Planning & Preparation

Hovden to Berdalen via Tjornbrotbu and Berdalsbu (30km)

One week after our first student field trip it was already time for the next self organized adventure. Unfortunately the weather forecast for this weekend (2-4.3) wasn’t too good, so we decided to look for a tour, where we can stay in cabins. Thanks to the great dnt network we found a 3 days skiing tour in the Bykle region, which started in Hovden and went up to Tjornbrotbu for 9km on the first day. On the second day the track led south to Berdalsbu for another 14km and finished in Berdalen after 6km of rather downhill on the last day. I went in a big group of 12 people together with Linda, Johanna, Maike, Lilla, Zsofi, Janna, Frankie, Zoe, Sarah, Scott and Tom.

The tour

We left Kristiansand early Friday morning and arrived in Hovden around 12.30. Against the weather forecast we started our tour in good weather with the sun shining and about -12°C. In the beginning we had some difficulties finding the track, so it was good practice on using our maps and compasses. After a first part of cross-country the track followed a prepared slope for a while, slightly going uphill. At one point we almost took the wrong path. The track in our map was marked blue, so we thought we just have follow the blue marked slope when we came to a junction. But the direction the blue track was going to seemed to be wrong to me. Luckily, Zoe and I found another map next to the slope and it turned out that the blue track on our map in real was the red marked one. I learned that it is very important to always double check where you are going to and to not blindly follow the person in front. Unfortunately the snow was really bad that weekend: just harsh and icy. And after a while the weather turned bad as well. First it just got cloudy and a little windy. But when we left the slope for the last off-slope and uphill part, the wind blew stronger and stronger. Due to this heavy wind there was no soft snow on the ground. Instead there were icy uneven snow dunes, which made it really hard to ski up on. Cunningham and Fyffe (2007) describe wind as the major influence on snow packs, as crystals are moved and damaged (p. 78). In the beginning I was rather skiing in the front most of the time. But while going uphill I noticed that one person fell back more and more, without the rest of the group noticing. So I waited for her and we slowly skied up together. This showed me that especially in such bad conditions it is very important to look after each other and to make sure that everyone can follow, although people are already preoccupied looking after themselves. A little exhausted I was happy when we finally reached Tjornbrotbu around 6 o’clock. But compared to some others I still felt okay. This was the point when I realized that we were quite lucky that we didn’t took the wrong way earlier on, because then we would have arrived a lot later and we would have been even more exhausted. This showed me the importance of always carrying a form of emergency shelter. I had my sleeping bag and a very very simple biwi-bag with me. But although planning to stay in huts, I might even take a tent as an emergency shelter with me next time, especially if the weather forecast is bad. Cunningham and Fyffe (2007) also

Tjornbrotbu covered in snow and ice

recommend to always take a biwi-bag or a group shelter. A group shelter can also be used to sit in for lunch or other breaks if it’s windy and/or cold (p. 10). Once in the hut we made a fire and started melting snow. As we didn’t have to carry all our camping gear this time we decided to cook some proper meal all together. Therefore we split up the ingredients and everyone brought something. Surprisingly, this worked out pretty well. The only thing we didn’t have enough of was rice. But thanks to the dnt storage rooms we could just buy some. So we had a nutritious and delicious Curry the first night and Chilli the second.

The second day started as the first day ended: windy and foggy. As some have been ready earlier than others and navigating in such a big group turned out to be quite hard on the first day, we decided to go in two smaller groups this time. Due to the icy and uneven underground going down hill was no fun at all. But after a while the wind got less and the view got clearer. As it was quite cold (about -12 degrees) we only had one lunch break of about 10 minutes and a few short breaks for drinks, snacks and having a look at the map. I had nuts and chocolate which I packed in small day bags to put in my pocket as a snack and tinned sausages and bread for lunch. The last part of the day was quite deep downhill through some trees. As turning was impossible I slowly went down in Zick-zack. This is probably the thing I have to practice on most: going down controlled.

Berdalsbu on the morning of the third day

On our last day the weather conditions got a lot better, the sun came out for a bit and as there was no wind in this area, we even had a layer of fluffy snow on top. This was really

Practicing on our downhill skills

good for the mostly downhill part. I tried to practice on my telemark-turns, but it is still really hard with the big backpack. I fell a few times while trying it. While there hasn’t been any vegetation the day before, we were now skiing through an area with trees and some bushes. The group cohesion on this trip was really good. We all supported each other and everyone was doing something. In the evenings we all cooked together, played card games in the hut and talked a lot.

Although the weather and the snow conditions haven’t been as good as on our first self-organized trip, I really enjoyed the tour. I felt very comfortable in the group and is was also a good experience to learn what’s it like in bad weather conditions and how to handle them.

References:

Cunningham, A. & Fyffe, A. (2007). Winter Skills- Essential Walking & Climbing Techniques. Mountain Leader Training Handbooks- Volume 3 . Published by Mountain Leader Training UK.