourselves, marvelling at the unfathomable scale of the panoramas around us. A universe of green and blue exploding before our eyes. Coming out the other end, we enter back into reality with a newly calibrated inner compass, forever holding its course towards the next adventure. We may be confused by how fast all those seemingly endless moments passed, sitting around fireplaces, high-fiving on mountain summits and huddled in the back of camper vans. Like we just woke up from a lifetime lived in a single night’s dream. In the end, documenting and remembering every detail isn’t what matters, but acknowledging that this is what we live for does. This is Maydaze, a journey without a plan, deep into the Arctic Circle.
Bali
Wow, it’s winter again!
The past three months went by quicker than ever, much thanks to the location Sofia and I decided to call home for the fall. The past 8 years we have been coming to Bali on vacation for longer and longer periods, but this year we went all in and decided to pretty much “live” on this amazing island, as in not looking at it as a vacation, but like home. Writing stories for ski magazines, editing photos and videos, working out, and just living life together with all of our awesome friends we have made there over the years. I think it’s something I could get used to!
The blog went back on pause mode, but now that we are back home in Stockholm and back to “reality” I do feel a bit bad about it. Writing this blog has served like a personal diary for me over the years, and I miss being able to look back and read about our adventures, not only looking at instagram photos that only document the very highlights of our lives. So here I sit in my mom’s kitchen again, looking through hundreds of gigabytes of photos and video, realizing it needs to be shared somehow, at least as a final backup in case a fire or earthquake destroyed our hard drives. So here we go, a three month Bali fall condensed into a blog post…hope you will like it:
After living in a van for 3 months, landing in the beautiful pool at SurfLodge Limasan in Bali is pretty much like arriving in heaven. The best thing about spending a long time somewhere is that you don’t have to hurry up and fill your days with activities. I think Sofia and I spent the first 3 days just sleeping in, eating food, watching movies and hanging out in the pool.
Low tide afternoons on the amazing beach, drinking coconuts and watching dogs.
The Canggu area is a must-visit if you’re in Bali. An explosion of epic vegetarian restaurants, surf shops and cafes scattered around the rice paddies, with something interesting or weird going on every day. Here’s Jamie O’brien jumping a dirtbike into the rice-field outside of the Deus restaurant. Normal.
Surf, surf and more surf, obviously. It’s the main reason I keep bouncing back here. My favorite secret spot one playful morning.
Thanks to my good friends at Asenne Surfboards i had the pleasure of meeting legendary shaper Bruce Hansel, who set me up with a new step-up board, that would later prove itself in 8 foot Padang-Padang. Thanks guys!
Early morning drives through the jungle with Sofia to secluded waterfalls is a common routine.
Towards the end of october, storms become more frequent. Watching the lightning from our balcony, good thing we had a tripod to catch some of it.
Rain also means nasty water. Sometimes the waves are just too good to stay on land, but you really make sure to keep your mouth closed, when you know the water has passed through at least 20 Balinese villages that all see the river as their main garbage disposal…
A rare photo that wasn’t staged. Our favorite restaurant in Canggu, the Piring Daun. Bintangs a plenty.
Exploring the amazing rice terraces around Bali. We’ve been here before but this time we made sure to arrive early, before the souvenir hawkers are awake, and before they block off the public road to collect an entrance fee to get a glimpse of the view. An unfortunate thing about Bali is the often poor tourist attraction management, where some places are almost impossible to visit because of the amount of hassle and the people bothering you. At 7 in the morning it was almost eerily quiet.
Jungle bed at Batu Karu coffee estate, Bali’s only 100% organically grown coffee plantation. Their accommodation is next level and the views are off the hook!
Morning view from their yoga deck. If I did yoga, I assume this would be the equivalent of say, skiing Alaskan spines.
Posing for our yearly christmas card.
It’s not all big missions half across the island. This beachbreak is a five minute drive from our house, but it almost never works. When you do get the right tide and swell combination, however…
No Indonesia visit is complete without an exploration trip. We felt like we needed to get out of Bali for a while, so we gathered a group of friends and chartered a boat in the Flores and Komodo archipelago. All I can say is – Do it – I’m just going to let the photos do the talking.
The Komodo dragons. So blown away seeing them up close in the wild. The world’s biggest lizard!
Traveling with this one never gets old. Best trip so far, and we’re only just starting!
