Brutally cold in the valley today! I was up at 6am again to go ahead of the group and fix some ropes as I wanted to keep the standing around to a minimum and also make sure that we were first to the routes we wanted to climb. Getting up in the cold and dark was easy, but leaving the heated seats of the hire car was harder! The intensity of the cold is hard to describe. Walking into the gorge with an air temperature of eighteen below would have been tough enough, but the windchill was was painful on our faces. It was clear from the start that we were not going to last long here! I was wearing seven layers of expensive kit, so was well insulated, but exposed skin was very vulnerable almost instantly.
Keeping focused on the rigging helped fight off the cold to start with, but by the time the group arrived, I made sure I'd got hand warmers inside my warmest gloves to maintain dexterity. Everyone enjoyed a few climbs despite the cold, but by mid morning the crowds had started to arrive.
And by then we were beginning to struggle to stay warm. I even had to employ my 'psycho' face mask as my cheeks we getting iced. When eye lashes started sticking together we knew it was time to get back to base for tea and toast!
Leaving the 'circus' of climbing behind, we thawed out by the fireside enjoying a warm lunch. The town of Rjukan sees so little direct sun light that (believe it or not) there is a huge mirror on the hill top that reflects sunlight into the town square!
Having regained feeling in our toes, we went out to a gorge for a dramatic 60m abseil into a deep ravine.
Once in the bottom, we hike along the frozen riverbed to check out some other climbs.
Then as if that wasn't enough, we went out in the evening to climb a route I'd spied from the dining room window of the hut.
Leaving the others to the sauna, we raced against the dusk to squeeze in one last route for the guys.
The ice was good and the moon was up in the sky by the time we'd finished, but it made a great finale! It had been a long and action paced day...
Wow! That is very cold! I'm impressed you guys were out there in that kind of weather, that takes a lot of determination! There is one spot in a canyon near our home where people are always ice climbing. I think it looks really fun!
ReplyDeleteThanks! You should go check it out and try it for yourself!
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