Looking for stable ice Sogndal Valley with Gustav

Variable conditions this week but me and Gustav managed to get some local ice climbing done. 

The quality of the ice was very variable. We found one safe line in between the ones spraying water! 

Oppdal Isklatring

Its the 1st of January 2017 and Im back in Norway. On the quest for cold conditions and easily accessible ice climbing myself and Sofia headed 6 hours north to Opdall for a Isklatring adventure!

The valley just south of Oppdal offers a variety of almost roadside ice routes perfect for getting some early season mileage under our belts. 

I don't have much experience climbing water ice as it can be pretty rare in Scotland. The method of movement is more systematic than winter mixed climbing and can feel quite eligent when you get it right.  keeping relaxed is key- made easier by planning ahead of yourself and getting speedy at placing screws for protection just before a harder section.

Sofia with very cold fingers.

Safety first, safety second.

We spend two chilly nights in the van, watching it turn to in ice box each morning. It felt weard to to sleeping comfortably only a short walk from the start of the next route.

Approaching our second route of the day, note to self: the ice always looks less steep than it actually is!

Just before it got tricky. at the top. The final vertical chimney confused me a little and i felt myself reverting back to mixed climbing tactics- not a good idea on ice. I felt a little relived and very exhilarated to pull myself over the top :)

sunset from the top of my pitch.  The stars were amazing!

Hemsedal Mixed climbing with a danish man and his mustache!

Gustav is a danish man with a moustache and no hair who realy likes climbing and dairy products- hence why he lives in Norway.

Tricky conditions so we headed to Hemsedal, which seems to hold on to the cold temperature for longer. We chose to go for one of the classic mixed routes on Skurvefjell,  Gustav said it would go even with the unconsolidated snow covering, i was a little less conviced but decided to keep an open mind to what climbers here describe as "in condition."

The poor van drove us as close as was sensible and then a bit further before the three of us slept in the back and awoke at 6am to walk in in the dark.

The approach relay atmospheric. The glow in the background is actually the ski centre.

Gustav lead an alternative line on the last pitch with I though must have been bloody tricky!

Calum topping out.

here is a little video Calum made.

Early Start for ski touring in the valley

December has brought a mixed bag of weather overall. The start of the month remained relatively cold with the snow cover staying around long enough for a few ski touring excursions in the local Sogndal Valley.  As most of my time is having to be spent in the Library right now its being harder to fit in days out. On this particular trip I picked up Sofie at 7am for a sunrise ski-her idea.

ridiculous moment worth mentioning: whilst Sofie got changed in the back an old Norwegian man failed to check his mirrors and revered his 4x4 into the Van. luckily no damage......

so worth the early start...

looking back down the valley towards Sogndal.

Me looking like i know what Im doing... you can just about see the Hurrungane on the horizon.

looking back from the summit.

On the way down a quickly realised that Sofie (being Norwegian) had totally overestimated my sking ability and I embarrassing had to keep my skins on for the steeper parts of the decent! 

I was back in the Libary by 1pm and felling rather proud of our morning outing :)

Traditional Friluftsliv

We have been reading a lot about traditional Norwegian Friluftsliv in class. Literary translated as “free air life” (Tordsson 1993,) There is an astounding array of literature to suggest that Norwegians attach an ideology to outdoor recreation.  Gelter, 2000 described friluftsliv as a “philosophical lifestyle based on experiences of freedom in nature and spiritual contentedness with the landscape.” Furthermore, Friluftsliv has been characterised by simplicity, “a rich life with simple means” (Tordsson 2007) in contrast to-at least at a theoretical level- the more commercialised outdoor recreation activities in North America and Continental Europe.”(Kaltenborn, B. 2001.) 

Towards the end of October the class was combined with the Norwegian students for a week long excursion into the local forests. The aims of the trip were simple, to cook our meals on the fire, improvise shelters and get to grips with the more reflective, slow passed outdoor recreation typical of traditional Friluftsliv.  

It was raining heavily and we headed out into the forest armed with cooking pots, axes, saws, matches and a lot of food.

The whole of the first day was taken over by one task; making a fire in the sodden forest proved very challenging. 

In our desperation I learnt a new Norwegian word, "Terri" witch turned out to be wood chipping from the roots of pine trees with a very high resin content- ideal for starting fires in damp conditions. 

it smells realy good.....

The next day we made rock pit ovens and slow roasted some delicious meat. It was a relaxed and sociable day. There seemed to always be lots to do around camp. 

making the rock oven.

The focus seemed to be on making ourselves as comfortable as possible. I was quite amazed by the quality of food cooked outside and our campsite became more and more developed with sleeping platforms and improvised 7 stone ovens for baking bread.

On the Wednesday we formed smaller groups and moved camp. It was great to spend so much time learning from the Norwegian students. I was amazing to see young guys as excited about making fires in the woods as about steep skiing. I think there relay is a cultural difference, Norwegian friluftsliv takes pleasure in simply being in nature.

The groups fire preparation skills were pretty dialled by the time we put our watches on again and returned to civilisation. 

References

Gelter, H. 2000, "Friluftsliv: The Scandinavian Philosophy of outdoor life." Canadian Journel of 

environmntal Education.

Kaltenborn B. et al. 2001, "The Public Right of Access- some challenges to sustainable tourism Development in Scandinavia." Journal of Sustainable Tourism Vol. 9, No. 5 2001

Tordsson. B, "What is Friluftsliv good for?  Norweigian Friluftsliv in a historical Perspective"

ICE IS NICE!

After a hectic few days travelling back to Scotland for a job interview, I returned to Sogndal to find things had changed- A week of unusually cold weather had brought winter to the valley. Im always amazed how quickly the seasons progress here, totally transforming the landscape and swapping recreational opportunities.  I was less than an hour off the plane and already I was having photos of local ice falls shoved in front of me and being told we were going ice climbing in the morning.

The venue was 15 minutes drive from my house, crampons whent on at the van and after 20 minutes walking on the frozen river we arrived at the base of the 120m frozen cascade.

(I realy like Norway!)

Another team ahead of us.

Myself leading up the first pitch- learing quickly about climbing a totally new medium. I realy need to sharpen my axes!

Calum looking for steeper sections.

first ski tour of the season.

It was the 23rd of October and we were going skiing! We heard of fresh snow in the Jotunheimen mountains so myself and Calum headed for Fannarakbreen-the classic early season tour in the area. As the weather was somewhat atmospheric it was only a Scottish team out today.

A short walk in ski boots got us to the foot of the glacier and from there we made quick progress upwards. 

Summit of Fannaraki 2068m. In the cloud I could have swarn we were on the Cairngorm plateau in Febuary. 

Calum about to drop in the steeper section above the galcier.

We were soon out of the clouds. Defiantly my best skiing experience to date.