So….what’s next? Big things in the works for the next couple of months, and you guessed it – it’s time to go skiing again. Off to our first location on wednesday, and it will be a domestic trip – Åre. I haven’t been up there for a few years so I’m really looking forward to it. Most of all I can’t wait to ski again, so see you there!
Jacob
Summer recap
So summer came and went, and the blog was put on pause mode. Over the course of three months, Sofia and I packed our entire life into our new home on wheels, our Renault Master aka The Score Mobile. After spending the past 8 summers in Indonesia, Australia, and the USA, we decided it was time to actually discover our home country of Sweden, and what better way to do it than from the road, taking advantage of the nation’s generous idea called “Allemansrätten”, a set of guidelines allowing anyone and everyone to set camp on any land, pick any berry or mushroom, and roam anywhere he or she likes. After coming home from Riksgränsen in early June, we set out on our journey, aiming to enjoy every minute of it, document it thoroughly, and not get too caught up in the social media frenzy or getting stuck in front of a laptop screen for hours trying to make a blog post out of every day. Now that the dust has settled and terabytes of multimedia has been backed up on hard drives, I feel more compelled to sitting down and trying to recap it all for you. It won’t be in-depth, but you will get the idea.
As we have been sorting through the photos, one thing became apparent to me. We forgot to document the bad times, or even the in-between days of cloudy skies or the boredom that sometimes takes hold on long trips like these. This phenomenon is one that becomes more common the more you travel and take photos of your life, and from a reader’s perspective it can give the wrong idea about our lives. I assure you that while it may seem like it at times, mine and Sofia’s lives are not all sunsets and warm swims in lakes. Not every camp spot is on a cliff in front of the sea. The cameras just don’t come out when we are parked on a highway rest stop in the rain, or when we spend five hours on a bench next to a pokéstop, evolving Pidgeys for experience points. With that said, here’s a photographic glimpse into the summer of 2016, and how we chose to live it:
Most photos by Sofia Sjöberg:
Packing the Score-Mobile. When you live on 6 square meters, only the essentials are allowed.
260 Watts of solar power has changed our life. Now we have the fridge running 24/7, as well as keeping our laptops, drones and cameras charged constantly. I strongly recommend anyone thinking of getting into the camping lifestyle to invest in this solution!
Been hanging out with my good friend and fellow barrel seeker Freddie Meadows whenever there’s been a storm on the charts. Here we’re probably in a deep conversation about atmospheric pressure shifts and sea bottom structures (hence Sofia’s photo from outside the room).
Deep inside what is in my opinion the best, and at the same time, sketchiest, wave in Sweden. And no, I will not tell you where it is. Go explore!
Freddie, the morning after one of our many epic sessions, watching the last remnants of the swell die out. It’s such a mystery sometimes how these waves can come out of a seemingly flat ocean and go on for hours, many times much longer than expected. This morning we slept in, thinking it would be flat after surfing late the night before, and to our great surprise it was still working at 11am…
Those of you who has followed my blog in the past knows that I have spent a lot of time on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. This year we truly got to experience the full scope of this beautiful landscape thanks to the van. Windmills and sheep somewhere on the isle of Fårö, just north of the main island.
Dinner spots like these makes this a place I can’t wait to return too.
Sofia at the Rauk area of Digerhuvud, Fårö. Rauks are rock formations, carved out of the softer limestone over the course of millions of years.
Dinner, beer, and the Baltic Sea.
Sofia playing on the rauks.
Pink sky at 10.30pm.
During our Gotland/Fårö stay we were blessed with some waves too. Despite summer being the slowest season for surfing in Sweden, we got a surprise swell, offering up shoulder to head high barrels in offshore winds. The water was almost too warm for a wetsuit, too. This wave is only a stones throw away from my family’s summer house on Fårö, although I’ve never seen it do this before!
Sofia taking 5 in the back of the van.
Exploring the southern tip of Gotland, Hoburgen. Nothing but empty spaces (and no Pokémon) here.
Sofia, with the Score-Mobile far in the background.
Playing with the Hexo, or steady companion on this trip. Taking selfies to the next level!
Rainy days in bed aren’t bad either.
Into the wild.
It hasn’t been all vacation, during the month of July we worked as editors for freeride.se. Bedroom and office combined. Wine helps with motivation.
Badminton games with the family (I lost).
Sofia checking out the infamous anarcho-sculpture Nimis on the west coast, made entirely from driftwood.
