Ski and Paddle Norway 2009

Distance 24km | Time 8.5hrs | Ascent 290m | Descent 570m

I was up early and away from the hut at 0800. I was a bit worried about the distance and conditions today and needed an early start. 0800 was the earliest I could have left without a headtorch.

It was very icy still. Obviously this area was in the rain shadow of the massive dump of snow the Setersheiene received recently. Still it was quite fast and I could double pole down the frozen marshes and river bed.

Just before Hedlo I came across some moose tracks. They had been nibbling the willow and birch which was plentiful here. Moose belong more to the forests of the east rather than the fjord regions, which I was almost in so I was surprised to see them.

The fast icy run continued to Viveli with a couple of more awkward sections of river to avoid. In some sections where it was faster flowing over small rapids it was open. In one of the adjacent frozen marshes there was a flock of about 200 willow grouse.

The willow grouse are very closely related to ptarmigan but occupy the willow scrub zone. In winter they take on the same white camouflage as the ptarmigan and they are impossible to tell apart from a distance. So I might be mistaken.

Viveli itself is a tourist lodge surrounded by a score of private cabins. It was deserted with all the roofs covered in snow. Luckily there was a snow scooter track from here up through the birch forest I wanted to go to a road head. Without this track I would have been an extra hour navigating the humps of the forest.

This left me just before the roadhead in high valley just at the treeline. There were some summer farms in this valley. The scooter tracks continued to the eventual roadhead. The road then dropped about 800 metres down to Eidfjorden in a series of hairpins in precipitous terrain.

I was not going down so went east up the valley past the summer farms and across more frozen marches to a gentle watershed some 5 km or 2 hours away. At this watershed I should have been able to see Hardangerjokulen, a large round icecap which sits on the northern section of Hardangervidda. Unfortunately it was too cloudy and the whole thing was shrouded.

From here there was a lovely descent to Garden which took a good half hour. Garden sat on the road in a much larger valley. Sometime it was a bit steep for my tired legs. Private cabins, perhaps a 1000, stretched up and down the valley from Garden. They did not intrude too harshly into the environs.

At Garden there was a small shop which also rented out tiny log cabins, with a bunk bed and electric cooker. I bought food from the shop and then settled into the cabin. It only had a electric heater and I missed the raw effective heat from a wood stove. Eventually it warmed up though. The lady who ran the shop and cabins, a very outdoor type, explained tomorrows route to Kjeldebu cabin.

It was still light when I arrived. It was not as bad as I thought at all in terms of conditions or times. It had been a bit barren and the large icy sections and scant snow did not contribute to the winter wonderland picture.

Distance 21km | Time 7hrs | Ascent 200m | Descent 420m

When I woke at 0630 the skies seemed clear and were still full of stars, with a warm glow to the south. Again it was completely windstill.

I had breakfast and was away by 0830. It was very cold outside, perhaps minus 15 or even 20. The snow was becoming firmer now after a few days and it squeaked as my ski pole twisted in it.

I went directly north to Skadvatn lake initially. Behind me was a yellow sunrise but to the north the whole sky turned a bluish purple as the sun came up, perhaps as an indication as to how cold it was. As I reached the north end of Skadavatn lake the first of the suns rays warmed me slightly.

It was going to be a rare day, a perfect weather day. At last after a good 2 weeks since the last one across Blasjoen. Frost sparkled in the sun as my skis drove forward towards the large knoll of Brakanuten. If I was going south I would have needed glasses to avoid snow blindness.

It was fantastic at last skiing with a clear view. I could relax as I skirted round the odd snow drift or meander up the occasional smooth open gully to the pass on the east of Brakanuten. It was marvellous skiing, almost spiritual in its rhythmic meditation.

At the pass I took the short skins off as they were slowing me up slightly and it was mostly down now for another 12 km. I gently descended passing many fox tracks. There were also a few ptarmigan signs. It seems in the bad weather these birds simply bury themselves up to their necks as I passed many pockets with droppings in them. Obviously with a foxes keen smell they have to sneak up on a semi buried ptarmigan without disturbing it.

Just before Aremot the nice descent ended in a short steep drop. It was easy to see where to go as I took my skis off and walked down. In poor visibility this would have been a nervous dither, had I even found the spot to descend.

I was doing well as I only had 8 km to go and it was just 1230. This rapid progress was mostly due to the being able to ski and push on rather than gingerly fumble around in the white. Having said that it was beginning to cloud over quite rapidly.

