Day 12. Storevatn weather and rest day
Posted by: James on January 12, 2009Distance 0km | Time 0hrs | Ascent 0m | Descent 0m
The forecast was as predicted. When I got up at 0600 there was a blizzard of sleet. The temperature was just above freezing and the new wet snow was melting the old. Even in the dark I could tell visibility was poor. Just to emphasize the point there was a huge roar as at least 50 cm of snow slid of the hut roof in an avalanche.
I went back to bed, getting up occasionally to make sure things had not improved, but they did not. I eventually surfaced at 1000 and lit the stove knowing I would be here all day. The weather outside was quite poor, especially the visibility.
With the fire going I settled down to a pile of books on this area which the organization who owned the cabin produced each year. These yearbooks of the Stavanger turistforenging made fascinating reading. I also poured over the maps again fearful my progress was slowing.
These mountains were renowned for their changeable weather. It was greatly effected by the Atlantic weather systems with a lot of freeze and a bit of thaw in the winter months.
The harshness of the climate here was such that the winter snows often had a layer of ice in them and the vegetation at the bottom was often covered in harder icy snow. This made it much more difficult for the reindeer here to find food in the winter than their cousins further north and east. As a result the reindeer of Setersheiene are considerably smaller than other wild herds in Norway.
I went to bed early at 2000 hoping for and early start. Over 50 centimetres had fallen, much of it wet, in the last 2 days and I had no idea how it would be tomorrow. A freeze would be no bad thing otherwise I will be up to my knees, even with skis on!