Route plan: Flesberg; 4th – 7th march; Michael, Bec & Caro
We had to carry out the next student organised trip. It should be a skiing trip to improve technique, distance and weight and prepare ourselves for the big mountain safety field trip in the end of march. I was very pleased with the new group constellation for the upcoming trip: Bec, Michael and me. I was sure that will fit perfectly together. We’re all easy-going characters and willed to work in a group. I was positive that Michael would add enough adventure spirit to our tour and that Bec’s knowledge about maps and route planning would help a lot. I was convinced, that we would make it a safe and enjoyable trip together.
Checking the snow conditions in different areas, we realised that it wouldn’t be possible to ski in brilliant snow conditions. There was barely any snow and the weather forecast predicted just a little snow or even rain and warm temperatures. As we would spent the days after the trip in Oslo at the Holmenkollen-Ski-Festival, we decided to plan the trip close to this area. Kongsberg is a skiing spot 1,5h away from Oslo.
Flesberg, a part of Kongsberg, looked nice as it offered different altitudes, a lot of marked slopes and two huts for emergency plans. We decided to follow a suggested 2 days ski tour and plan another 2 days on our own. We agreed to drive early in the morning to Flesberg, that would take about 5 hours from Kristiansand. We could start the tour around 12 o’clock, so that we ski half day, start slowly to get used to it again and power the next days. The planning and decision making worked even better than expected. Everyone was open for new ideas, considerations and suggestions and was especially willed, that everyone would feel comfortable with the plan. Once we were done, everyone felt happy and excited to start.
Planning the food was very interesting. Michael and I were motivated to cook together with gluten intolerant Bec. Common dinners have basically a lot of practical and social advantages: less food, less weight, less preparation, more space during cooking, nice gatherings, growing team spirit (sounds weird, but as food and cooking are a very important aspect during the trip this can become an emotional enjoyment in cold). Bec was very sceptical and aware of the risk. Testing out what it’s like to cook absolutely gluten free, we made a common dinner the following evening. Knifes, cutting boards, spoons, pots, .. just everything had to be particularly cleaned before and was kept away from any gluten spoors. Realising how difficult it is to avoid gluten contact, we understood the risk of this experiment. If anyone would forget about the special treatment because of tiredness or anything else, it would imply the end of our trip. We compromised to share a common dinner on the first evening, when everything is still clean, but to cook separately the following days.
Monday, 4th March
Between planning the trip and going on the trip, the weather forecast has changed many times. So that we were expecting cold temperatures and most likely good snow now. We left Kristiansand very early in the morning and arrived easily at the car parking in Flesberg. It was a great but very long and tough first skiing day. Against all odds, the half day tour took us 
2h longer. At first, we were following the tracks but had lots of up hill legs and later we broke trail and had to stop a lot of times to orientate and to discuss the next directions. It was snowy all day, but we were delighted about the good skiing conditions.
The up-hill parts still bothered me this day. Sometimes it was less the steepness, than the fact that I needed so much more time for these sections than Bec and Michael did. It was annoying me a lot the first day, but I learned just to take my time for these legs and they learned to reduce the speed in these sections or to extend the breaks. The first discussion about where to go came up after an hour. Should we follow the red signs, which mark the official track to the Eriksbu hut or break trail and follow the own route on the map? This discussion was very important as so we found out that there existed a big misunderstanding about our route plan. Bec had thought that marked signs and drawn route were the same. But Michael and I had decided during planning to leave the track from time to time and had drawn the route a bit different from the official one to practice more map reading. It was obviously badly arranged. But Bec agreed and so we made our own way through the snow between the trees up a very steep hill. It was definitely not the easiest way. We kept ourselves busy for a while looking out where we could go through, where we have to squeeze in between the firs and where to take turns.
The team spirit was good from the beginning and grew even more by every hour. Different techniques, speeds and opinions didn’t restrain us from having a smashing time together. We really enjoyed the landscape and appreciated that we could be here and experience that all. Those positive emotions attended us the whole trip and became very important at a later time.
Following our route plan towards the hut led us to some lakes. We experienced what lakes look like in the wintertime: White and flat, without a single tree, very recognizable and hence very helpful for orienteering. Michael was the testing guy. When Bec and I were unsure to ski into an uncertain area and still discussing which way we should take, Michael was already trying it out. So, we found also out, that we can easily ski across the frozen white lakes. Avoiding river outfalls and crossing one after another, we minimized the risks. It was an awesome feeling, to know that there’s only water and ice underneath and the wide, flat, white area gave it a fabulous touch. It was a thrill whenever crossing a lake and we knew that the adventure has finally started.
