Day one

Activities:

The snow hole trip started Tuesday after Easter with a bus ride to Berdalen in Bykle and a short walk up to the parking lot where Len would meet us with the gear at 12 pm. After various delays and repacking at the parking lot we started skiing up to Berdalsbu DNT hut at around 2pm. We split up into two groups and followed the slushy trail 6 km up to the cabin with a few stops for food and drinks.

On the way we took turns in leading and practiced our winter navigation with map and compass. Important thereby is to make sure the group stays close together – unless you’re travelling over ice of uncertain thickness. Having group members constantly chasing after the rest of the group is harmful to the group dynamics. It gnaws away at their motivation as it leaves the people in the back with little to no time to rest. Furthermore, make sure to leave nice tracks for the group to follow in. Try to keep a steady pace and avoid going straight uphill in herringbone style. Zigzagging up a mountain is simply a lot less strenuous and pays off in the long run.

Originally we were meant to build our snow holes in on the same day. However, due to the late start we decided to stay in the DNT cabins for the night as it was not certain everybody would finish digging their snow holes before sundown. Some of us explored the woods around the hut and we discovered an igloo and an old snow hole. (Nearly) Everybody enjoyed a hot meal and after many rounds of card games we decided to go to bed which meant coping with tropical temperatures for the one’s sleeping in the attic.

The huts are spread out all over Norway and are maintained by the Norwegian Trekking Association (Den Norske Turistforening) with over 260.000 members. They differ in size and equipment but most offer a minimum of sleeping accommodations, a lavatory, gas cookers and a selection of food. There is no possibility to reserve a bed in any of the huts, still it is advisable to inform the DNT about trips with bigger groups to prevent overcrowding. Apparently a similar system was introduced in Scotland but failed as the common goods were exploited and the huts were in a bad condition after a short while.

Day two

On the next morning we enjoyed the comfort of the hut for a last time, cleaned it out and headed off into the surrounding mountains to look for suitable spots for snow holing.

In essence you’re looking for a small avalanche prone slope. A lee slope not more than 8 meters tall to avoid the risk of being buried by an avalanche. There should be a minimum of 2 meters deep snow horizontally and in a 90 degrees angle to the slope to have enough room inside and thick walls to carry the weight. When facing a choice of different suitable spots it’s nice to dig in a slope facing east to have sun in the morning.

After we had checked various possible spots in the vicinity of the hut we went for a couple of downhill runs on the slopes to the southeast. We picked up the rest of our gear which we had left at the hut and started digging our accommodations for the following days. I had the pleasure to share a snow hole with Martynas, Paige and Joey. We decided to sleep parallel to the slope and had one person digging at all times as the others prepared tea and build a kitchen area, benches in the hill, slides down to the flat and steps between all our constructions. It was a lot of fun to dig in the sun when getting wet was not of concern. When we were finished, we went on a tour a bit further down in the valley. Following a small stream downhill, eventually we came across exposed water where we would be getting our water for the next days. Of course we also melted snow with our cooker but this is much easier when you already have some water to begin with. By keeping a small amount of water in the kettle, much more snow can be melted in the same time. This again helps to reduce the gas usage. After a nice hot meal we headed into our sleeping bags and went to sleep. By this point it was already as cold as – 8 °C outside.

Testing of equipment:

Snow saw and shovel worked very well in the snow. A saw should best be carried in a shaft or wrapped in a cloth and never be carried exposed strapped to the outside of a pack.

Snow probes are very intuitive and quick to use. Ideally, for digging a snow hole the snow probe should be longer than 2 meters.

To enable circulation of air in the snow hole even when the walls are completely frozen, a ski pole may be used to create an air hole at 45° right above the entrance.

A Tarpaulin on top of the sleeping bench might seem like a good idea to keep the sleeping bag from touching the walls or the floor of the snow hole but really it doesn’t do much but make the ground a hell of a lot more slippery.

Candles are a very good idea to bring on trips as they provide light, create an comfortable atmosphere and can indicate decreasing amounts of oxygen in the cave.

