Ut & Aboot

5 days off work at Easter gives a fantastic opportunity for skiing, however not everything was on our side this year.  Last year, amidst strict covid rules, we had decided not to attempt an Easter ski, this year a trip seemed within the rules, if we stayed on the correct side of the border.  We decided on a loop starting very near the border, and making a loop round Blåberga and Fjergen.
All started out well, skiing up to Skurdlasjøen in light snow, but from there things started going downhill (metaphorically, physically net uphill).  The cloud cover started lowering, and we were faced with very poor visibility and totally flat light.  The extent of our challenges suddenly became alarmingly clear as a crack suddenly appeared in the snow to my right and suddenly I was falling with the snow that I had just been standing on!  I had just broken through a small cornice that I had been totally unaware of.  I dropped around 2 m before hitting firmer snow, but most of the snow that I broke off continued to fall for several more meters to the bottom of the drop.  Mercifully my pulk had somehow come to a stop just before the lip of the drop or it would surely have pulled me further down – but it was teetering on the brink.  I was able to unclip from the rope connecting me to it, and Amy got to the back of it and pulled it back from the brink.  I then began an inelegant and nervous clamber back up towards Amy and the pulk.  Shaken, but with no damage done, we decided to push on, but with extra caution.
We pressed on, slowly, assessing the path ahead thoroughly any time the visibility left us in any doubt about the upcoming terrain, often throwing a rope in front to prove to ourselves that there were no unexpected drops up ahead.  As we were starting to thing we had had enough for the day, and should think about finding a camp spot, and shelter from the increasingly windy conditions, I suddenly was yanked to my left – the pulk had suddenly dropped off an edge that I had been unknowingly skiing parallel to.  I dug my skis and poles in in time to prevent me being pulled down with it – but I now had pulk, with 5 days supply for the two of us in it, dangling over a nearly shear drop trying to pull me after it.  I managed to haul it back up, but this was the final straw – it was time to find somewhere to pitch the tent and reassess our situation.  We skied for a few minutes, trying to see if we could find any form of natural shelter from the increasing winds, but gave up and trusted the tent to do its job and keep us sheltered.  With a good meal in us, and snow melted and boiled for the next day, it did not take long to fall asleep, despite the noise of the storm around us.
The next morning we checked the weather forecast, via InReach satellite communication – and it did not take much to realise what we had to do.  The Norwegian Mountain Code states “Vend i tide, det er ingen skam å snu.” – turn back in time, it is no shame to turn around.  The next two days’ forecast was much like we had been experiencing, with poor visibility and wind, and then that would turn into several days of rain.  So it was down with the tent and retracing our steps (glides…?).  The ski back was thankfully much less eventful, and once we passed Skurdlasjøen it was actually very nice conditions.  It was a shame to abandon the trip, but the hills will be there next year, and the risks of skiing in terrain with sudden drops and cornices with no visibility far outweighed any enjoyment we might have had.  A dissatisfying end to the ski season, but the right call, and we had other fantastic trips earlier in the season to look back on.