Hattfjelldal to Krutfjellhytta. 30km 8hrs. The trouble with luxurious hotel rooms is that they are difficult to leave… I had a lazy start, thinking today would be easier than it was. Nothing is easy in the deep freezer it seems. After speaking to Statskog (forest service) about open cabins in the area I was away […]
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Furuheim to Hattfjelldal. 32km 6hrs. Today I linked back-roads and scooter trails north out through the Susendal to the local comune centre of Hattfjelldal. From 20km away I could see the plume of smoke from what I now know to be the areas biggest industrial plant-a massive chip board factory. I skied out of the
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Viermahytta to Susendal. 45km 10 1/2hrs Last night I spent ages trying to decide what to do… I felt ok, a little tired, maybe 80%. It didn’t feel enough for a rest day, and cold mountain huts in -30C are tough rests. But if the snow on Børgefjell really was deep I’d need every daylight
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Røyrvik to Viermahytta. 30km 5 1/2hrs. Today’s an easy day… so I take my time at breakfast eating interesting combinations of food smothered in mayonnaise. It’s delicious. I can eat so much at the moment-it’s impressive. The first 16km along a quiet backroad north to Namsvatnet go smoothly enough. One of the two cars that
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I’ve been asked few times what my plan is for Norge på langs and, well, I don’t really have a fixed plan. I have a strategy. I researched the routes others have taken; where they stayed, how long they took, and what major problems they encountered. My research encouraged me not to take a pulk,
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Kvelia to Røyrvik. 55km 9hrs. It was -30degrees C when I set off this morning. I decided to start in my duvet trousers and did not remove them all day. Today I covered more kms than any day so far, but it wasn’t my hardest day. Why? Because I was skiing only on roads today.
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Ex Dragon Eldfjall 2017 began in the early hours on Thursday 31st of August, as twelve Officer Cadets (OCdts) and two supporting staff of East Midlands Universities Officer Training Corps (EMUOTC) were crammed into a van and whisked off to London Luton airport, ready for an early flight to Iceland. The goal of the expedition
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Six Cadets, aged 15 to 17, and two Instructors attended a winter exercise centered around the Cairngorms National Park during February 2018 with the aim of introducing some to the challenges of travelling in the winter mountain environment for the first time and others to extend their existing experience to include graded winter climbing. The
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EXPEDITION 1: Dates: 15th – 31st July 2017 Through July and August 2017, 28 enthusiastic participants, mostly deriving from HQ 2nd Medical Brigade, embarked on an adventure to the southern hemisphere, between latitudes 33’ and 41’ in the high Andes of Chile to conquer snow covered volcanoes on skis. It was broken down into two
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On the evening of 13th October 2017 a cohort of 14 2RIRISH personnel arrived at Belfast International Airport to catch the flight to London. Where on arrival, we spent the night in a comfortable departure hall at London Gatwick Airport. During the course of the evening LCpl Cowan had, unknowingly, donated his passport to the
Devika to Kvelia. 42km 9hrs. Fuelled on formidable amounts of delicious pizza and wonderful homemade butter oatcakes I head north. First out onto frozen Lenglingen lake following the wanded scooter track to the far end. My options from here are either to follow the road or take the slightly longer scooter track a little up
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Gjevsjøen to Devika. 45km 12 1/2hrs. Discipline. That’s what today required, and I don’t mean punishment. The weather had not improved, but I’m rested and ready for a bit of a fight. I felt something settle inside and I knew I wanted to engage. A big day, in less than ideal conditions. Leaving the warmth,
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Gjevsjøen weather and rest day. The soft silence outside the cabin confirms that the predicted snow had finally caught up with me. With immense kindness I’d been invited to dinner by the family last night. It was wonderful to share an evening of warmth, good company and delicious non dehydrated food! We discussed my plan
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Gaundalen Fjellgard to Gjevsjøen Fjellgard. 30km, 7hrs. The recommended route today follows a line of old pylons that march linearly from the old farm at Gaundalen, through the pine woods and up onto the open moor. It’s dense cloud when I leave and lightly snowing… so I don’t mind the aid to navigation. In the
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Veresstua to Gaundalen Fjellgard. 36km, 9hrs. Today dawn indecisively. Overcast, flat light, snow showers and a cold wind greeted me as I left the warmth of the cabin. The weather forecast has been changing almost hourly, first predicting bad weather, then good, then something in between… it looked from the sky that the fight was
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Julian Assange, quinoa, the equator and volcanoes seemed to top the ‘pub quiz’ answers connected to Ecuador. So when the question: ‘Do you want to go on an expedition to Ecuador?’ was asked the obvious answer to me was ‘Yes’. As a trained geography teacher who’d never quite managed to cross into the southern hemisphere
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It was the end of a demanding training year for Northumbrian Universities Officers’ Training Corps (NUOTC). Officer Cadets, Staff and Instructors had worked incredibly hard for 12 months to ensure that every one of the 23 staff and students from NUOTC were ready for the culmination of their Mountaineering Programme, the formidable; Exercise Northern Bear.
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On the 16th August 2017 nineteen cadets from Oakham School CCF set out on their journey to Norway to undertake their Gold DofE Expedition. After arrival at Oslo Airport they were collected by the advance party and then set course for the Telemark region of southern Norway, some three hours away. After arrival at the
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