After several map checks and alignments, we spotted the Eriksbu hut in the early evening. It was still snowing, and the wind blew stronger by the minute. It was a real pleasure to get there: The target of the day was achieved. We put up the tent in the lee side of the hut, on an even ground and moved in quickly. Michael had dug a pit in front of the inner tent, so that we could almost stand upright in the tent and sit very comfortably while cooking dinner (rice & chopped vegetables & dried tomatoes). Delighted about the successful first day and already looking forward to the next one, we shared our thoughts, laughed a lot and got to know each other quite a lot more. Michael had spotted a stream around the hut and organised water so that we had not to melt snow and could save gas. This was very efficient. Melting snow to get a sufficiently amount of water takes ages. And everyone needed water for a hot water bottle. That helps to warm the inner of the sleeping bag and your body and makes it very cosy. Furthermore, it’s useful to have water in the morning: An unfrozen drink is provided, and porridge is cooked quickly. Before crawling into our down sleeping bags, we pushed ourselves out in the cold again and did a short workout. A couple of jumps or a few sprints are already enough to warm up your body for creating more heat in the sleeping bag, as the air inside warms up with the body warmth. Wearing woollen underwear, woollen socks, woollen beanie and a fleece around the neck, I had a calm and good sleep.
Tuesday, 5th March
Getting up early in the morning is no problem at all on trips. We fall asleep very early and catch a long sleep. The daylight and fresh air awake you and the cold motivates to move. Organise yourself in the sleeping bag is quite a good exercise: Find the socks, gloves, trousers, boots, gas, down jacket, fleece, water bottle in the sleeping bag around your body. That’s a lot of stuff in a narrow sleeping bag. And most of it take the warmth away – what’s a negative part during the night – but that makes the cold more acceptable in the morning: No freezing clothes and especially no freezing boots and hopefully dry socks and gloves. But obviously such things don’t keep the cold away for long.
We needed 2,5 hours in the morning including a nice pleasant warm porridge breakfast (remember: 300g/2persons), cleaning pots, melting snow, brushing teeth (toothbrush got frozen in 2nd night), packing our backpack, taking the tent down, waxing skis. And during this time my toes decided to lose their feeling. This does feel really uncomfortable. The morning procedure had just taken too long. When we headed off with the skis, it took 40 minutes to get them back to a feeling. The day aim was the Sigridsbu hut, around 12km away from the night spot. It was going to be an ambitious skiing day in the mountains including a lot of high meters and steep sections. The pace was very good and we swapped the leading every couple legs. As we broke trail, the first person had always more work by making the trail. Maps and compasses were essential, and we needed to stop every couple of hundred meters to check the direction and our environment. Where are we, where do we want to go, which mountain is which one, right or left or straight, up or down. Orientation is so hard when everything is just white. But we had a good group communication and affirmed our assumptions one another. Anyway, it took so much time and we got ahead very slowly. In addition, the weather was not at our side.
It was snowy and foggy and the higher we descended the stormier it got. We avoided areas with avalanche danger (steepness >30°, lee sides) and made it safely to the top ridge. With the blowing wind up there, it felt like minus 20 degrees. The wind hit in our faces and tried to blow the maps away. In spite of the hard exercise I felt colder by every minute. My legs were freezing and my gloves started getting wet, as they had a growing hole. Getting another layer was not an option at this point as the wind made it impossible to unpack my backpack. We needed to move. But where? I felt so tired and couldn’t concentrate on the map. At some places the wind had blown the snow away and exposed a lot of rocks. We had to step and ski aware. The visibility was so bad that we couldn’t tell what the white ground looked like. We saw that it was going down, but not how steep, how long, or if there were any snow piles or pans. But we didn’t really have a choice. Try it out, take it slow and hope the best. 
This was our motto and it worked quite well. As mentioned, Michael was the real explorer and always picked the right slope, when Bec and I felt lost. Suddenly we discovered a red “T” on a rock. 
