Camping in the Snow 1
Oslo, 23. April 2005
Trip to Rondane in Norway,
On 15. April (my birthday) I did something I had not done for 25 years: I went on a camping and skiing trek in the Norwegian mountains. I had from earlier all the necessary equipment, such as a sled (called “pulk” in Norwegian, for hauling gear), special tent pegs for the snow, special clothes, etc. I decided to go our national park called Rondane, about 320 kms north of Oslo, at an altitude around 1000 meters and above.
The first interesting experience I had was meeting a couple of elks on the road near Mysuseter, the resort place where I started skiing. I had met elks on the road before. This is known to be quite dangerous, because sometimes you cannot stop your car in time, resulting in a serious collision with this large animal. This time it was not a problem, but the elks kept trotting in front of my vehicle for about ten minutes, not wanting to get out of the way. I had to go slow, not wanting to stress the animals.
My first an only camp site turned out to be a place called Spranget, about an hour and a half skiing from Mysuseter, well above the tree line, and near a little river with a few open holes in the snow, so that I could avoid melting snow for drinking, cooking and washing.
The first couple of days the weather was not very good, it was foggy and the contours in the snow disappear, so that you don’t see well, and your balance is affected. Therefore I had only a few short skiing trips in the beginning. After that the weather improved dramatically, with a blue sky and the sun shining on beautiful mountains and plains. It was all the time quite cold for the time of the year, and therefore there was a hard icy crust on the snow, with a thin layer of thin snow on the top, perfect for skiing everywhere. The only wildlife I could see was some ravens, some birds of prey and lots of ptarmigan, a bird hunted here in the autumn.
There were almost no people to be seen. Norwegians are fed up with the winter and are enjoying the spring in the lowland. I met an English couple on the way to the resort Trollvassbu, Karen and Mark, who were skiing between self-service cabins belonging to the Norwegian Tourist Association. These cabins are quite comfortable, well equipped and with a lot of food, which you pay for according to a system based on trust. This arrangement is quite attractive, but fortunately it is not so well known, because otherwise these cabins would be swamped with people.
I was quite pleased to discover that my body and my equipment worked as well as before, and I enjoyed the trip, which lasted one week. Life in the tent was quite comfortable; I could cook with both gas and paraffin, had good food, and enjoyed the radio and music on my iPod. I even could use email and Internet on my mobile phone.
I would have preferred to go on this trip with a friend, but as my friends are too busy with work, not adventurous or sporty enough, I went alone. However, as I enjoy my own company, there is no problem.
If any of you would like to try trekking in the Norwegian mountains, you should check out this link: http://www.turistforeningen.no/index.php?fo_id=782
I hope that the pictures I post in this blog will make you understand why I enjoyed this trip.
Warm regards,
Kjell
Trip to Rondane in Norway,
On 15. April (my birthday) I did something I had not done for 25 years: I went on a camping and skiing trek in the Norwegian mountains. I had from earlier all the necessary equipment, such as a sled (called “pulk” in Norwegian, for hauling gear), special tent pegs for the snow, special clothes, etc. I decided to go our national park called Rondane, about 320 kms north of Oslo, at an altitude around 1000 meters and above.
The first interesting experience I had was meeting a couple of elks on the road near Mysuseter, the resort place where I started skiing. I had met elks on the road before. This is known to be quite dangerous, because sometimes you cannot stop your car in time, resulting in a serious collision with this large animal. This time it was not a problem, but the elks kept trotting in front of my vehicle for about ten minutes, not wanting to get out of the way. I had to go slow, not wanting to stress the animals.
My first an only camp site turned out to be a place called Spranget, about an hour and a half skiing from Mysuseter, well above the tree line, and near a little river with a few open holes in the snow, so that I could avoid melting snow for drinking, cooking and washing.
The first couple of days the weather was not very good, it was foggy and the contours in the snow disappear, so that you don’t see well, and your balance is affected. Therefore I had only a few short skiing trips in the beginning. After that the weather improved dramatically, with a blue sky and the sun shining on beautiful mountains and plains. It was all the time quite cold for the time of the year, and therefore there was a hard icy crust on the snow, with a thin layer of thin snow on the top, perfect for skiing everywhere. The only wildlife I could see was some ravens, some birds of prey and lots of ptarmigan, a bird hunted here in the autumn.
There were almost no people to be seen. Norwegians are fed up with the winter and are enjoying the spring in the lowland. I met an English couple on the way to the resort Trollvassbu, Karen and Mark, who were skiing between self-service cabins belonging to the Norwegian Tourist Association. These cabins are quite comfortable, well equipped and with a lot of food, which you pay for according to a system based on trust. This arrangement is quite attractive, but fortunately it is not so well known, because otherwise these cabins would be swamped with people.
I was quite pleased to discover that my body and my equipment worked as well as before, and I enjoyed the trip, which lasted one week. Life in the tent was quite comfortable; I could cook with both gas and paraffin, had good food, and enjoyed the radio and music on my iPod. I even could use email and Internet on my mobile phone.
I would have preferred to go on this trip with a friend, but as my friends are too busy with work, not adventurous or sporty enough, I went alone. However, as I enjoy my own company, there is no problem.
If any of you would like to try trekking in the Norwegian mountains, you should check out this link: http://www.turistforeningen.no/index.php?fo_id=782
I hope that the pictures I post in this blog will make you understand why I enjoyed this trip.
Warm regards,
Kjell
posted by Kjell at 1:57 AM
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