Ut & Aboot

My wife, two friends and I got our ski season off to a great start with a trip to Jøldalshytta in Trollheimen.

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We decided to visit Jøldalshytta as it was the nearest cabin that looked like it would probably have good snow. For most of the drive there we were worried that there would not be enough snow to ski on at all (we had packed in backpacks that we could walk with if needed, and left our pulks at home), but as we turned onto the access road we gained confidence, and all weekend we did not have a problem with snow cover.

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On Saturday we set off at about 1030 along the track to Jøldalshytta. After initial frustration at our warm skis "kladding" (snow sticking to the bases), we got into the rhythm and it was great to be back with skis on. We had only skied with our friends once before (on the first day of our Easter trip last year), and Kj had just bought a new set of skis. By the time we got to the parking area at the end of the "summer" road, it was time for lunch, with a lovely view. Given that the snow conditions, and ease of navigation, we decided not to follow the recommended winter route, instead we just followed the summer track all the way to the cabin. We arrived with plenty of time, and with energy to spare, so decided to continue down the valley to soak in the scenery. Where we decided to turn back (the light was starting to fade), we all decided would have been the perfect place to pitch our tents, if we'd brought them with us. At the start of the day, I'd been looking forward to sitting by a roaring fire, but now I wished that we could just pitch our tent and enjoy being outside for the night. None the less, we did have a pleasant evening at the hytta with a roaring fire. The hytta had beds for at least 20, but the only other guests were a Norwegian couple with a dog (they stayed in the separate dog-friendly building).

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After dinner, A encouraged us outside to enjoy the clear skies. We spent at least 40 min gazing up at the glorious night's sky. To the north there was a faint aurora, above us the milky way spread across the sky, the outlines of snowy hills all around, and 10s of shooting stars flashing through the night. Just as A and I were heading back to the cabin, a meteor flew across the sky in front of us. Unlike the shooting stars earlier, this one had a distinct shape to it, which fragmented into several pieces as it flew, and its yellowy-orange colour shifted during the couple of seconds that it burned across the sky. We couldn't have asked for a more impressive show!

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The next day we decided to take an alternative route back, off any tracks. It was great to be leading the way, ploughing through fresh snow, away from any tracks, again. We enjoyed the views from Litlfjellet over lunch, before climbing higher towards Grønlihåmmåren.

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The light was fading as we started to near the car park where we had had lunch the previous day, but we were faced with an unexpected obstacle. The river running out of Jølvatnet was a lot wider than we expected, and was not 100% iced over in places. I decided to try to test the ice at the point we were at, so got out my snow spade, and tried to break through. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the ice held strong even when I dug several centimetres into it. I did not want anyone falling through, especially as we had no ice-safety equipment with us, so I took a long time testing the ice all the way across the 12 m or so wide river. After 15 min of hacking we were back on our way, and had a tiring climb up to the car-park, just as the last of the light was fading.

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The ski back to the car was much quicker, following the tracks we had laid the previous day, mostly downhill. We made fast progress with our short skin removed and were at the car by 1640, very happy with the first ski of the season.