The last 8 km took 3 hours as although I was following the river bed, I had to keep to the side as it occasionally went into a gorge. It was still quite easy though despite being knolly. What I did notice was how the snow was much icier here and how relatively little of it there was. It was almost as if it had received none of the recent heavy showers over the last fortnight.

As I approached the cabins willow scrub and some birch appeared. Willow scrub loves wet places so I suspect this is a marshy area in the summer. The cabin itself was large. It looked a old seter or summer farm which was restored.

Inside huge lumber walls were protected by newer planks on the outside. These log wall fitted perfectly into each other without a gap anywhere. Great craftsmanship from a century ago. So well do these log cabins fit together it is possible to number the logs, dissemble them, transport them and resemble them somewhere else. In fact it is often done.

It was great to be able to do all the cabin chores, like get wood and light the stove and collect pails of snow to melt with a couple of hours daylight remaining. It had clouded over completely now and some of the tops around the cabin were in the mist. I though had a whole evening in front on the fire to relax and read. I looked forward to it as it will round of an excellent day.

Distance 21km | Time 9.5hrs | Ascent 580m | Descent 560m

It was a relatively short day today so I didn’t leave until 0900. As soon as I went outside I realized it was a mistake. Although windy still there was a dense mist. The temperature had risen considerably and was only minus 10.

I set off up the hill to skirt the south and east side of Buanuten. Slowly I climbed in the dense whiteness. I was a bit lazy using the GPS and compass and got a bit disorientated. However I soon reached a pass. About 5km to my main waypoint.

The ski down the other side of the pass was slow and careful as visibility was terrible. Still at least I was making progress. I checked with the GPS to see what progress I was making. It now said 6km to my waypoint. I was confused and got out the map. I could not bring myself to believe it, but the fact was I had not gone over the pass but over a shoulder and descended again on the same side I ascended.

Such things happen, especially when one gets too confident and especially when a descent is involved. I was furious with myself for this simple lapse. I should have checked to make sure I was descending the right way. After some 2 hours of mucking about in the mist I was just 2 km from Hellevassbu cabin where I started.

Rather than retrace my steps I climbed up again and went to the east of Sandviknuten. After more peering into the whiteness and endless looks at the map I eventually descended over this small pass and intersected my planned route. The mistake had cost me a good one and a half hours though.

The ascent over the next pass was equally white. It was very trying and frustrating. I must have made endless detours to reach this pass. It was just impossible to go fast in the mist. The descent down the other side was worse still as it was the lee side and all the boulders had been covered with snow. This constant whiteness was beginning to wear my patience thin.

On reaching the second of the Tuevatni lakes the sun finally made it through the mist. My disgruntled mood suddenly vanished as a view opened up. It was marvellous to see something at last. The joy was short lived as the mist soon returned.

Crossing the lake I traversed along a wide shelf called Hardingslepa and then had the best descent yet of the trip down some 100 metres to Kvennssjoen lake. At last I knew I would make the remaining 5 km to the cabin at Litlos. The problem was it was already 1600 and getting dark. This was not a big problem as I could follow the lakes.

The trouble was the mist was so thick I could only see 10 metres and this was compounded by the approaching darkness. After a small diversion partly caused by my inability to read my compass properly due to an irritating airbuble I eventually reached the small river between Litlosvatnet and Kvennsjoen lakes. I just saw it was open and without ice for a short distance. This was disconcerting.

Soon though I was onto the solid ice of Litlosvatnet lake and just 2 km to go. I was now totally dark and I was just going bt the GPS and headtorch. It is always slower going by head torch but the metres were slowly counting down.

For the last 2 km first the unusually bright Venus shone through the mist, before the mist vanished leaving a heaven of various constellations. It was unusually clear and the stars bright. At last I reached the cabin at 1830. Much too late for comfort.

The usual task like melting water and getting the stove going were quickly done and I could at last relax. It was a very frustrating day. I must have wasted so much effort on zig-zagging about due to the mist. It was also quite tiring peering into it constantly for potential danger and it does not improve the mood. Still it was a hard day but I am now relaxing in front of a roaring stove.

Distance 26km | Time 9hrs | Ascent 670m | Descent 560m

I finished an enormous and delicious buffet breakfast at Haukeliseter and was ready to go at 0830. Indeed it was at last getting lighter in the mornings and I could now plan to leave at 0800 in future. I said my goodbyes to the friendly staff who were around and set off.

The weather was very misty but the forecast was great so I was optimistic as I set off up the steep hill for a good hours climb. Haukeliseter quickly disappeared into the mist below me and above me was the familiar whiteness broken by the odd boulder or snow drift.

