Winter Mountain Trip
22.03. – 26.03.2021 In Hovden, setesdal
At first, our mountain trip to Hovden was on shaky ground. A warm front brought warm temperatures to the south of Norway. The temperatures at night were not far below 0° and the weather forecast had also predicted some rain for the whole week. I assumed that the weather would depress the mood in the group and that we would not have the opportunity to build a snow hole to sleep in. There was simply not enough snow in Hovden at the moment and the warm temperatures did not promise any improvement.
Being on skis again after a few weeks
We set off with all our luggage on Monday 22 March and after a four-hour bus ride we reached our accommodation in Bjåen, a rustic Norwegian hut. On the very first day we went skiing. The aim was to get used to the narrow cross-country skis again quickly. As we had dealt with the topic of mountain weather in the course the week before our trip, Tim explained a few things about clouds and weather to us again.
What a Day!
The second day of our mountain excursion was a long ski tour. The weather was really good on this day, we had a lot of sun and little wind. It was so warm that we could trudge up the mountain in T-shirts. Due to the good weather and clear visibility, we could even spot a group of reindeer in the wild, but unfortunately, they were still a far away from us. On our way Len showed us how to quickly build an emergency shelter with a tarp, bivouac, skis and ski poles. The aim is to get out of the cold wind and possible bad weather as quickly as possible. For a shelter to be built in the snow, it needs to be at least 1.5m long. You dig straight into the snow as fast as you can and build a roof with snow blocks, which is supported by the skis. In this small session Len also showed us how it feels to hit a body part with the avalanche probe. You can feel a distinct difference here compared to hard ground or rock. With the temperature getting cooler, we headed back towards our accommodation, ultimately covering 9.35km that day and having a wonderful tour.
Building the roof of our igloo
The next morning, we set out and looked for a spot where we could build a snow hole. As there was not enough snow, we could not find a suitable place for a snow hole, but we found a perfect spot to build igloos. First Tim explained to us how to build such an igloo and what two methods there are for this. The first step was to find a spot where you have about 1.5m of snow mass in depth, which you could find out with the avalanche probe. At this point you then draw a circle with a radius of 0.5m and start to remove the snow from the circle. Together with Laura, I took over this part and we dug down to the ground, whereas the rest of our group started to create a tunnel towards us from the side. We managed quite quickly to connect both tunnels. Now there were two possibilities, either we decided to make a sig-igloo, for which 4-5 people stand in the shaft, hook themselves together and you put a tarp or bivouac sack over them. Now the rest of the group can start shovelling the surrounding snow on top of them until there is enough snow on top of them. By throwing the snow on the ground, the snow is compacted well together, so that a solid roof is created. The second variant is to try to close the opening of the shaft with snow blocks. To do this, use a snow saw to cut snow blocks out of a layer of snow and then place them on top of each other, always staggered. This creates a solid base for the roof, but afterwards you should shovel some more snow onto the roof from the outside to get a solid roof.
Perfectionist at work
You should also try to fill every small hole with snow from the inside and create a smooth surface so that no warm air can accumulate there, which could lead to a risk. Of course, there is not yet enough space in the igloo for six people to sleep, so the snow is removed with the shovel along the sides. For this we used a tarp in the entrance tunnel, on which we temporarily stored the snow and could quickly pull it outside. It took us what felt like 6-7 hours to build the igloo, but in the end, we had a really nice igloo with lots of space to sleep. As we worked really well together as a group, everyone had a lot of fun building the igloo and doing all the tasks, which we changed all the time. At first, I was a bit concerned about sleeping the night in the igloo, but in the end I had one of my best nights in my sleeping bag.
In the igloo
Had a lot of fun going downhill
The next day, after our night in the igloo, we went on a short ski tour. Len explained a few things to us about avalanches and where it is best to climb a mountain when skiing. At the top we had a really good view, but it was also really windy. Then we went down the steep mountain again and with the narrow cross-country skis it was really a pleasure. I felt like I was lying in the snow more than standing on the skis.
Best shelter in town
After a short lunch break in our accommodation, we set off again with our skis into a wooded area. Here we had the task of building a shelter. Together with Laura and Antje we found a suitable place for our shelter. We used a small stone wall, which closed a complete side of our shelter. First, we shovelled the snow on the ground to the side so that we had a straight lying surface and we used the snow to build walls out of it. We used one tarp as a base and a second tarp as a roof, which we attached to the surrounding trees. Our shelter offered enough space for four of us to sleep in. Since our shelter turned out really well, which was probably due to the fact that all three of us are very perfectionist, we won the competition for the best shelter. We spent a warm night in our self-built shelter and were able to end an eventful, educational and really cool week.