That was the best moment of the day. It was the confirmation, that we had taken the right way: The DNT- summer track to the Sigridsbu hut. What a luck. We were all exhausted and needed a break. Further down the ridge, the wind was still blowing but less strong. So, it was possible to set the emergency shelter and get out of the wind. We sat on our backpacks and hold the tarp down with our feet. Nobody was saying anything for the first 10 minutes. Having a hot drink and lunch brought the energy back and we started laughing again. That break had been essential. And I was so thankful that we had carried the emergency shelter with us. The rest of the day didn’t change particularly: Short and slow sections, a lot of map orienteering, red “T”’s from time to time (but we couldn’t always find them, as they were buried under snow), a lot of wind, steep up- and downhill passages and a bad visibility. It was energy-sapping and we ate a lot of quick snacks during the skiing. My third trousers did their job and kept me warmer. That was an achievement. We pushed each other and tried to find orienteering points like big hills, valleys, ridges, streams etc. But it got later and later, and we came to a point, that we couldn’t even recognise the next 10 meters, not to mention that we had no idea of our surrounding area. There was too much fog. The only thing we were aware of was the very steep hill we were descending the last 40 minutes. But we couldn’t tell how high it still would take us to get to the peak, neither could we proof that that was the right track. We hoped to get a better view and to find a way down on the other side or a recognisable checkpoint. But it got even worse and we made sure to stay closer together that no one could get lost in the fog. It started to become scary: Seeing nothing in the nowhere on a steep hill right before the darkness while debilitating and still having no clue where to stay the night. We had to make a decision. In my opinion it was pointless to go further, as we should look for a place to set the tent and stay the night. That implied that we needed a flat ground that we had on the bottom of the hill. Also, we had to think about the next day. How should we continue in a terrain we couldn’t allocate? We expected similar weather conditions, thus we shouldn’t trust in better visibility. The last checkpoint had been at the bottom. There was every indication to turn around and ski down where we worked hard to come up the last 50 minutes. It was crap. Of course, everyone had already realised that we wouldn’t make it to the hut this day. But to finalize the decision of turning around would terminate our planned route and turn down all our motivations. It felt like a failure. But after a few more steps up the hill, everyone agreed to turn back down. And the closer we got to the bottom of the hill the more relieved I felt. But the way was fairly hard. The wind had already blown away most of our tracks and we troubled to find the way we came up. Moreover, Bec is indeed a powerful Australian who almost runs up the hills with her skis, but she struggles a lot when it comes to downhill sections. She almost fell every leg. That took us not only a long time to make it down but also costed herself a lot of energy and nerves to pull herself up again. Props to Bec at this point. She never moaned or complained, rather laughed and got her shit together. Impressive woman!
We had totally underestimated our plan and the importance of weather conditions but in the end, everything 
went well. We found an even spot for the tent, cooked ourselves a hot dinner (mashed potato with dried tomatoes and ham – yummy) and slipped in our sleeping bags to rest, warm up and sleep. We had made the right decision – we were all sure about that. But it had been a big lesson for us – as individuals and as a group.
Wednesday, 6th March
We woke up by a surprising sunshine and enjoyed a very good view. The sun had just risen between the white mountains in front of us and sparkled amazingly down to us. What a beauty! We looked around and could admire our entire environment for the first time: the valley, the four mountains around us, how high and long they were. And then we recognised our track we should have taken the day before. It could have been so easy, if we have had this view.
Too late. We discussed this morning that the planned route is not an option anymore. We were already one day behind, and we needed obviously more time for skiing than we thought, due to our orientation skills. We decided also against the idea to shortcut the route and to stay at least on the plan for the last day, because the sky was already changing into dark again. The bad weather front was on its way and we didn’t want to risk getting stuck in the nowhere too far from an emergency hut. In addition to that we hadn’t extra food left to stay longer. So the plan was, to take the way back we came, towards the Eriksbu hut. Sounds simple?
Then try to recognise something when everything looks white and similar. Already in the beginning everyone wanted to start in a different direction: North, north-west, or west? So, we met again, heads in the map, compass in the hand and agreed for one direction. Let’s go! We really felt the tiredness in our bones this day. Every step felt harder than the days before and we were glad to know that we would reach our destination today. The sky was grey, and it snowed from time to time but it was far away from the conditions on the other day. For a while we could follow the red T signs of the DNT-track and got ahead very fast. When we lost the signs again, we orientated mostly with the aid of frozen lakes or ridges.
