For our first self organized field trip the aim was to plan out and perform a backcountry skiing trip. The main aims of this trip were to improve skiing technique and get used to skiing with a big backpack in preparation of the mountain safety field trip that is upcoming in Mid-March. Getting put in groups of four Charlotte, Ruaridh, Lea and me like the other groups were forced to go at least as far up north as Hovden (3hrs by car) to get a decent experience with fresh snow possibilities. Everything further south would have meant positive degrees throughout and possibly even rain and we were trying to avoid that. Thus we decided to start in Haukeliseter which is even further north than Hovden. We made that decision as we found a very promising route south of Haukeliseter allowing us to be flexible in terms of distance and pace. We were looking into camping out the two mandatory nights and having one night in a DNT-hut inbetween. Quickly we came up with the following three plans:

Plan A: Start in Haukeliseter around 11am Monday and follow the winter track south aiming to reach Holmavatnhytta on Tuesday afternoon. Adjust to skiing in new conditions and with the big pack and see how far we get. Aim for 10km on the first day and tent out. Second day: Another 10km to the hut, be cautious about skiing the lakes and probably decide for going around. Third day: Go back the same way. If feeling very confident navigating until now and weather conditions allow it alternate the return route. Make at least 10km so that the last day isn’t too big and return to Haukeliseter by Thursday early afternoon.

Plan B: In case 10km are not possible everyday (wax not working, trouble with big packs, unforeseen (weather) challenges/changes) reduce the aimed-for distance to whatever is possible and tent out. See what it is like on the next day. If necessary make the decision to cut the whole route short to guarantee a secure return latest Thursday afternoon. Be prepared to tent out three nights and get the tent up rather early than later.

Plan C: Emergency Plan: In case of an emergency depending on day time and weather conditions evacuate north back to Haukeliseter. In case of a casualty that leaves a member of the group immobile pitch the emergency shelter/tent (depending on seriousness of injury) to keep/get warm and dry. Depending on distance to the next safe location, time of the day, weather conditions, seriousness of injury there are many different emergency plans from here given that the casualty occured 5+ kms into the route…
If urgent help from other source needed: call mountain rescue, no reception –> 2 people ski out to get help/reception if conditions allow safe journey, one stays with the injured person.
If not urgent: injury is immobilizing the person but can be treated with first aid+ordinary painkillers: Evaluate rescue options according to the distance from the next safe location and injury type. If evacuating (with improvised sled) doesn’t mean any danger to any participant and is a realistic and safe option (short distance, very good, constant weather conditions, physically and mentally fit group), consider it. Otherwise get mountain rescue involved with above mentioned options.

We planned out these three plans in a little bit less detail than I have described them here, though when looking back on our trip I think planning these through in detail with all group members is always worth it as in an emergency situation everything that has been planned before doesn’t need to be put from thoughts into actions on the spot. Which would ideally mean that instructions for the group are clear and corresponding in most situations.

On the weekend before our trip we had a chat about the shared equipment, the weather forecast and shared food. In the end, also because it seemed to complicated at times we didn’t plan to share food which might have resulted in some of us taking way too much food. MI will talk about my food plan in more detail later in this entry.

Starting early Monday morning we hit Haukeliseter at around half past 10 feeling fit and ready to go in a mix of sun and clouds and about -2 degrees. We packed the last bits of our bags and got our layers on. The wind was roughly about 7m/s and I was feeling comfortable on 4 layers. Visibility was very good so we took our first compass baring aiming for a huge very obvious cliff south south west into the track crossing the lake which we considered safe after multiple skiiers had gone across it just before. Putting our skiis on we right away noticed, that the wax wasn’t gripping this icy crust of old hard snow. Not worrying to much about it with (with our plan B ready) and a flat run in front of us we started to make our first balancing run on the skis. We were struggling a little bit on a slightly downhill part right at the start. Being incredibly unlucky Lea, even though she wasn’t going fast, took a fall on which she hurt her right knee. It didn’t take long for her and us to realise that this was a more serious injury than just a bruise. Since we were still very close to the carpark and a warm and occupied DNT-centre it was easy for us to keep calm and collected even though this situation came very unexpected for all of us I think. We let Lea take an Ibuprofen 600 which we noted down for the doctor and quickly figured out how to get Lea inside without doing any more damage to her knee, which after seeing her fall and description of the pain seemed to be injured at the inner ligament. Since we had to make it through knee- to hip-deep crusty snow though only about 80 metres and good weather conditions we decided to not build a sled but rather carry Lea from backpack to backpack (ca. 15m per go) with one under each armpit to support her full body weight and if needed even hold the leg up. Reflecting on it I think we chose a very good evacuating technique for this distance and weather though it would be more advisable to think of something else as soon as one variable changes. After a couple of goes Lea had the idea to look for a sled which Charlotte then found up at the hut so we continued to drag Lea out with the sled which was a lot easier of course. After getting Lea inside one of us carried the equipment back to the car while the others were investigating Leas injury. We had put a packet of ice on it that Ruaridh made out of snow and a lunch bag and was a very good idea obviously. Even though having realised by now that Plan A and B were not going to happen this week and having an injured party member we were keeping up a very good and joyful but also realistic spirit which was further supported by having chocolate and drinks while getting a detailed description of Leas symptoms, pain severity, type and region in her knee. We then forwarded that plus the given medication information to the nearest doctor in Amot (1hr east) who told us to give Lea 1000mg of Paracetamol (non-bloodthinning in case of haematom) for the pain and a compression bandage. Having done that we repacked the car and with a stop at the hospital in Amot were on our way back to Kristiansand at 1630.
Since the rest of the Outdoor Class was skiing up north as well we did not consider driving back up on Tuesday morning as we didn’t want to leave Lea behind in Kristiansand to organize crutches by herself etc. and to be her company. We made the most of the week practicing climbing and swimming and overnighting in Baneheia for one night. In the end this obviously wasn’t at all what we expected from this week that was supposed to be a great experience. Through this emergency situation we did learn a lot about how hard it is even to evacuate only a short way and how unforeseen and quickly an accident can occur that will immobilize the group. Concluding we made the most of it, kept calm and made the right decisions training an emergency situation in a serious but somehow also safe environment. Even though me missed out on the actual skiing experience we did learn a valuable lesson of the outdoors and made the most out of the week as a group. I gave anything that we could’ve done differently on that day to prevent the injury a think. Even after lots of thinking the only thing we maybe could have done to lessen a chance of injury would’ve been another round of practice or warm up on a flat area to give Lea and of course also us more security and self-confidence on her skis before heading out. Though in the end we don’t know if that would’ve prevented the injury and we are just lucky that Lea didn’t injure herself 8km in because that would’ve been a different story.

In terms of food for myself I can say that apart from my normal- to well-sized meals for Monday-Thursday I packed lots of extra food that would only have been necessary in an emergency situation that immobilizes the whole group for days and left us stranded somewhere for a while. Reflecting on that I will try to take less food next time while still having too much in case of an emergency. After our next skiing field trip I will know even better what I actually need.