Lessons:

When digging a snow hole make sure to dig straight into the slope and keep the width of the hallway constant. The sleeping benches can be cut out with a snow saw following a diamond cut technique. First, two cake slice shaped blocks are cut out right next to each other, then the remaining pillar can be taken out and the steps repeat. This is easier than cutting out rectangular blocks, however the received blocks are less suitable for closing the entrance with. The arched ceiling structure can be formed with a shovel after the rough dimensions are reached. Remember to smooth out the snow surface of the ceiling to prevent water drops from dripping down.

Group Dynamics:

Day four

Activities:

After a nice breakfast, we went skiing up to the small lakes east of the Berdalsbu hut, where our winter navigation skills were tested. A short blindfolded walk across one of the bigger lakes demonstrated how helplessly lost we are when trying to navigate without sight. No matter how good you think your sense of direction might be, without sight you’ll be running in circles sooner or later. Following this, we picked a mountain to summit right next to one of the lakes and started our ascent. Unfortunately, two members of our group suddenly decided to stop and refused to go up to the top. Thus all of us had to go back and head down to the lake which caused temporary indignation within the group but was soon forgotten.

A short break sheltered from the wind at the bottom of a small hill on the other side of the valley gave us the chance to grab a bite to eat and get ready for the rest of the trip. Cheese sandwiches and kwik lunches did the job just fine.

The strong winds led to a second change in plans which meant going back to the snow caves for a lunch break and meeting up again after an hour to practice building emergency shelters in flat areas.

Testing of equipment:

Lessons:

Choosing the place for an emergency shelter on flat ground is of minor importance when you’re stuck in a whiteout without orientation. Stop and dig in before the group is completely exhausted. Digging shelters in deep snow is tough work and you will want to get out of the wind as fast as possible.

The outline of the shelter is a simple rectangle, about hip deep and shoulder wide. Possible hindrances thereby include hitting tree roots and widely overestimated width of shoulders.  Preferably the hole should also be shorter than your skis to make it easy for you when closing the top again. Don’t worry about the size too much, you can always make yourself more comfortable by arching the sides at the bottom of the hole. That way you’ll have enough room to move around and fit your shoulders and feet with ease. If needed, a shelter like this can also accommodate two people to save time and energy.

When cutting snow with your shovel try to make big blocks which can be used later to close the hole. Once the shelter is big enough, add a rabbit hole entrance at the head end in a 45° angle and make sure you can slide through. When done, put a ski pole perpendicular across the middle of the shelter and place your skis on top. Now start covering the structure with blocks of snow. Remember to split the blocks if they’re too heavy. Otherwise the ceiling might collapse on you and nobody wants that. When finished, throw loose snow on top to make it more windproof and put the second ski pole on top to make your shelter visible for rescue teams. Now enter the shelter through the rabbit hole entrance and pull your sack in behind you to seal it off. Congratulations, you might survive this.

Group Dynamics:

Day five

Activities:

One last breakfast and clearing out the snow holes marked the beginning of that day. Sleep was good that night and the arched structure of the ceiling actually seemed to be holding up quite nicely. The task of the day was to orienteer back to the parking lot in Berdalen following a route Tim’s group had planned for us the day before. As I had a rough understanding of where the first spot was, I tried to take us there but got confused while trying to figure out which snow-covered valleys had streams in them and which didn’t. A better solution would have been to determine a reasonably accurate estimate of how long it would take us to get to the bottom of the stream in question and follow it up.

The rest of the orienteering consisted of going down into the valley where we had a short break to adjust clothing, refill water bottles by the river and grab a bite to eat. After that we were more or less following the direction of the official route down until we reached the parking lot we had left on Tuesday.

Testing of equipment:

Altimeters are a very useful tool to determine the current position and allows you to follow contour lines in order to reach your destination. Make sure to reset the device before using it as you might get a wrong reading if you don’t.

GPS devices should be used to get verification for the position you think you’re at. It must not replace conscientious map and compass work as it can go wrong or run out of batteries, especially in cold conditions.