On the second of March 2018, my classmates and I set out on another ski adventure. Originally the class was split into two groups. One group was to start in Hovden, go from hut to hut following the DNT path. Their first stop would be at a hut named Tjornbrotbu, about twelve kilometers from hovden. This would be the first and only stop for the other group. This second group would make a day trip around the area of this hut, exploring the area. The first group would make their way to the next hut, around 9 kilometers away from the first hut, on the morning of the second day. Not knowing if I wanted to stay at the first hut or go on with the other group I prepared for both scenarios.

Friday morning, we made our way to the bus stop in Kristiansand. We caught the first bus to Hovden with the group planning to go from hut to hut. As soon as we arrived in Hovden we started to head toward the beginning of the DNT path. As we were coming up to the trail entrance we ran into the other group, not wanting to be that big of a group we let them get a head start. The beginning of the trail was very hilly until we realized we were not actually on the path, but we were on the hill following along the side of the trail. We made our way back down the hill to get on the trail. During this time the weather was treating us well by having the sun shining down on us. The further we went into the mountains we got less and less sunshine and more snow fall. By the last three kilometers to the hut we could barley see anything around us. Finally, we reached the last hill, it felt like everything was against us at this point. The wind was blowing in our faces, the hill was so steep we couldn’t see the top, the snow was beating on any skin left uncovered and it was just getting worse minute by minute. When getting to the top it was a short flat ski to the hut. The recently fallen snow had turned to hard ice, making the last 100 meters the hardest. Luckily the group ahead of us arrived not too long before we did, they got the place warm for us by starting a fire and began heating up some snow to make drinking water. The first group at the cabin made their individual dinners and then the second group made their meal all together. Everyone seemed to be beat after the day we had because shortly after dinner everyone crawled into their sleeping bags and went to sleep.

The next morning the group traveling from hut to hut set off early. Too tired from the night before and not wanting to deal with the icy hard snow that early in the morning I decided to stay in the hut with the other half of the class. Not having any place to be we took our time making our breakfast and getting ready for the day. Around mid-day everyone set out for a different adventure. Some of the boys sent themselves up a mountain with ice axes and crampon, one guy went off on his own personal ski adventure, my friend Abby and I stayed close to the cabin. We skied around the area for a bit until we got tired of falling on our butts from the icy top layer, then we threw off our skis making it easier to explore. Abby and I stopped in the cabin threw out the day to keep the fire going and to get more snow to make hot water. Later that afternoon after we got done exploring the area, we greeted the others with a warm cup of tea. We made dinner, played a few card games then a couple of Norwegians came to join us. We cleared out one of the bedrooms for them, enjoyed some laughs then headed to bed for the night. The next morning Aaron, Robbie, Abby and I geared up for a ski back to hovden, the others decided to stay another night in Tjornbrotbu. The weather this day was perfect. The sun was out warming us up, the snow on the ground had softened up enough for a gentle ride down the mountain. Going down 12 kilometers took us an easy half hour. Expecting it to take us two or three times the amount it did, we had heaps of time to spare. We stopped at the grocery store closest to the bus stop grabbed some ice cream and other treats to make the time waiting for the bus to go by faster. It turned out to be a great trip even though the snow was not very nice to ski on in the beginning. We were all happy to have caught the first bus back to Kristiansand so we could enjoy the rest of the day in our beds.

Being able to sleep and having a hut to store our stuff during the day while out for an adventure was handy. Typically, on a trip I try to carry the lightest things to eat that have a good nutritional value, but on this trip, I brought a few luxury items. Since we did not have to carry a tent it gave us extra room and weight to bring food that we normally wouldn’t. I brought the same amount of clothing as I would if I were to stay in a tent, but I would have packed a little differently if I knew what my plan was when preparing for this trip. I learned when staying in a hut you don’t need the same amount of clothing because it is easy to dry things inside if they get wet. I think it was good that we had a hut to stay in, especially the first night when it was storming. Everyone pushed themselves to make it to our goal because they knew at the end they would have a warm place to lay their heads. If we were tenting, we would have given up sooner than we wanted to set up camp before it got too windy.