Day Twenty-one - Last day on the Ice

7:00am rise, again to brilliant sunshine, and another trip up Snofjell. I didn’t go and although people raved about the views, I think it was the best idea for my general constitution.

The bedding gets a much needed airing

After a brief lunch we left at about 2:00pm and skied toward the glacier we had started from. 

The journey was fairly pleasant (if not mostly uphill but none-the-less very beautiful) until after about 2 ½ hours we descended into the murk and, being quite tired, we were informed that we were in a fairly rigid and well defined area of doubt and uncertainty, i.e. we were lost. Martin (chief pack carrier and navigator) finally managed to locate us with the result of 8km to go. 

The straightest way between two points
in a snow crevasse field on skis

Whoopee. 

Onward we went with each long slow ridge producing another after it. Then someone announced that the ski-lift and our hut had been identified about 4km ahead. Then we hit the crevasse field. 

Luckily none of the snow bridges fell through. And we all managed to keep our balance on the ridges which separated the massive ones (about 10m wide!!) and we arrived at the top of the slope down to the hut. 

Well, I’ve never been a great one from downhill skiing and having gone about 50m picking up speed at an alarming rate my courage (courage? What courage?) left me and I did quite an impressive A over T. Roger was very helpful and picked me up and gave me instructions to snow plough or traverse (although crevasses made that dodgy – geddit?). I fell down again whilst turning, but 15m downhill made a momentous and best decision for two weeks. I un-skied and walked. Life was much easier. I arrived last at the hut – freed from skis for as long as I wanted! 

To be greeted by yummy Alpen flapjack (Roger P.) and hot chocolate (ditto). The Grimsvatn group came down a day earlier having been driven back by awful weather and deep snow (even Scott took skis!) – and a retaining party awaited our arrival, amused by downhill skiing and playing with snow-cats. 

We pitched our tent on a lump of frost-shattered product. Rob and Sam decided to do x-country down-hilling, since the ski lift was going to be switched on, and didn’t return until about 1am having visited the group that were sampling the delights of snow-holing. 

I slept very well that night.