DAY 1

We began by splitting into our 2 groups. Our group was given the pulk to carry. A pulk is a sledge which is pulled by dogs or a skier and is used to carry equipment or another person. Kyle volunteered to carry the pulk with his bag inside it. He found that this method of skiing was much easier than when he had previously skied with his backpack on his back as the weight he was carrying was more evenly distributed between his back, shoulders and hips.

We skied 6km to the nearest cabins. Over these 6km different people were given a leg to lead and navigate. Today’s journey as a whole was mainly uphill and therefore challenging due to the extra weight we were carrying. Being relatively new to skiing I found today difficult and tiring and needed fairly regular stops. I think I also did not take on enough fluids throughout the day as my flask was inside my rucksack meaning it required a longer stop to get this out. In future I will keep my flask more accessible on the outside of my bag which will encourage me to drink more giving me more energy.

When looking at the maps there was a summer trail marked but the winter one was not. We were not aware of this at first and thought we were following the marked trail however we noticed along the way that features we were passing were not where we thought they should be, such as a small pond was on our right when according to the map it should’ve been on our left. This highlights the importance of regularly checking your map and having it easily accessible, as well as looking at your surroundings and not just focusing on your skiing.

This evening we stayed in tents. We had a tent group of 4 people, Connor, Bowen, Phil and I. We split the group in half so Bowen and Phil worked on building a wall to provide some protection from the wind while Connor and I cleared a flat area for the tent and set the tent up. After it was secured Connor went inside and dug the cold air well while I covered the snow skirts with blocks of snow to stop the wind from getting under the material. We had decided to only bring a tarp and the outer part of the tent to give ourselves more room. This worked very well as we were able to sit in on our sleeping bench and cook on the shelf opposite us without the inner tent being in the way. We also cooked in the tent this evening which resulted in condensation on the inside of the tent which then froze. This meant that a lot of our kit got wet from the condensation as well as the ice falling off the inside of the tent because of the wind and onto us in the night.

DAY 2

Today the plan was to pack up camp and ski 8km to the next cabin where we would build our snow holes. We were meant to set off at 9.30 but many people were not ready at this time and left some of us standing waiting. Mel was set to lead the first leg and she began by explaining the plan for the day and giving the weather forecast; this was all good information for us to have but maybe it was not the right time to give it out as we were standing still for a while getting cold. When we did eventually set off everyone found the snow conditions hard going and their skies were slipping when going uphill so we stopped after about 300m for a rewax.

I found this part of the trip extremely hard going I was falling over a lot and having to get up with a big pack on drained me of any energy and took a long time. I got very frustrated and stressed as the rest of the group was waiting for me to join them. George was kind here and stuck at the back to help me out. When I joined the group they asked me to go at the front and set the pace so I wouldn’t be left behind. This was kind as being at the back all the time can be demoralising but in this situation I felt it put a lot of pressure on me to keep going and not fall down or take little breaks all the time as I would hold up the rest of the group. After going no more than 2km in an hour and a half we stopped and discussed as a group what we should do. We were going much slower than expected and wouldn’t make it to the cabins in time to dig our snow holes. We decided our best option would be to turn around and find an area to dig our snow holes where we had camped the previous night. Going back down the hill took as long as it did going up as everyone was falling over all over the place as we were unable to balance with our bags on. When we reached the bottom of the hill I was ready to take my skis off and never put them on again!

We quickly set the tents up as a shelter to have lunch in before beginning work on our snow holes. We worked in 2 teams with 2 people digging while the others melted snow and had a hot drink and a snack.

When digging a snow hole you dig a trench into the snow as tall as you can make it and long enough so the tallest person can lie down and still have a meters clearance for the front wall. It mustn’t be wider than shoulder width as if it is any bigger it will be hard to get blocks long enough for the roof. Not long after we started digging we reached very hard and compact snow so we had to use the saw opposed to the shovel to dig our drench. The blocks we cut out from the trench we used to make 2 walls either side of the entrance to provide some protection from the wind. Once the trench was done you dig out the 2 sleeping benches one either side. They must have curved slopping roofs so they are strong enough to hold up the snow above them without collapsing. When making the benches we cut out long rectangular blocks of snow which we set aside to be used for the roof later on. Myself and Connor found it difficult to get the blocks out in one piece as they often cracked and became useless. The long blocks are carefully place on top of the trench you must be careful not to press them down just place them or they will compress the snow and risk collapsing the roof. Once the trench is covered you through loose snow over the top to seal any gaps, this will freeze overnight providing better protection from the elements. You must smooth the roof of the benches over with the back of your glove to allow any condensation to run off and stop it dripping on you.

When making the snow hole everyone got soaked through and cold as it was snowing the whole time and from being in contact with the snow for so long. Len gave us the option of sleeping in the cabin or using it to dry any kit out. Phil and Danny took this option while the rest of us settled into our first night in the snow! I cooked last this evening and our fuel ran out before my meal was fully heated. We had brought limited fuel on the trip so I ate my dinner cold that night. I think this combined with being wet all day made me very cold and therefore even when in my sleeping bag for the night I spent hours awake and shivering. It didn’t help that our entrance wasn’t very long so there was constantly wind and snow being blown in and covering out sleeping bags nearest the door, therefore I eventually ended up in the cabin.

