Norway Part 1: A nightmare on Kjerag Mountain

                                 

Since returning from our Norway trip a week and a half ago, I've been asked many times, "how was it?!"  Or, "how awesome was your Norway adventure?".  Surrprisingly, this has been a tough question for me to respond to.  Normally, after returning to England from one of our many Europe adventures this year, I've come back bursting at the seams with stories of fun and adventure.  I usually head back to work with a spring in my step and (sometimes) even a bit more tanned!  Well guys, this is the first time I can honestly say my travel experience was, well, not so good.  Don't get me wrong, Norway is an unbelievably beautiful country.  Sometimes though, certain travel experiences can challenge us in ways that we weren't expecting.

Here's my story:

We arrived in Oslo on Tuesday at around noon.  The sun was shining and our bags were packed with all our essential camping gear and dried goods to last us a full five days on the trails.  We picked up our rental car, and with no time wasted, were on the road heading west.  I rolled the windows down, breathed in that fresh Nordic air and could hardly wait to lay my eyes on the beautiful fjords of Norway. First stop: Lysebotn, a small town at the East end of the Lysefjord.  We would plan to arrive mid-evening (it's about a 7 hour drive from Oslo), set up camp, and hike the Kjerag mountain the next day.

For the first half of our drive, the sun continued to shine, and we drove along lakes and beautiful green mountains. This was what laid ahead of us:

Not bad, eh?  Well, I wish someone would have told me to savour this a little bit more.  I'm not sure exactly when this horrific transition occured, but slowly the lakes and green pastures turned into this:

Which turned into this:

Which turned into this:

Now, before you go on thinking of how much of a pessimist I must be (I do think this drive was pretty cool!), this is June, folks.  And unless you packed your skis and winter gear, this isn't the sight you want to see knowing you will be pitching a tent later.  Needless to say, we ended up okay.  The road finally took us down in elevation into the town of Lysebotn, which though was still not the warmest of locations, at least there was no snow.  AND our camping gear was dry at this point- yay!  This is our campsite from both angles:

And though the small town of Lysebotn was rather industrial, the view looking down Lysefjord was stunning.  Below is a picture I took at 10:30pm, looking pretty spooky with the clouds.  From this point you can take a ferry to the other end of the fjord, which would bring us to our next hiking destination.

I am happy/proud to say that we survived night #1 and woke up in good spirits.  Though the temperatures did drop throughout the night, we had dressed in all of our layers (including hats and gloves) and slid ourselves and our mummy sleeping bags into these bright orange "survival bags" that we purchased before our trip (we knew it could get pretty cold at night and bought these because our sleeping bags are not meant for winter camping).  Unfortunately though, it rained all night, leaving everything slightly damp.  These "survival bags" were also not the greatest because they locked in unnessecary moisture.  Nonetheless, we were happy to be in nature and excited to get hiking Kjerag mountain! 

Using the stream water (which was clean enough to drink!), we cooked up some porridge and coffee for breakfast:

Happy campers :)

Coffee with a view.

Okay, so far so good right?  Other than a little dampness and cool temperatures, I'd say things were going just fine.  Until we drove up to where the hike starts.  As we wound up the tight switchbacks, again, the drastic change in weather was horrifying, to say the least.  We pulled into the parking lot to find not-so-good hiking conditions.  We had a chat with the friendly man who worked/lived at the base of the trail, and decided the best thing to do would be to wait it out.  At this point, you could not see past 100 meters up the mountain.  As we waited in the warmth of our car, things slowly started clearing, but still the conditions were not great.  A German couple showed up and decided to go for it. We watched as the began their trek up the mountain, and decided (with the input of the guy that worked there) that we didn't drive 7 hours yesterday to not do this hike.  About a half hour after the German couple departed, we were on our way, following in their tracks (it was also a good way to make sure we stayed on the trail).  Here we are at the beginning of our hike:

That brown building you see in the photo is where we parked our car.  Down in the valley near the river is where we camped.

The hike typically is 5 hours return.  In the snow, however we knew it probably would take longer.  I was actually quite warm at the beginning (it was quite the incline!) and had to take off a layer of clothing.  As we went on, the snow got deeper and visibility got worse.  

But we kept on moving, following the tracks.  We snacked on some nuts and fruit, but as the temperatures got colder, we wanted to keep moving to keep our bodies warm.  It came to the point where we could see nothing around us but white.  The snow was blizzarding around us.  We also were climbing quite a steep hill, and not being able to see the end was quite a challenge.  I kept thinking in my head "I can do this, I can do this!"  We've done long hikes like this before, but the snow definitely added an element I wasn't used to.  At this point however, we knew we must be getting close to the end, and there's no way we could bring ourselves to give up.

