Planning process

As I have been to Lillehammer and the area around Nordseter before, we decided to go skiing there. Our first step was to check out the trains and book the tickets. After we had the dates fixed we started planning the actual tour. We had six skiing days and five nights outdoors to fill. On ut.no we calculated our daily aims. The first day had to be short because of multiple reasons. First we were not able to get a map of the area at the Kristiansand DNT shop so we had to go to the DNT shop at Lillehammer. Second our train would arrive at noon so we had only half a day. Third we wanted to have an easier day for the beginning to get used to our heavy backpacks while skiing.

When we finished planning the route, we started to plan our nutrition. Thereby we set a date when to by what where. We also decided to meet the evening before the trip to pack everything together and split up the shared things equally.

We started planning the trip two weeks ahead, which included checking on the snow and weather conditions daily. As we were not able to do all of the planning in the group, we divided the work equally.

Group dynamic processes before and after

During the planning period we started to spend more time together, which we didn’t do before. As one person joined the planning later, we had a small discussion about why we decided upon the route already. I would even call it a small conflict, which we solved by explaining our actions.

We didn’t act a lot like a group before we went on this trip. In other words I couldn’t feel cohesion between us. Everyone was excited for the trip and thinking about her own stuff. We planned everything together however the communication was mostly digital or after classes. There were no private talks or meetings of the three of us.

This definitely changed during the trip. I remember coming back to Lillehammer talking a lot about random things, laughing together and joking. We sat down in a Café to wait for the train and it was a long time of silence between us. A kind of understanding each other silence, not because we didn’t know what to say. To me this kind of silence is a sign for greater group cohesion. People don’t have to act any longer because everyone knows that she has a place in this group.

After coming home we hugged each other to say good-bye, which is an embodied sign of trust and closeness. The next day we met again in the swimming pool and talked through the trip. There was kind of a common understanding of each other. However the more time went by after the trip we saw each other less and less. The cohesion became less as well.

Execution of the field trip

We changed our plan on the first day. The man at the DNT shop told us about another nice place to sleep so we stayed there. Due to the snow conditions we were not able to go backcountry hence we followed plan B of our tour plan. We slept in our bivouac bags on the first night because we didn’t need to put up the tent, as it was dry and windless.

Day two and three we stuck to plan B and went up the Nevelfjell. This was the hardest task of our whole trip because there was a blizzard and we were in a white out. The weather didn’t change which is why we decided to stay another day at the Nevelhytta. It was a good decision because we were all a bit exhausted by the three first days thus a day of was needed.

The fifth day we went back to our first campsite where we decided to build up the tent. It was close to the water, a clear sky and windy therefore we needed more shelter than in the first night. The day after we went on a small tour around the Olympic ski stadium and finally downhill to Lillehammer.

Challenges

• The snow conditions on the first day. The temperature of the snow was too warm for the soft wax however we didn’t have any klister. We had to do a lot of herringboning to reach our first campsite.
• The first two nights I was freezing in my sleeping back. It was a challenge for me to be cold through the night and keep going. Nevertheless I started playing around with different combinations of clothing in the sleeping bag so in the end I had a good technique of putting the clothes around me without becoming cold.
• Making fire in the winter. I never lit a fire outside before so it was a great challenge to me. My group let me try as long as I wanted to learn it. However I didn’t manage thus I ended up watching the others making fire. Thereby I learned more then by trying it on my own. For the next trip I will remember these techniques and keep on trying.
• Finding the Nevelhytta was the greatest of all challenges. We couldn’t see anything, the snow was frozen thus it was very slippery and it was stormy. This task we managed as a group working together. We were totally focused and kept going to not stress out. Motivating each other was really helpful. In the end we found the hut.

These are my learning outcomes I noted down right after the trip:

• Winter navigation
• Navigating a group
• Making fire in an oven
• The second pair of warm underwear should be merino
• Don’t wear to many clothes in the sleeping bag rather put them around you on the areas, which are cold. To lie on the side keeps you warmer than on the back.
• If I am insecure about skiing downhill then I cramp which brings me out of balance. Thus I have to be relaxed to stay in balance.
• I have to drink the whole water of my bottles during the day.
• Everyone needs a map case, a map and a compass.
• Six days are to long for the first skiing trip. Four nights in the snow are enough for the beginning.
• In nature dirt is not dirty it is a constructed word which occurs in artificial environments.