Ski and Paddle Norway 2009

Distance 18km | Time 8hrs | Ascent 710m | Descent 680m

I was up late after yesterdays efforts. Today was a relatively short day and I felt no urgency. I was not really ready until 1100. It was far too late and I should have known better. Outside it was about minus 10 with snow showers, some mist and a slight breeze. I considered having a day off, but it was perfectly feasible to ski.

The way to Kyrkjestolen also looked like it was marked with twigs, which encouraged my confidence. So I set off. The visibility was poor and I was glad for the twig markers. How I had been spoilt over the last week with the spell of great weather.

The twigs did indeed go all the way to Kyrkestolen. This made being able to read the lie of the land much easier. Although some 30 meters apart they did indicate when the route was going up or down. Furthermore I was guaranteed it was a safe route. I followed the markers across the undulating tundra, which was almost indistinguishable from the sky. After a couple of hours the markers started to lead down to the birch forest in the valley below.

It was quite steep in places, and not being able to see the snow well I crashed once. Eventually the markers reached the valley floor where there was a collection of some 50 cabins, many of which were converted from old pastoral summer farms. There was also a small church. Through this hamlet went a major road, the main road between Oslo and Bergen. It was deserted now. This road has historical connections and was a road once travelled by royalty some centuries ago.

I crossed the snow covered road with my skis still on and paused for a break in the minor blizzard by the church to send/receive emails and blogs. I thought about camping here but it was only another 8 km and I still had 4 hours of daylight. So despite the weather I continued.

Initially I had to climb out of the north side of the valley. It was incredibly hard work. Under the surface of the deep snow were juniper bushes. As I pressed down the juniper bush collapsed and I made very slow progress. Indeed it took about two hours to ascend the short steep slope.

Once I was up to Slettningen lake things got easier, but it was difficult to see in the mild blizzard. With compass and GPS I slowly made my way across this lake and up the difficult featureless slope on the other side. I was running out of daylight the GPS still said I had 3 km to go. This would be another head torch finish.

I climbed a final ridge in the dark dusk and started to descent the other side. I went over a small cornice of luckily just 2 metres which I just had not seen before the torch came out of the pack.

The final 2 km took an hour and a half. It is a very surreal experience wandering about in the dark in a small blizzard in the middle of winter. My world was limited to about 3 meters and most of that is obscured by spindrift flashing in front of the bulb. I thought about camping a couple of times but my clothes were damp with sweat from the climb and my outer jacket was frozen stiff. Even my boots felt damp. All this would freeze solid and be somewhat unpleasant to get into tomorrow.

So I continued to the cabin homing in metre by metre, being cautious and slow. The thought of a fire and tins of peaches egging me on. Eventually after a few disorientating occasions I could make out the cabin some 100 metres away which the GPS confirmed.

When I got to it I had to dig a large drift from the front door. Inside it was minus 8. The previous occupiers had left kindling, newspaper and matches beside the fire. This used to always be the custom but I have seldom seen it this trip so far.

After an hour the cabin was warming and I was looking into the flames with a tin of peaches. It had been worth the humiliating fumbling around in the dark.

It had been a hard day. I was spoilt by the previous good weather and had left far too late. I should perhaps have had a day off but did not have the luxury hindsight when I set off.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 4th, 2009 at 11:12 pm and is filed under Update. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.