The surfing hasn’t been all barrels. Here, I’m getting a couple mini-peelers at Mölle, iconic surf town and classic point break. We didn’t get it big enough but I figured it was worth a paddle (hint: it wasn’t).
Just another epic sunset and dinner session, somewhere on the south coast of Skåne.
Oh, and we went and got touristy with it in Copenhagen too. What a beautiful city, I could see myself living here for a few years, in another timeline when I wasn’t a skier, or a surfer. Maybe as a poet?
Getting lost in the dense forests of Österlen, Skåne, Southern Sweden.
I probably have a hundred more photos I want to show you, but I’ll cut this short right here. As I’m writing this I am simultaneously packing my bags for, you guessed it, Bali. Off in a few hours with Sofia to our second home, where we will be spending most of fall. It’s time to sit down, unload hundreds of gigabytes of footage from this season and try to put together something for your viewing pleasure. And maybe catch a wave or two… 
See you on the island of gods!
Jacob
Summer recap
So summer came and went, and the blog was put on pause mode. Over the course of three months, Sofia and I packed our entire life into our new home on wheels, our Renault Master aka The Score Mobile. After spending the past 8 summers in Indonesia, Australia, and the USA, we decided it was time to actually discover our home country of Sweden, and what better way to do it than from the road, taking advantage of the nation’s generous idea called “Allemansrätten”, a set of guidelines allowing anyone and everyone to set camp on any land, pick any berry or mushroom, and roam anywhere he or she likes. After coming home from Riksgränsen in early June, we set out on our journey, aiming to enjoy every minute of it, document it thoroughly, and not get too caught up in the social media frenzy or getting stuck in front of a laptop screen for hours trying to make a blog post out of every day. Now that the dust has settled and terabytes of multimedia has been backed up on hard drives, I feel more compelled to sitting down and trying to recap it all for you. It won’t be in-depth, but you will get the idea.
As we have been sorting through the photos, one thing became apparent to me. We forgot to document the bad times, or even the in-between days of cloudy skies or the boredom that sometimes takes hold on long trips like these. This phenomenon is one that becomes more common the more you travel and take photos of your life, and from a reader’s perspective it can give the wrong idea about our lives. I assure you that while it may seem like it at times, mine and Sofia’s lives are not all sunsets and warm swims in lakes. Not every camp spot is on a cliff in front of the sea. The cameras just don’t come out when we are parked on a highway rest stop in the rain, or when we spend five hours on a bench next to a pokéstop, evolving Pidgeys for experience points. With that said, here’s a photographic glimpse into the summer of 2016, and how we chose to live it:
Most photos by Sofia Sjöberg:
Packing the Score-Mobile. When you live on 6 square meters, only the essentials are allowed.
260 Watts of solar power has changed our life. Now we have the fridge running 24/7, as well as keeping our laptops, drones and cameras charged constantly. I strongly recommend anyone thinking of getting into the camping lifestyle to invest in this solution!
Been hanging out with my good friend and fellow barrel seeker Freddie Meadows whenever there’s been a storm on the charts. Here we’re probably in a deep conversation about atmospheric pressure shifts and sea bottom structures (hence Sofia’s photo from outside the room).
Deep inside what is in my opinion the best, and at the same time, sketchiest, wave in Sweden. And no, I will not tell you where it is. Go explore!
Freddie, the morning after one of our many epic sessions, watching the last remnants of the swell die out. It’s such a mystery sometimes how these waves can come out of a seemingly flat ocean and go on for hours, many times much longer than expected. This morning we slept in, thinking it would be flat after surfing late the night before, and to our great surprise it was still working at 11am…
Those of you who has followed my blog in the past knows that I have spent a lot of time on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. This year we truly got to experience the full scope of this beautiful landscape thanks to the van. Windmills and sheep somewhere on the isle of Fårö, just north of the main island.
Dinner spots like these makes this a place I can’t wait to return too.
Sofia at the Rauk area of Digerhuvud, Fårö. Rauks are rock formations, carved out of the softer limestone over the course of millions of years.
Dinner, beer, and the Baltic Sea.
Sofia playing on the rauks.
Pink sky at 10.30pm.
During our Gotland/Fårö stay we were blessed with some waves too. Despite summer being the slowest season for surfing in Sweden, we got a surprise swell, offering up shoulder to head high barrels in offshore winds. The water was almost too warm for a wetsuit, too. This wave is only a stones throw away from my family’s summer house on Fårö, although I’ve never seen it do this before!
