Backcountry ski trips Part 4: Hardangervidda Solo Trip

OK! Here is the last of the ski trips I went on!

It was Easter time and most of the other students from Bø were traveling Europe. But I didn't feel finished with skiing yet so I decided to spend my Easter in the Norwegian way! I planned to ski across Hardangervidda, which is a really popular route. No one was else was coming with me, but that was fine because I don't mind hanging out with myself... haha. The longest trip solo trip I've done was only 2 nights so I thought it was a good opportunity to try something longer. Safety-wise it was fine, because this route is marked, there are cabins (more like hotels!) and other skiers all along the way, and the weather is usually mild and stable in the spring. I decided to ski on heavy backcountry equipment, stay in my tent, and carry all my own food (to save money and practice and enjoy being self-sufficient). But another way to do this trip is go with light equipment and light packs, sleeping and eating in the cabins along the way. That would be really cool too. With cabins everywhere, anyone can plan a trip that suits their abilities. So who's with me next time? :)

What I had with me

goodbye road, cars, people... a bit nervous to leave on my first long solo trip!

So I finished my homework, dehydrated some food, got the maps out of the library, packed my backpack, and hopped on the bus to Haukeliseter, on the south end of Hardangervidda. The snow was melting fast down there. I asked someone if the ice on the lakes was still safe. "Well, we haven't gotten word that anyone has fallen through yet," was the reply.

a melting lake

I started at 8pm at Haukeliseter and skied UP UP UP until it was dark, then skied down a bit in the dark and set up my camp for the night. The next day I backtracked a little to the summit of a peak. There I had cell phone service and called Edmonton to hear how my dad's hip surgery went. Yeah, technology can be useful.

my tent

Vesle Nup-  ring ring: "hi mom and dad!"

Packing up my camp, I continued onwards in the afternoon. The snow was wet and melting.  There were lots of other skiers around- I saw maybe 100 other people each day! While passing by the Hellevassbu cabin, I met some other people I knew! It feels great to run into people I know while in another country- over the whole trip I met 5 of them!

some cool canoeists from Bø

meeting Håkon and Siri in the middle of Hardangervidda!

The schedule for each day was about the same: I got up when I felt like it, skied all day, stopped for dinner, and continued skiing (because, why not! What else was I going to do?) until I felt like going to sleep.  Hardangervidda is relatively flat (the middle part is REALLY flat) and the scenery is a little monotonous. But it was beautiful in a stark, plain way. The parts with bigger mountains were my favorite of course. I can understand now why there are buildings out in the middle of the "wilderness". The landscape is so desolate that the sign of any human activity, from ski tracks to a big cabin/hotel, was welcome, not jarring.

A "hytte" - hut is not exactly a good translation!

an emergency shelter of the glacier- this is what Canadians think of as a hut

people skiing light

lemmings everywhere, dead and alive

on the go

Spring camping

I skied some long days and reached Finse sooner than I expected. I was looking forward to taking off my pack!  I spend a rest day reading inside Finsehytta. Then I left half of my stuff there and skied further north to a cabin named Geiterygghytta, and the next day back to Finse.

The last day I did a day trip on Hardangerjokul, a glacier with a marked ski loop across it. I had been looking forward to that all week and it was a great way to finish the ski season. I took the train back to Bø nine days after leaving it.

awesome weather, all the time.

Wooly and me after an exhausting day

digging in the snow is handy

I'm still getting the hang of taking pictures of myself

my trip buddy Wooly is having fun

a dog sledder's camp

crossroads

awesome sunset- glad I kept skiing late so I could see this

a bear!!! ok, stuffed.

tons of skis at Finse on Easter weekend

a well known scenic route!

lunch break before Kyrkedøri

 During my resting time, I wrote a trip journal. I had lots of time with myself to think. It was relaxing. I was also reading from Arne Næss' book Ecology, community and lifestyle which is about deep ecology, but also it introduces philosophical ideas in a way that makes sense for beginners like me!

National park boundary

it's exciting

how do I chose where to go!?

Maggie's ski on the highest point of Hardangerjokul- thank you for lending them to me Maggie!

glacier

Convenience store that way. "Chocolate store (laden) is better than Bin Laden"

on the way home

The route I skied was Haukeliseter - Hellevassbu -Litlos - Sandhaug - Dyranut - Kjeldebu - Finse - Geiterygghytta - Finse. Those are cabins that can be found on the map at www.ut.no if you want to look at my route! I camped halfway in between the cabins, along the trail.

You can check out this great website with topo maps of all of Norway and DNT's marked hiking trails and cabins. www.ut.no/kart

More pictures (but not very organized): Here! and here!