Somehow we ended up catching up with the German couple just before reaching the top (which is beyond me.  This couple seemed definitely more of the experienced type).  With the help from their GPS, we finally reached the top!  What a moment!  Aside from the fact that the main attraction at the top, which is a boulder wedged inbetween two 800 ft tall cliffs, being completely covered with snow, we could finally see across the fjord.  WHAT a view this was to take in.  As I reached into our bag to get our camera (I had it packed away during the time we were walking through what seemed to be a blizzard), I realized just how cold my hands were.  I had difficulty unzipping the case, and working the buttons.  This didn't scare me too much, because I knew if I got them moving again I could get them back to normal.  What scared me was that my gloves were soaking wet from all the snow/precipitation.  I began to panic... how would my hands do when we still had the whole way back yet to hike?  Worse yet, my toes.... I have already experienced frostbite, and I know these sitautions can cause some serious issues with my circulation.  Then it happened.  I began feeling sick.  Queezy, dizzy, weak, shakey.  I almost felt like I couldn't breathe.  But was this in my head?  I didn't want to make a scene, so I quietly told Zack how I was feeling and suggested I sit down.  But I was SO cold.  Sitting down was possibly the worst thing.  Next, my ears were ringing.  My vision became foggy, and it was like I was in a bubble and could only hear echoes of peoples voices.  I had a hard time sitting down.  It was as if I had no control over my body.  What is happening to me?!  I saw the German girl above me, along with two other German hikers who arrived at the top just shortly after us.  She offered me some hot tea, which I tried my best to hold up to my lips and drink, and the German guy took his rain cover off his backpack for me to sit/lay on.  The next thing I remember is hearing, "Sarah- stay with us.  Open your eyes- look at us!"  I felt like I may be dying.  I remember thinking, "how did I get to this point?  How will I ever get back down safely?"  I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes, and wake up in my warm bed, out of this cold, blizzard, and off of this high peak in Norway.  And though it seemed much easier to let my body give in, I tried my hardest to keep my eyes open- to stay present in this scary reality.  The next little while seemed like a blur.  I imagined having to be air lifted by helicopter, and at one point overheard Zack telling the others that this trip may now have to be cut short.  I was terrified.  Zack was too.  I prayed that God would keep me alive and that my now completely numb hands would stay with me.  I felt that there was not much else I could do at that moment.  The next thing I remember is taking steps forward, my arms draped around two German guys who I didn't know the names of.  They continued to ask me questions, about what I do at home and how long we are here, etc.  We trudged through the snow at a surprisingly quick speed.  I concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, while also concentrating on keeping my head up and my eyes open.  These Germans were my miracle that day.  They constantly fed me things like power bars and energy candies, and were determined to get me back down the mountain.  The girl gave me an extra jacket she had in her bag and I think she even wiped snot from my face.  The one guy had my hand inside his jacket, knowing how hold they had gotten.  About 2/3's of the way back, I began to regain my energy.  I was given some hiking poles to use as a guide, and began walking on my own.  I moved my arms in circles to try to get the blood flowing, and was closely watched and assisted by these miracle Germans.  I have never been so happy to reach the bottom of a mountain before.

Though it took some time to recover (as I type this I still feel a tingling in my fingers.  Not to worry though, I've been to the Doctor and have been told the feeling should come back with time), I am happy to be alive and well.  I truly believe the Germans that day were God sent.  At the beginning of our hike, as we began our first ascend, Zack said a prayer out loud.  I can't recall the exact words, but I know he thanked God that we had this opportunity and asked to keep us safe.  That prayer means so much to me.  I also am aware that there are people out there (that are probably reading this), that have prayed for our safety during our travels.  I can't tell you how much that means to us.   Thank you!  God has been our protector and our provider.  How truly blessed we are!

Phew, it felt good to type that out.  I learned a lot through this experience.  Here are a few points I'd like to share:

1)  Never underestimate how powerful (and sometimes scary!) the outdoor world can be.

You know the feeling you get when you are standing at the edge of the ocean/a large body of water or gazing out at a beatiful landscape in front of you?  How small you feel compared to the world that lays in front of you?  I think we should all make a point of putting ourselves in this position every so often.  It's humbling to realize that you are just a small human in a big, fascinating world.  Yes, get out there and explore, but always remember how big and powerful the outdoor world is.  We are only human, and we are not invincible.  We need to respect that.

2) Know your body and know your limits

There were times during this hike (before the black out happened) that I felt so incedibly exhausted I wasn't sure I could go on.  I pushed myself too hard.  I've always had a bit of a competitive side to me when it comes to sports, and when I felt like I could not go on I thought about how that German girl was out in front of me, and she didn't give up.  What a silly thing for me to do.  For all I know, she could have been mountain training for years!  Also, I know my body needs constant fueling.  Though I had a good breakfast consisting of porridge, seeds, nuts and fruit, I should have been eating more throughout the hike.  I did have some nuts and chocolate, but I know my body and if you've ever spent a full day with me, you'd know I'm constantly eating.  Even Zack, whose body is much larger than mine, can go on less food for longer periods of time.  Every body is different.  

3) It's best to be over prepared- expect the worst!

Even if it's sunny at the base of the mountain, it could be hailing at the top.  As we watched the German couple set out at the begginning of the hike, we noticed the large size of his backpack.  We wondered, "what in the world is he bringing with him?  An entire change of wardrobe?"  Well, probably yes.  And I completely understand why.  I dressed in layers so that I could undress/dress accordingly, and I threw in an extra pair of socks (I always do because of my frostbite problems), however, did not have any extra gloves or hats.  We ended up putting my spare socks on my hands with plastic bags over them as we made our way down the mountain.  Because my gloves were wet, it made it that much harder for them to warm up.  Also, always bring more food than you think you need.  This German couple had enough power bars and sugar to get me back to normal, and I am so thankful for that.

4) Don't be afraid to ask for help and don't feel bad for not completing

Plain and simple.  No one is forcing you to do anything.  From now on, I will not feel bad for simply just taking it easy.  Also, even if it's nothing, it's better to ask for help than to realize after it's too late.

Well guys, that's what happened on our Norway trip.  We decided to take things a bit slower for the rest of our time there, but I do have more photos to share.  I will post those in a second post, but for now here are the last photos I took before the incident.

Above are the guys that saved me.  Below is me just 5 minutes before passing out.

"It's not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves."  - Sir Edmund Hillary