Mountain safety field trip- 29th of March-1st of February
The snow hole trip began in the mountain area of Berdalen, Bykle and was four days and three nights long. Berdalen is located ca. 200 km north from Kristiansand in direction to Hovden. Most of the time we had nice weather, warm temperature with sunny clear sky. Due to the cloudless night temperatures reached -15 at night. Over the three days we built a snow hole, that we slept in for two nights, learned some basic winter navigational skills and learned how to build an emergency snow shelter in under 30 minutes. This trip enabled us to gain more skiing experience and improve on the techniques learned in Evje. Before we went on the trip we were divided into two big groups (10 persons) within we made smaller snowhole/cooking groups (2-4 persons)
Day 1 (Tuesday, 29h of March):
We met at 12 am at the parking place in Berdalen. After every snow hole group took two avalanche probes and two saws we came together in our big groups. After a short briefing we started our 6km tour to Berdalsbu, a DNT Hut in the east of the parking place. Everyone in the group had to lead the group once. I had to lead the last leg to the Hut. There we made a break and Tim told us all about the DNT system. The rest of the day we spent in the Hut.
Day 2 (Wednesday, 30th of March):
We met at 9:30 am. The weather was warm and sunny and we left our backpacks at the Hut. We skied south the Hut and looked out for good spots for building a snow hole. Not far away from the Hut we found two good slopes and Tim showed us to use the avalanche probe right. After we tested the slopes if there are deeb enough we skid further on south and skied up a mountain. There we practice to go downhill. After about 1 hour we went back to build our snow holes. Building the snow hole took us about five and a half hour. In the evening I was exhaustet from building the snow hole made dinner and went to bed.
Day 3 (Thursday, 31st of March):
We met at 9:30. We went east from Berdalsbu. This day everyone in our group had to lead once again and we build an emergency shelter. This day the weather changed from sunny to windy and snowy. Back at the Hut Tim showed us how to make a route plan. Every snowhole group made a routplan for the way from Berdalsbu to the parking place. The rest of the day we had free time, skied around, made dinner, boild water and so on…….sleep.
Day 4 (Friday, 1st of April):
We met at 9:30. Tim chose the rout plan which my group made last day. So we went up north and had to ski up a steep mountain. That was the hardest part of this trip. But lucky the weather was very good and afterwards we just had to ski down to the parking place, which we reached around 3 am.
Evaluation
Learning outcomes
Snow hole: One of the learning Outcomes was, that we learned to build a snow hole. A perfect spot to build a snow hole is a short steep slope. With an avalanche probe you can tes,t if there is enough snow( at least 2,5 m). The shelters are built in a specific way to keep as much cold air out. This is done by making the entrance as small as possible so the warm air does not escape easily. When digging the snow hole you should build straight into the hill for three meters and you should also be able to stand in there. Once this has been accomplished you can start to build benches on either side where the group can sleep. A corridor needs to be built as it acts as a trench where the dense cold air can sink and then leave the hole. When you build the sleeping benches you should cut out snow bricks with a snow saw. This is faster and you can use the snow bricks later to block the entrance. You should also consider to build the roof in a round way, because this is much more stable.
Navigation: I got practice in making a rout plan and learned what we should consider while planning.
I also got a lot of practice in map reading and leading in snowy conditions. I realized that it is much harder to orientate during the winter, because lot of prominent points, like lakes or rivers, are covered by snow.
Useful advices:
- Keep your Labs short ( max 1km)
- Choose labs which are easily to recognize
- Use your map and compass as much as possible
- Use the time
- Keep a steady pace
Nutrition: Especially in the winter we lose more energy than usual so you should care about what you eat. You will also discover that on longer trips the food will be the heaviest part in your backpack. That’s why you can cut a lot of weight if you have the right food. The food on your trips should be not too heavy and supply your body with fat, carbohydrate and protein. Further you should care about vitamins and minerals for small snacks. You should always make a food plan and pack each meal separated!
- Other advices:Have a system and keep your stuff ordinary.
- Keep dry and change your close.
- Keep warm during the breaks
- Put your shoes and gas in your sleeping bag during the night.
All in all this trip was great and I got a lot of experiences in planning and making a trip during the winter. I had the chance to ski in different weather conditions and experienced how fast the weather can change. This trip shows me the danger of the combination of wind and snow and how fast it cools you down. After this trip I care much more about the safety aspect of a tour and would never go out on a winter trip without a shovel again.
