Ski and Paddle Norway 2009

I travelled down to Lindesnes on the 31 December. The proximity of New Year made travel difficult as there was a limited service. None the less I managed to string a train 2 busses and a taxi ride together to get there in the last light.

The light house is the most southerly point of Norway, separating the North Sea from Skaggerak, the sea between Denmark and Norway. It is an isolated and exposed spot and sees many storms. Today it was benign though.

I pitched the tent nearby as there was no accommodation and settled in for the night quite early. After all the preparation of the last 6 weeks this was one of the few chances I could switch off and I slept long and well.

I was woken by the distant and then near sound of a mass of fireworks as the villages on the peninsular celebrated new year at midnight. This New Year was truly going to be another dawn for me. I rolled over in my sleeping bag and returned to sleep with a mix of trepidation and excitement.

I have spent a few days in Asker just outside Oslo. I still had a few things to sort out here like gets a pair of skis and ski boots, which were rather essential to the whole project. That took a day.

Then I had to get a Norwegian SIM card which would allow me to send data so I could update this website and and upload pictures occasionally. I have the SIM card but it wont be validated until the 5th of Jan.

That left me a little time to relax in the the warm and hearty company of  Ovind and Anna, with whom I was staying in Asker, near Oslo. The temperature outside is down to minus 9 and still falling but the atmosphere inside is happy and jocular. Thanks guys.

Finally this evening I packed my rucksack for the last time. Despit my best efforts I have only managed to keep to it 27 kilos. It has a weeks worth of food in it but this is only about 5 kilos. I think I will be cursing it soon.

So not all is set for me to take the 3  busses down to the very south of Norway tomorrow. I will probably camp at or near the lighthouse at Lindesnes, which marks the southern tip of Norway.

Despite the cold temperatures the coastal fringe is devoid of snow for a good 100 km inland until the mountains start near a place called Ljosland. This will mean walking along tracks and through the occasional forest until I can put my skis on. Thereafter there should be snow galore.

The preparation for this trip has caused a fair amount of stress. Given the
definite timescale and the seemingly endless list of tasks to complete
caused some angst. That list now seems under control and I have bought the
ticket to fly to Norway on the 28th December.

However the kayaking side is all being taken care of by Dave at Knoydart
systems who will ship my paddling gear to Finland and put it in the
customized boat which is getting made in Finland. The kayak and the gear
will then get shipped up to Kirkenes in north Norway where they will be
stored in Kimek shipyard until I arrive on skis in late April

The skiing gear is awaiting me in Sjur Mordre’s outfitting shop in Oslo
called Sportsnett. This specialist shop is used to supplying far bigger
trips. The general outdoor wear and equipment I need is now packed into my
worryingly heavy rucksack. The tent, sleeping bag, stove, pans, mattresses,
communications gear and clothes come to about 21 kilos. To this I have to
add another 3 kilos of supplies and a week’s worth of food. This will take
my maximum weight up to 28 kilos. It doesn’t sound much now but I will be
cursing it soon.

Finally I had to put all the pieces in place to make sure the letting
business would run smoothly and if any of the 30 tenants had any problems I
could have the people on standby to deal with it. Luckily I have found some
very dependable people to take on these eventualities and things should
hopefully run on remote control. I am sure the garden will need weeding when
I return in the autumn though

Finally a quick jaunt round the UK to visit family and friends before I set
off and a redrafting of my will, and all seems set.

My current location is now displayed in the sidebar, this will be updated as I go from my Spot Device.

Pleased to say that the site now integrates with my Flickr Account – this means images I’m able to post while I’m away will stream straight through to the Gallery Page on this site.