Mack, the world’s northernmost brewery, was founded by Ludwig Markus Mack in Tromsø in 1877; I drank some of its beer in 2026.
Flowers in the world’s northernmost botanical garden, with the fjord behind.
The dead-end taxiway with the two-hour parking limit.
Tromsø’s harbor, the bridge we crossed twice in the marathon, and the mountain across the fjord.
June 18 — Turku, Finland to Tromsø, Norway
My northernmost flight of the trip
Tromsø, Norway, is at 69°39′06″ north, slightly farther north than Ilulissat (69°13′11″). When I got there, I walked past the world’s northernmost traffic light and visited the world’s northernmost botanical garden. I have been farther north in my plane; I once landed at what was then known as Barrow (71°17′26″). But I’m not going any farther north on this circumnavigation.
One way to think about how far north Tromsø is: It’s farther north of Los Angeles than the distance between Los Angeles and the equator. One way to think about how big the arctic is: Tromsø is still 1,367 miles from the North Pole. In other words, if I had taken off from Tromsø and headed due north, in still air, I would have taken more than eight hours to reach the pole.
My original plan was to fly to Tromsø on Saturday, the day before the Midnight Sun Marathon. But Tromsø is surrounded by mountains, and I had concerns about whether the weather would cooperate with my flight. Better to go a day early and be more confident of arriving, with an added day of time if something unexpected popped up. After I changed my plan, the Friday forecast got a bit worse, too, but there was still a way to get where I wanted to go if I cut over to the west coast of Norway and then worked my way northeast along the coastline. It wasn’t the shortest route, but it gave me the best chance of success.
Things went well for most of the flight, as I was able to stay below the freezing level and therefore able to penetrate clouds en route. But when I first contacted Tromsø air traffic control, I got an unpleasant surprise. The controller asked if I had arranged parking and said I could spend just two hours on the ground at Tromsø if I had not done so. I had a “slot reservation,” through an unpleasant overly bureaucratic process required by many Norwegian airports, including Tromsø. But I knew nothing about a requirement to arrange parking. And the website of the operator of the airport, Avinor, said the following:
“All private and small aircraft are welcome at Avinor’s airports. We offer parking for GA flights (General Aviation). No one knows the airside better than Airport Patrol, which offers escort services to the parking stands and transport to and from the terminal when needed. . . . Parking for aircraft under 2730 kg is free.” (Emphasis added.)
But you don’t start a debate with an air traffic controller while flying your plane. I considered diverting to my alternate airport, from which I could find another way to Tromsø. But I had plenty of fuel and was almost at my destination. Better to land and try to find a way to stay longer than two hours.
Jari had warned me of the steep glide path at Tromsø, and I soon found out he wasn’t kidding. Generally, planes descend on a 3% slope when approaching an airport. The instrument landing system for runway 36 at Tromsø has a 4% glidepath. It’s like staring down a very steep staircase with the runway at the bottom. I used my speed brakes to help me descend fast enough without picking up too much airspeed, and everything went fine.
I was instructed to taxi to a taxiway that was like a one-lane dead-end street with a circle at the end, where two pilots in RVs were waiting for me to taxi in so they could taxi out. I shut down the engine and started Googling for someone who might offer me a place to park for more than two hours. Emails got no immediate response. I decided to call the tower to ask for help.
Fortunately, a pilot associated with the local flying club heard me. The tower gave me his number; I called, and once he landed from a sightseeing flight about 10 minutes later he arranged for me to rent a parking place controlled by Tromsø Flyklubb. It cost me $162.26 for three nights, but that was a lot better than having to park at another airport and find my way to Tromsø via bus.
The Midnight Sun Marathon started at 8:30 p.m., which meant I carb loaded in the morning by eating a lot of bread and pastries. It’s a lovely course over a bridge, along a fjord, turning around, over the same bridge, back through town, go about 5k more, turn around again, and return to town for the finish. The bridge was the only serious hill, not exactly like the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in the New York Marathon, but somewhat reminiscent.
I ran much of the last 15 kilometers with Marco Carradore from Milan, who once lived in Orange County, California. Marco was trying to break four hours for the first time. I worried that he was going too fast but obviously didn’t tell him that; I just suggested he stay relaxed and not push too hard and he had sub-4 in the bag, as he was well ahead of a four-hour pace. He finished in 3:55! I came in at 3:56:54, again achieving my sub-four-hour goal for road races. It later turned out that because of a mistake in placing a pylon the course was 140 meters short; I’m counting it, anyway. I certainly walked more than 140 meters after the finish, and my walking pace would still leave me under four hours for the marathon.