DAY 3

Today started with a white out – lots of snow fall and high winds.  This combined with the limited day tours in the area meant we spent the morning in the cabin melting snow on the fire and drying our kit out. At 12 Len came up to the cabin and asked if anyone wanted to join him for a ski tour. Everyone decided to go. I am glad I went as I found skiing much easier without a large pack on and we made it up the same hill as the day before in less than half the time. At the top we stopped on an avalanche prone slope. Even though it was avalanche prone it was a very small and short slope so it wasn’t so dangerous. Here we learnt how to take a snow profile. I found this very interesting to see all the different layers in the snow which we had talked about in class. I also found it fascinating how when one of the layers did go and slide off the block of snow, it left a perfectly flat and smooth surface beneath it.

Snow Profile:

• Make a straight vertical wall of snow no more than 2 meters wide
• Make a shelf at the top of this wall about 30cm deep.
• Using a snow saw cut down either end of the wall of snow, along the back wall of the self and then cut downwards 30cm in from either end of the block – you should be left with 3 independent blocks of snow.
• On one of the end blocks take your shovel and place it on the shelf. You begin hitting or tapping the shovel using just your hand and wrist do this 10 times.
• If the layers in the snow don’t fail hit the shovel from the elbow and repeat 10 times
• If the layers in the snow don’t fail hit the shovel using your whole arm
• Finally if the snow still hasn’t failed put the shovel down the back of the block and give it a gentle push to help the snow layers fail. If you get to this stage then the snow pack if pretty stable.
• Depending on how many times you have to hit the snow block before it fails show how stable or unstable the snow pack is.

In our instance the snow pack failed quite early on and when we repeated the test on the next layer of snow we found that there were many more weaknesses than we detected using out fingers. This meant the particular area we were in was quite unstable.

Afterwards we cut a hole into the snow where someone could lie so we could practice using the avalanche probes. This was interesting as we got to see the difference between probing snow or hitting a person or piece of equipment. It also showed how easy it is to miss someone in an avalanche as Kyle managed to probe either side of my boot!

This afternoon Bowen and I made improvements to the entrance to our snow hole. We made the tunnel into the snow hole longer meaning any snow and wind that did blow in didn’t reach our sleeping platforms. We also built the floor up in places to make it slope outwards meaning it would be easier for the cold air to run down and out of the snow hole. I slept the whole night in the hole and found it much warmer and more comfortable than the night before. When we woke however we did notice that the roof had sagged and lowered a considerable amount, as none of us could stand up in it anymore.

DAY 4

Today we made a small ski tour without any packs with the intention of working on our technique. We also had a close look at the run off of an avalanche that had released over night. This particular avalanche came from a very narrow gulley but even so it was still 2metres deep when we probed it; this shows how easy it is to be buried very deep even in a small avalanche. We also saw many animal tracks; we saw fox and hare tracks as well as lots of tracks in one area from a bird called a ptarmigan.

A ptarmigan is a common bird in Scandinavia and breads within the arctic region. They are white in winter but they change their feathers to brown in spring to match the foliage. During a storm and in a winter environment there is often little shelter available so these birds lie down in the snow and wiggle around making a small hole. They then lie and wait to be covered by the snowfall resulting in a weather proof snow hole. They often use their own poo to lie on and use as insulation from the snow!

Before lunch we focused on moving downhill as that was what we would be doing on our ski out. This was good fun and I managed to get the hang of it without a pack on. At this point I felt more confident about my skiing and more positive about the trip as a whole.

After lunch the other group returned from their trip and we all decided to begin the ski out. So we had to pack all our kit up quite quickly and clean out the cabin of any rubbish or mess we had made. The ski out was so much harder than what we had been doing in the morning and I again became very frustrated. This time Mel was feeling the same and was tired and struggling as well. Even though we were both finding it so hard we managed to make a joke of it and have a laugh meaning we didn’t get too stressed out.

We joined up with the other group about 2k from where we had parked the mini bus and here we had to build an emergency shelter. We were told we had 20minutes but we definitely had longer than this especially the other group as they arrived before us. This meant that some people managed to build something similar to a snow hole rather than a quick and easy emergency shelter. I joined forces with Mel to build our shelter but we didn’t really have a plan to begin with so we just found somewhere with deep snow and started digging. As we were working we came up with a plan to dig into the snow leaving a roof on snow above us meaning about half our bodies would be under cover. We could then use our skis and branches with snow on top to cover the opening above our feet. This was a good idea but in an emergency or stormy situation it would take longer than 20 minutes to build. We went around and had a look at other peoples shelters and Len and Ewan discussed who would’ve survived the night and who wouldn’t! After this they told us that we were actually skiing out tonight and not the next day. This came as a relief to some people and a disappointment to others who had wanted to stay another night, I think by the time we were at the van and on our way home everyone was pleased to be back somewhere that was warm and dry!

From this trip I learnt that maybe I was born to walk on my feet and not skis; however that doesn’t mean I won’t ski again. When skiing without a pack I had a good time so I think maybe in future I should stick to day tours until I improve my technique!