Also this day taught us a big lesson: About breaks. As already mentioned, breaks are essential. And normally you know when you need a break to sit down and load energy. But this day was different. We all ignored the symptoms and pushed ourselves further through the snow, as we felt close to the hut and wanted to enjoy a comfortable lunch at this destination. It felt like we needed to achieve a destination, because we missed out on that the other day. Everyone had had the possibility to stop the group for a break, but the motivation for the hut was higher and the pleasant anticipation big. It was quite a large mistake to shift the lunchtime further and further, but the last legs were downhill only and we could already see Eriksbu. I am not so sure about Bec, but Michael and I enjoyed the downhill sections so much. Powder snow, free ride and good view. It was amazing! Choosing your own unspoiled trails made us so happy, pumped Adrenalin and happiness hormones through our bodies and didn’t make us feel the entire stress. I remember that I was so incredibly happy right before the hut. And the moment we arrived there, I broke together and couldn’t understand the world anymore. I sank down to the stairs in front of the hut and tears run down the cheek. I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t hold them back. I couldn’t talk and needed just to sit down, relax and understand that we were safe now! All the stress fell off and I realised how exhausting everything had been. The physical work, loosing track and feeling lost, orientate and discuss, the cold and to be alone out in the nowhere. I acknowledged that it had frightened me lot. Bec was laughing hysterically and Michael was sighing. The tiredness was obvious in everyone. It was quiet for a while, nobody said anything. And then Bec farted very loud. We burst into a long and loud laugh.
Hey, our group made it!
We’d definitely been out of comfort zone but had never been in serious trouble, as we had had our tent, skis, enough food, warm sleeping bags and a dream team. We managed the weather conditions, the many altitudes and found solutions for appearing problems.
Yes, that was adventure!
And yes, we were fucking proud! Putting it in Australian terms.
The hut was open and so we sneaked in. It was not warm, but we could enjoy a wind sheltered and more comfortable lunch. After an hour, we had filled up our bottles with hot water and our strengths have turned back. We decided not to build up our camp at the hut but keep skiing for another 1, 2 hours and find a place for the night closer to the car. Everything went good and easy. Accept that we failed to set up the tent properly this time. We needed to sleep the other way around (head close to outer side, not entrance), as the ground was not totally even. It didn’t seem like a problem. We had still enough space between head and tent. A real problem was indeed Bec’s sleeping bag. It had been wet from the night before and got frozen in the inside. It was a down sleeping bag, that means that it wouldn’t keep her warm in this wet shape. Shit! We truly worried. Going back to the hut or further to the car wasn’t really an option. So, we wrapped her in a lot of down and woollen clothes gave her an additional hot water bottle with in the sleeping bag and wrapped it with more jackets and towels. And hope she would make it through the night. Fortunately, it was a less cold night in comparison to the others before. Every time I woke up, I checked her and confirmed that she was breathing normally.
Thursday, 7th March
In the morning I woke up, because something was hanging in my face. What was that? The tent. What had happened? I looked at Bec and we stared laughing. Thank god, she survived the night. And she was more or less jammed from the tent as well. 
I got up and opened our entrance to check the situation. Woooaw. It had snown a lot. To get out, I had to shovel the entrance clear at first. We were snowed in. When I made it out, I also understand the narrow space. There was plenty of snow lying on top of our tent, pressing it down. It was close to collapse completely. What a bad construction. We had even helped the snow to stay on the roof by pulling the side ropes to high.
We had been lucky that night.
We thought it would be our last leg to the car, but due to Hally and Lotte, we stayed another night in this area. During a rest, a young skiing couple joined us and we had a really nice chat about skiing adventures. We were so glad to meet some other people after these 3 days and didn’t really want to keep going. Surprisingly they offered us to stay another night in their hut. At first we were a bit sceptical but we came along very well and the offer was unique. Hally and Lotte came from near Kongsberg and were on the way to their family’s hut, just a couple kilometres away. We accepted their invitation and went curious with them. What a stroke of fade. It was a very cosy little hut, that stored enough pasta for all of us and wood for a warming fire. These Norwegians are incredibly friendly people!
The special stay had been important for Bec. Especially she could dry her sleeping bag and get prepared for the Ski Festival in Holmenkollen. But of course Michael and I also enjoyed the warm comforted of the hut.
Friday 8th March
The next day was a finishing day. We skied the last couple of kilometers back to the car in the morning. The way included some enjoyable deepsnow down hill slopes and some straight slopes, that required hard working for the leader due to the deep snow. We took turnes and enjoyed the last day together. The very last leg was a steep section 100m up the hill. Of course, the two were faster again. But due to the fact, that we were a dream team, Bec and Michael just waited a couple of meters before the top, that we could run up together and especially finish the trip together and get to the car as a team. That really touched me. The shared moments, emotions, adventures, decisions and experiences were priceless.
The car was snowed in, completely white. We needed our shovels to dig it out and I was very glad to have snow chaines in the boot. They very pretty useful, we probably would not have been able to drive the car out of the skiing area. But so we managed well and headed further to Oslo, the Holmenkollen-Festival.