Sofia taking 5 in the back of the van.
Exploring the southern tip of Gotland, Hoburgen. Nothing but empty spaces (and no Pokémon) here.
Sofia, with the Score-Mobile far in the background.
Playing with the Hexo, or steady companion on this trip. Taking selfies to the next level!
Rainy days in bed aren’t bad either.
Into the wild.
It hasn’t been all vacation, during the month of July we worked as editors for freeride.se. Bedroom and office combined. Wine helps with motivation.
Badminton games with the family (I lost).
Sofia checking out the infamous anarcho-sculpture Nimis on the west coast, made entirely from driftwood.
The surfing hasn’t been all barrels. Here, I’m getting a couple mini-peelers at Mölle, iconic surf town and classic point break. We didn’t get it big enough but I figured it was worth a paddle (hint: it wasn’t).
Just another epic sunset and dinner session, somewhere on the south coast of Skåne.
Oh, and we went and got touristy with it in Copenhagen too. What a beautiful city, I could see myself living here for a few years, in another timeline when I wasn’t a skier, or a surfer. Maybe as a poet?
Getting lost in the dense forests of Österlen, Skåne, Southern Sweden.
I probably have a hundred more photos I want to show you, but I’ll cut this short right here. As I’m writing this I am simultaneously packing my bags for, you guessed it, Bali. Off in a few hours with Sofia to our second home, where we will be spending most of fall. It’s time to sit down, unload hundreds of gigabytes of footage from this season and try to put together something for your viewing pleasure. And maybe catch a wave or two…
See you on the island of gods!
Jacob
JP Memorial, Riksgränsen
JP Auclair was our hero, rolemodel and good friend. Always a happy spirit, never afraid to get outside his comfort zone, exploring every part of the mountain, from the terrain park to the steeps. When he passed away 2 years ago, we knew the world freeskiing would never be the same. Many legends have passed through the years, but JP represented something bigger than most. He wasn’t the start of an era, nor was he the most technical jumper, the biggest heavy line charger or the wildest steep skier. We owe so much to so many, but what made JP different was that he seemed like he would never vanish. From the birth of modern freestyle with the first twintips, to the powder rocker revolution, JP was always present. Throughout his near two decade career he always stood out, managed to find a way to differentiate himself, and never faded in any way. It was with these memories in mind we gathered once again in the tiny resort of Riksgränsen, Sweden, where JP lit the torch of modern day freestyle skiing back in 1998, going bigger than the snowboarders at the classic event King of the Hill. It was once again time to celebrate the life of an icon, a pioneer, a father, husband, and friend. Here are a few moments in time, in an attempt to document this special gathering of fans, local shredders, legends and fun-lovers. Photos by Sofia:
Riders meeting for the hipjump contest.
Hanging out with mr Daniel Rönnbäck
TO JP!
Remember the Huntony grab?
No gopros allowed, Mattias Larsson getting down with the hi-8.
360 on the hip
Felix “Fellkan” Lundin boosting
The classic Riks backdrop
E Dollo and B Mile
Bottom booter getting sent!
Joona Kangas, backflip mutegrab contest
In true anti-competition fashion, the riders cast their votes for the winners of each category. Here’s Henrik making his voice heard.
Who won? I can’t even remember. Out of respect for the film camera rule (no social media around at night), and for keeping a shroud of secrecy around this magical event, I won’t post any behind the scenes/nightlife/hangout photos. Make sure to book your ticket to next years event instead, and come join the best times in skiing there is! See you next year!
Jacob
JP Memorial, Riksgränsen
JP Auclair was our hero, rolemodel and good friend. Always a happy spirit, never afraid to get outside his comfort zone, exploring every part of the mountain, from the terrain park to the steeps. When he passed away 2 years ago, we knew the world freeskiing would never be the same. Many legends have passed through the years, but JP represented something bigger than most. He wasn’t the start of an era, nor was he the most technical jumper, the biggest heavy line charger or the wildest steep skier. We owe so much to so many, but what made JP different was that he seemed like he would never vanish. From the birth of modern freestyle with the first twintips, to the powder rocker revolution, JP was always present. Throughout his near two decade career he always stood out, managed to find a way to differentiate himself, and never faded in any way. It was with these memories in mind we gathered once again in the tiny resort of Riksgränsen, Sweden, where JP lit the torch of modern day freestyle skiing back in 1998, going bigger than the snowboarders at the classic event King of the Hill. It was once again time to celebrate the life of an icon, a pioneer, a father, husband, and friend. Here are a few moments in time, in an attempt to document this special gathering of fans, local shredders, legends and fun-lovers. Photos by Sofia:
Riders meeting for the hipjump contest.
