Three hours west of Oslo lies Norway’s premier ice climbing destination. Nestled in a strikingly beautiful, deep east-west oriented valley, the lack of winter sunshine falling on the town of Rjukan results in a gloriously extended climbing season.
With numerous and highly varied frozen waterfalls throughout the valley we were spoiled for choice, from the single pitch playground of Krokan to the multi-pitch routes cascading down the valley sides weaving between, over and under the zig-zagging road up to Gaustatoppen.
There was also build-up training and testing for the upcoming Ex ATLANTIC QUEST expedition to South Georgia in September. Training objectives focussed on equipment selection and configuration, travelling and sustaining on the hill, and pulk crevasse rescue, as well as an introduction to tasks we will undertake to support climate change research for the Universities of Exeter and Bristol plus the Atlantic Meridional Transect and British Antarctic Survey. Comprising a two day overnight expedition through the scenic hills of Ørnenipa, this was the proof of concept vital to developing comprehensive SOPs for the South Georgia expedition. In freezing blizzards over difficult ground, we quickly figured out what worked and what didn’t.
The Meet finished with guided tour of the iconic Vemork hydroelectric plant which put Rjukan on the map in the early 1900’s and was the centre of Nazi Germany’s famously sabotaged Heavy Water production plan, preventing them from developing their own atomic bomb.
Ex NORTHERN REMEC WINTER 23 PART 2 ACTIVITY BREAKDOWN
17 Feb 23 – Administrative party left via a road move.
18 Feb 23 – Main body departed various airport within the UK and all but one arrived in Oslo by 1530 Hrs.
19 Feb 23 – Shake out and climbing day with a couple of the instructors setting up top rope climbs in order to allow individuals to gain confidence on water ice. Final person was collected from the airport.
20 Feb 23 – First day on Ex ATLANTIC QUEST (Ex AQ) training, which consisted of lessons on crevasse rescue and how to rig the different pulks prior to heading out and conducting an intro to snowshoes and pulk hauling. Those not on Ex AQ continued to gain further experience climbing water ice.
21 Feb 23 – The second of three days focused on allowing those on Ex AQ to gain additional experience, either winter climbing or winter mountaineering in order to work towards further JSAT qualifications.
22 Feb 23 – Second day devoted to Ex AQ training, which saw the team conduct a few more low level training, such as the use of liquid fuel stoves and tent erection, prior to packing the kit for a one day expedition and heading out. Those not on Ex AQ continued to gain further experience climbing water ice. Those on Ex AQ training spent the night out.
23 Feb 23 – Third day devoted to Ex AQ training, saw the team divide into three rope teams and simulate climbing an objective before returning to the tents and conducting science training. Those not on Ex AQ continued to gain further experience climbing water ice.
24 Feb 23 – The last days focused on allowing those on Ex AQ to gain additional experience, either winter climbing or winter mountaineering in order to work towards further JSAT qualifications.
25 Feb 23 – Departure day. The main body all extracted to the airport prior to their flights back to the respective airports and the administrative party left via a road move.
27 Feb 23 – The administrative party arrived back in the UK.
