The Norway Trek.
The Norway Trek. | |
 | I will never complain about the cold again. The sunsets were simultaneously dazzling and deadly, as soon as direct light was gone, temperatures plunged below -25 centigrade (that's about -10 F). Everything froze. If you wanted to have water you had to put it in a bottle and sleep with it in your sleeping bag. Even during the day keeping water liquid was a problem - particularly in camelbacks. Our survival depended upon our fuel supply, since this was the only way to melt ice and get water. It is for this reason that we could not go more than two days away from civilization, we needed to refill fuel tanks constantly. |
We could follow cross country ski tracks and snow mobile trails for much of the journey, but sometimes there was simply nothing to follow. Needless to say, powder is very tiring to trek through. |  |
 | Towards the end of the trip some of us decided to leave our packs behind and attempt to summit some of the cliffs with our ice climbing gear. An incoming storm and fierce wind kept us from making the peak, but the journey had been a great adventure. |
Solitude. I spent a lot of time reflecting on things. When up against such a severe environment it is easy to realize just how small so many of our problems really are. The peace of Norway's frozen hills and frigid fjords gave me the tranquility I needed to sort a lot of things out in my life, it was a life changing experience. |  |
 | Gatwick airport, had to check the ice axes. |
No place to stay in Bergen, so we made camp in city park at 1am. |  |
 | Forward march! |
Jens and Kris learn a valuable lesson... never try to pack your bags while on ice. |  |
 | Bloody freezing cold. |
When tired of walking, get your survival bag and slide! |  |
 | The joy of finding a hut in such freezing conditions is one that cannot be expressed in words (usually because your teeth are chattering too much). |
The gang! |  |