Winter Edition

We thought we should do a winter edition of the blog to cover our trip to Norway. Not really part of the sailing and van adventure, but at least we get to tick Norway off the list and we can justify the Norway flag in our collection. I need to start the blog with a special thanks to Trevor, Marianne and David, who put up with us (and Dave and Tracey for their company). Trevor and Marianne live in Kvitavatn in Telemark (yes the place where the ski style is named after) and were kind enough to allow us to stay in their guest accommodation. They have a few huts which date back to the mid 1800’s. They are proper log cabins (where the log you see on the inside is the same one you see on the outside) and beautiful and warm. Kvitavatn is on the plateau above Rjukan, which was made famous across the world after World War 2 for the daring exploits of the Norwegian Saboteurs. More later.

Note the big mountain in the middle. This is Gaustatoppen and is just over 6000 feet at the top. From the top you can see one sixth of Norway’s mainland. It is also the last section of what must be the worlds toughest Iron Man Triathlon should anyone be mad enough to have a go. We were staying to the right of it. It was great to see it on the way out.

Nice sunset as we set off on the drive from Oslo

This is a view of Rjukan as you head up to the plateau. It is in a very deep valley and gets no sunlight over the winter months. The enterprising Norwegians built a mirror complex on the hill that tracks the sun and shines light on the town square in the middle of winter (I wonder who was the first to test it and ensure it was not a little over focussed resulting in a slight frying sensation and the evil cackle of Mr Blowfeld)

Trevor and Marianne’s huts. The guttering takes the melt off the roofs and stops it pooling on the paths, creating an ice rink. (I think the plan is to put them under the road with a hot wire to keep them flowing)

Cross Country Skiing

I think it would be fair to say that this is never going to be Jenny’s No1 sport. Having said that she did enjoy the runs we went on. There is something magical about being out on the tracks with no one else around. As a friend of ours said, a bit like sailing into the wind (hard work and a bit uncomfortable but still fun to do)!

First the Preparation. As they say in the Karate Kid, Wax on, Wax off. For those who have never tackled Cross country skiing, the principle is (at least as I understand it!):

a) each Ski has a camber or arch

b) you apply sticky wax to the centre of the arch

c) you apply glide wax to the ends

d) with your weight on both skies evenly only the ends hit the snow and you slide

e) put your weight on one side and the ski flexes more and the sticky wax grips the snow

f) Once the correct wax is applied, by some combination of jogging, the Michael Jackson moon walk, levitation, and using the force you propel forward.

Waxing in the hut

Dave – the man in his 70’s who reminds us all of how feeble we are. He was even choked with the cold. Next time I think I need to put the sticky wax at the ends of his skis.

Love this Picture of Jenny (Thanks DC and Tracy for this and the following 2 pics)

This is why you do it! I get this bit, this is bit heavenly…..(Jen)

Some nice ice. Rjukan is now one of the top places in the world for ice climbing.

Back for a cuppa in the sun outside the ski hut

I thought we could capitalise on the snow chairs we had made.

Down Hill

If Cross country is sailing into the wind then this is definitely a broad reach (fast and fun). Definitely more Jenny’s thing.

The Principle is:

a) find a chair lift to take you up the hill in comfort

b) slide down as fast as you can, only to be overtaken by 5 year olds with legs in a snow plough and arms wide, going at twice the speed of sound!

IMG_E9346 — Jenny on the Black run . We were going for the red but she got lost ……never had much of a sense of direction……thoroughly enjoyed my first black in about 20 years though. (Jen)

A bit of Snow Shoeing

If you have never tried it, have a go. It is like having 4 wheel drive for your feet.

Jenny on the frozen lake, should have taken poles but we forgot them, they do make it all much easier.

The lake from opposite the huts ( note the tracks)

Trip to the Top of Gausta

Gaustatoppen was used as a NATO listening post during the cold war. To get to the top there is a train into the heart of the mountain then a mountain lift/railway to the top. Our friend Trevor works on the railway a couple of days a week. Something we have always wanted to do , so as the weather was nice we decided to make the trip.

In constructing the railway system there was not a single loss of life which is amazing. The top of the mountain is more a pile of rubble than solid rock and the tunnel was nearly abandoned during the build due to collapsing when the summer came and it thawed out. The Americans pushed for completing the project and with the aid of concrete tunnel liners it was completed.

One of the 2 lifts to the top. There is another that come down as this goes up with a cable connecting the 2. I think the cable is over a kilometre long. There is only one track but a passing place half way up the mountain. At least if you are connected you know you will always arrive at the passing place together .

Mummy, Mummy , I got to sit with the train driver!!!

If it gets stuck they have an emergency evacuation cart !

Thanks to Trevor we got in the machine room

The views from the top are spectacular. You can walk the ridge to the right out to the peak of the mountain. At this time of year it is a ropes and crampon job.

Looking down to the huts where we were staying

Some Skiers. Most people we met were going to ski off the top (including some small kids).

The ski run off is to the left. This goes on the bucket list

Some fantastic snow formations (apparently they are like this due to the salt from the sea)

A visit to the site of Heavy Water Plant at Vemork

Vemork is the name of a hydroelectric power plant outside Rjukan. The plant was built by Norsk Hydro and opened in 1911, its main purpose being to produce nitrogen for the production of fertilizer. At opening, it was the world’s largest power plant.
Vemork was later the site of the first plant in the world to mass-produce heavy water developed from the hydrogen production. Heavy water was seen as one of the key items needed to produce nuclear weapons during the war.

Many of us have heard of Vemork as the heavy water plant was the target of Norwegian commandoes made famous by the film ” Heroes of Telemark” A far better and more historically accurate account is told by Ray Mears – the Real Heroes of Telemark. I will not do the Norwegians the dishonour of trying to recount what they did here, but in summary a small band survived on the plateaux for several months with nothing to eat but moss, after the first mission was aborted, avoided capture, attacked the plant with no loss of life, then some stayed in the area while others skied to Sweden. It is an incredible story.

The hydro plant (now an industrial museum). The heavy water plant has now been demolished.

One of the reasons the Hitler thought the place was fairly secure – hell of a place to get to.

Looking down the gorge to where the commandoes crossed

The plants seam to grow well on the heavy water !

The difference in mass having a Neutron in the Hydrogen atom is noticeable

When Albert writes to you, you sit up and take notice!

Jimmy. Specially for you. Cleary the inspiration for an episode of Doctor Who. (Fireman breathing apparatus)

Traffic jam caused by our bus. We were following a couple of cars up the hill in the snow, they decided to stop. The bus could not get going again. So what happens…….? A couple of locals jump out of the bus and put the snow chains on. I would have gone to help, but not speaking Norwegian and have never put on snow chains I figured on this one occasion I would stay put.

We had some good snow when we were there. One of the jobs was a bit of snow clearing. Never had to clear it off a roof before!.

What Next

On our way back we stopped off at the boat in Germany. We may need to get some work done when she comes out of the shed at the end of April that may delay our start to the sailing season by about 4 weeks (end of May). We had planned on going to Northern Italy in the van prior to starting sailing (leaving here in April), but, with all that is going on, I suspect there may be some stringent travel restrictions across Europe in the next few weeks. All we can do is wait and see. Maybe there will be a forced pause in the 2 year adventure….