Tjørnbrotbu & Berdalsbu 

This was the second of our student organised trips. We planned to improve our skills and returned to the Hovden area to complete another 3 day tour.

~ The route ~

We planned the ski tour as seen bellow;

Day 1: Starting in Hovden, heading east along ski trail towards Tjørnbrotbu.

Day 2: Follow winter ski trail south until reaching Berdalsbu.

Day 3: Ski out west from Berdalsbu to Berdalen and catch bus home.

~ The Area ~

Hovden area, similar to Haukeli, offers a magnificent landscape filled with forest and the Setesdalsheiene mountains, thus it is a big winter tourism industry area. Many utilise the area for its leisure activities such as down hill skiing and ice fishing. Hovden also hosts the largest ski resourt in Southern Norway which we visited on our second weekend of being in Norway.

~ Day 1 ~

We stuck to the route and only became lost or confused when we realised we were trying to follow summer trails. Thus I learnt again how difficult it is to navigate in snowy forested areas when you are unable to follow a ski track! After a little confusion at the start we found our way.

It was clear from the start that there was simply too many people in the group to function well. It was a little chaotic, people were splitting up here there and everywhere and sticking together became near impossible. Some tensions rose and it felt very much that we were in the storming phase in terms of group dynamics. Had we had more time to plan for the trip as well as split into smaller groups then we may have worked considerably better. Moving in a huge group is also incredibly slow which caused us to take much longer than we should have.

Once we found the main winter trail it was fairly straight forward and one big push to ascend the hill up to Trørnbrotbu. By this point the weather was blowing a hoolie. Sleet, snow, ice, the whole lot were being blown straight into our faces. As if this wasn’t enough the hill was extremely challenging to climb in skis. Thick icy wind slab gave the feeling of one step forwards two steps back. Some gave up and took skis off which in hindsight would have been a lot easier but I wanted to rise to the challenge. I have experienced a lot of foul weather in Scotland but my face has never been so frozen as it was by the end of this ascent. I experienced frozen eye brows for the first time and though the hut was still bellow zero degrees it felt like a cosy haven.

~ Day 2 ~

On this morning the group split up in half. This was for the best I believe as it allowed us to work in teams we were used to, knew that worked well as well as move faster. I ended up in the same group that I had for the Haukeli to Hovden trip and we left around half an hour before the others. Immediately we were in more of the norming/performing stage. We experienced white out conditions for the first time and struggled hugely on the icy wind slab descents. Seeing only white and the sticks that marked the way for hours upon hours soon became monotonous and we were glad to see trees when we finally reached the last steep descent to Berdalsbu. The trees were so densely packed and the gradient so steep that most of us gave in and took off our skis. In future Id like to gain the confidence and skills to tackle these sorts of terrain. Once at the huts we chose to go for the smaller one as it had more beds and would take less time to heat up.

~DNT hut life ~

My time in Norway would have been very different had I not discovered the DNT. Over many of the trips we have utilised their huts and used their marked trails, which without would have made our time incredibly more difficult as wekk as dangerous. The DNT – The Norwegian Trekking Association was founded in 1868 with the mandate to “acquire means to ease and develop outdoor life here in this country”. Today the organisation has more than 260,000 members and local member organisations across the entire country.

When we arrive at the hut we soon split into roles and it becomes a very simple way of living. Jobs include chopping and collecting wood, lighting and tending to the fire, collecting snow for melting and cooking. Those who don’t do these jobs who are jobless at the start are responsible for cleaning afterwards. The DNT huts rely on the honesty and respect of its users to keep them going. Thus it is important to leave the hut in the same if not better condition than what you found it in. As a large group we would make an incredible amount of mess so had to be careful to clean up well afterwards.

For me the best part was simply relaxing with everyone and not having the distractions of social media or electrical devices. I think we all became closer and spent some proper quality time. Highlights included playing Frankie’s game ‘consequences’, a childhood classic as well as Laura’s warewolf.

~ Day 3 ~

The last day was incredibly short and again some of the best skiing. There were huge flowing downhill sections in fresh powder that we could glide through pleasantly without falling over. The track outwards had many fun bumpy sections and turns that helped to improve my skills. We completed this last part in only around one hour even moving in one large group which I think demonstrates that we had all become more fast and efficient in our skiing.

Ultimately, this trip tested our capabilities to deal with inclement weather as well as navigate away from winter ski trails. For me it was not as challenging as the first trip but I began to appreciate the necessity for good planning and the chaotic nature of moving as a large group. We experienced various group dynamics but generally all worked well together. My experience in tackling steep icy descents grew but I still need to work on stopping and slowing techniques.