It was a long hot slog up the steep slope covered in shin deep snow. When I reached the first lake the sun tried to break through but didn’t really until I reached the second lake. Now Vesle Nup loomed above me and gave me my bearings. I climbed some thickly covered slopes to the west of it to finish the 400 metre climb.

At last I was basking in the sun. The view to the south down to the valley I had just climbed was obscured by low mist. Beyond it rose some mountain tops of the previous section in the Setersheiene. To the north of me was the crystal clear undulating plateau of the Hardangervidda with the nunatak of Nups Egga directly in front. It was a wonderful view under dark blue heavens.

Although the sun was out it was bitterly cold in the shade. My eyebrows were covered in frost and my jacket hood was thick with ice crystals. It reckoned it was about minus 15. Still to have the view it was worth paying the price of having eyelashes freeze together momentarily when blinking.

The climb up had taken 3.5 hours. This was much longer than I expected. It was mostly due to ploughing up through deep snow. Still I was about to be rewarded with a wonderful 5 hour ski through sunny easy terrain. The snow was loose powder and my skis flowed over the top of it quite easily sinking only to my ankles.

I followed an easy line of lakes and shallow open valleys from Mannevatn lake, over Armotsvatn lake and all the way up to Simletindvatn lake. I passed numerous fox tracks and also the tracks of hare, lemming and ptarmigan. Generally lemmings stay under the snow pack in winter in a network of grassy tunnels but occasionally they venture onto the surface.

There were a few small private huts enroute owned by locals who still reserve the right to fish the lakes, mostly for Arctic Char, a trout type fish with red markings and meat.

This ski was the best ski I have had so far on the trip. The snow was great but it was the views which clinched it. With the clear skies I could also plan out a km in advance where I wanted to go to avoid knolls and deep drifts instead of the usual 50 metres.

In the morning I was worried I would not make the hut so slow was my progress, but I made up good time across these lakes in the afternoon moving at about 3 km an hour. Just as I reached Simletindvatn the mist came down again but now I knew I would make it to the cabin. I noticed the temperature was falling further and my legs covered just with a single layer of GoreTex felt cold.

The last 4 km were in the mist but they presented little problem as I was used to it. At least there was no wind. Soon out of the whiteness the cabin appeared. Luckily I did not have to dig much snow away from the door. There was a reliable thermometer outside. It read minus 24.

Inside the cabin had many rooms. Sensibly the kitchen was large enough to exist in and small enough for the stove to heat effectively. It was initially minus 13 inside but in a couple of hours it was up to plus 30 and my frostily clothes were drying beautifully. I felt very comfortable as I chose supper from the larder.

It had been a magnificent day. Perhaps the best yet. Cold and clear wins every time over mild and misty. It had been a long day also and I was relieved I had made it to the cabin to luxuriate in, rather than camping short of the cabin. Tomorrow’s ski to Litlos cabin is considerably shorter.

Distance 0km | Time 0hrs | Ascent 0m | Descent 0m

I was breakfasted and ready to go at 0830, but it was quite windy and snowing heavily. The other 2 who might have been going were still in bed so I would be on my own ploughing the lonely furrow in about 40 cm of snow. Probably without any visibility to boot. In addition the weather forecast for tomorrow and indeed the next week was at last slightly positive.

I decided to postpone my departure for a day as it was a long day I had and needed as much visibility as possible. So I returned to bed. When I got up at 1000 it was still a force 4, bad visibility and snow everywhere. My guilt at remaining at Haukeliseter rapidly vanished.

To relieve my guilt further I spent some time looking at the blogs of a couple of other “Norge paa langs” expeditions. It looked like they were having a torrid time of it also, all of them having been stuck for a few days in Storevatn cabin which I left a good 10 days ago.

The kiters were back on the lake in the afternoon and continued to perfect jumps and tricks. There was a much bigger crowd of maybe 40 now the hardcore having been joined by some weekenders and learners.

Later in the afternoon I used the internet to further research my trip across Hardangervidda. My initial route was ineffective winding from one cabin to another. In addition cabins I thought were open were locked and i would have to camp twice. I decided on a new route of Hellevassbu to Litlos to Hadlaskar to Liseth to Kjeldebu to Finse.

This route was shorter but still 6 days. It would mean a cabin every night which was effective to keep moving. I knew I had to camp sometimes, but if I could avoid it I would. It is cramped, cold and difficult to get going the next morning.

I spent alot of the afternoon and evening socializing and reading. It seems that not only Amundsen spent some time here but Nansen visited frequently. For both of them the Hardangervidda was a training ground for their polar exploits.

With the current weather forecast I am now champing at the bit to get started across Hardangervidda myself.