It was decided by myself and another member of the course that while we are in Norway we should ascend the highest peak in Norway, which is also Northern Europe’s highest mountain; Galhopiggen, and stands at 2469m above sea level and is located in Jotunheimen National Park.
Once we had decided to attempt Galhopiggen, we both sat down to conduct route planning from a map and read various pages from websites on the route description and timings involved. This process allowed us to determine which routes to select that suited our ability what peaks we would like to summit and how many days we shall be away. We both had the same goal and it was just a case of refining the plan. Therefore before any decisions were made we openly discussed all the considerations and jointly developed the plan. It was finally decided that we should have three days in the area of Galdhoppigen and two days for driving to and from Jotunheimen National Park.
The basic outline of the mini-expedition can seen below:
Day 1 – Drive from Kristiansand to Jotunheimen National Park.
Day 2 – Skills and drills practice.
Day 3 – Summit attempt (weather permitting).
Day 4 – Short hill day (alternate day for summit attempt).
Day 5 – Return to Kristiansand.
The other member of the party and I have been on various mountaineering and climbing trips and worked together on many occasions, and consequently work well as a team/pair. This was shown throughout the planning process and the training we conducted together prior to the trip.
Day 1
The drive from Kristiansand to Galdhopiggen is just over 700km and should have taken 9 hours, however what we failed to take into account was the weather conditions for the time of the year and whether certain roads would be open or not which led to diversions. Which added additional time and distance to the travelling. When we finally arrived at our destination it was past 23:00 hrs and the road was from Raudbergstulen to the Summer Ski Centre was closed and wouldn’t be open in the near future, so we decided to park in a layby and sleep in the car and sort everything out in the morning.
Day 2
This unforeseen delay and detour meant that we had to adjust our plans, so therefore we decided to repack our bags, make our way to the intended camp and still have the summit attempt on day three.
We woke up with snow blowing on our faces from where we had left slight gaps in the windows to prevent condensation build up on the inside of the car. After breakfasting, repacking our bags and preparing our skis we set off for the campsite. The skiing was very difficult due to the extra equipment that we had to carry which made our packs very heavy. After the first 2 km we rested and came to the conclusion that we were carrying too much and it was taking too long to make any headway. As a result of this we decided to return to the car, set up camp there practice our skills and drills and still have the attempt on day 3.
Even travelling down hill with the heavy packs was extremely difficult for us both and we would often be picking ourselves up or trying to dig ourselves out of the snow. This proved to be very tiring and was beginning to take it’s toll on our energy levels.
When we reached the intended camping spot we wasted no time in erecting the tent, ensuring that it was orientated into the wind to provide maximum stability, we fashioned blocks of snow into a wall to provide some additional protection and added snow blocks to the pegs of the tent to give extra purchase.
After preparing our equipment for the following day, we discussed the plan for tomorrow and the summit attempt. Travelling fast and light was our secondary objective after the summit as the distance that we had to travel in order to get back to the tent was in excess of 30 km.
Day 3
During the night an unexpected weather front came in which brought very strong winds and snow. This proved to be our undoing of the summit attempt. At some point in the night we both woke to a loud popping sound, initially we suspected that a guy line had snapped and was the cause of the noise, however after turning on our torches and inspecting the inner of the tent we realised that it was in fact a pole snapping. Even though the tent was misshapen we believed that it would still hold and decided to go back to sleep.
When we woke for breakfast and had dressed we realised the weather had deteriorated to such standards that we would not be making an attempt on the summit. It was then that we decided to pack up and return to Kristiansand.
Although the trip proved to be unsuccessful in the summit attempt of Galdhoppigen, it did provide some valuable lessons. These are:
- Never assume anything. We naturally assumed that all roads would be open to traffic.
- Rethink packing list. The equipment that we had to carry was far above the comfort and our capability level for skiing.
- Equipment capabilities. Not all equipment withstood the extreme environment (tent).
This failed attempt also provided us with valuable time in area, which, allowed us study the ground in detail. Before we departed we were already talking about returning and having another attempt at the summit later in the year.