Hanging out with mr Daniel Rönnbäck
TO JP!
Remember the Huntony grab?
No gopros allowed, Mattias Larsson getting down with the hi-8.
360 on the hip
Felix “Fellkan” Lundin boosting
The classic Riks backdrop
E Dollo and B Mile
Bottom booter getting sent!
Joona Kangas, backflip mutegrab contest
In true anti-competition fashion, the riders cast their votes for the winners of each category. Here’s Henrik making his voice heard.
Who won? I can’t even remember. Out of respect for the film camera rule (no social media around at night), and for keeping a shroud of secrecy around this magical event, I won’t post any behind the scenes/nightlife/hangout photos. Make sure to book your ticket to next years event instead, and come join the best times in skiing there is! See you next year!
Jacob
The Tamok Valley
4 rainy hours in the score-mobile later and we yet again found ourselves in the Lyngen mountain range. This time further south, a valley or two in from the ocean to find colder snow and more dramatic mountains. In Tamok, it’s as if we had teleported into a place much more alpine and serious than the other zones we had explored up until now. Some serious potential for steep skiing to be found for sure, and it’s a region we will have to return to again soon. With only 3 days left to explore Norway before we had to get to Riksgränsen for the JP Memorial, it was time to find some snow!
Our Tamok basecamp with private sauna, thanks to local legend Aadne Olsrud.
Sofia on the long approach to the northernmost subpeak of Rostafjellet, a zone we scoped from the road that looked like it held some potential for epic sunset light.
Midway…
After 4 hours of walking it was time to get the skins off for the final bootpack.
Simon ready to rip
Standing on top of a fun and technical line at 10pm.
Despite three weeks of summer-like temperature, we found amazing, dry snow on two thirds of our descent!
Moments like these…living life to the fullest right here, after letting go of the brakes when the face opens up.
Sofia making her way down the valley after the sun had set on us. So impressed by the willpower it takes to climb a 1000 vert meters after only one “real” season of skiing. Can’t wait for more adventures with this one!
Our hideaway for cold returns from the mountain. Here I am improvising a waxing iron using a flat stone. It didn’t really work…
Lyngen, Lofoten, Narvik, Tamok. What a wild 3 weeks in northern Norway. I can honestly say I’ve never been this impressed by the beauty of raw, untouched nature before visiting these regions, and I will most certainly return as soon as possible. Norway we love you!
Next stop – Riksgränsen, and the annual JP memorial!
Jacob
The Tamok Valley
4 rainy hours in the score-mobile later and we yet again found ourselves in the Lyngen mountain range. This time further south, a valley or two in from the ocean to find colder snow and more dramatic mountains. In Tamok, it’s as if we had teleported into a place much more alpine and serious than the other zones we had explored up until now. Some serious potential for steep skiing to be found for sure, and it’s a region we will have to return to again soon. With only 3 days left to explore Norway before we had to get to Riksgränsen for the JP Memorial, it was time to find some snow!
Our Tamok basecamp with private sauna, thanks to local legend Aadne Olsrud.
Sofia on the long approach to the northernmost subpeak of Rostafjellet, a zone we scoped from the road that looked like it held some potential for epic sunset light.
Midway…
After 4 hours of walking it was time to get the skins off for the final bootpack.
Simon ready to rip
Standing on top of a fun and technical line at 10pm.
Despite three weeks of summer-like temperature, we found amazing, dry snow on two thirds of our descent!
Moments like these…living life to the fullest right here, after letting go of the brakes when the face opens up.
Sofia making her way down the valley after the sun had set on us. So impressed by the willpower it takes to climb a 1000 vert meters after only one “real” season of skiing. Can’t wait for more adventures with this one!
Our hideaway for cold returns from the mountain. Here I am improvising a waxing iron using a flat stone. It didn’t really work…
Lyngen, Lofoten, Narvik, Tamok. What a wild 3 weeks in northern Norway. I can honestly say I’ve never been this impressed by the beauty of raw, untouched nature before visiting these regions, and I will most certainly return as soon as possible. Norway we love you!
Next stop – Riksgränsen, and the annual JP memorial!
Jacob
« Föregående Nästa »
