Sweden in a word: marabou.

Sweden in a word: marabou.those who know don't need a description,and those who haven't tasted would not understand anyway ;-) happy easter you all,wonder if jesus knew what kind of madness he'll cause in the mountains when he put on that show...

We're enjoying cabin life as the snow is

We're enjoying cabin life as the snow is falling and wind blowing outside.all's wet,since it's so mild,and i must have had at least 5kg of snow sticking to each ski.at least you don't need skins ;-) will try to cross the big mountains into sweden tomorrow,if the weather doesn't worsen...ha det!

Hej hej!greetings from sweden!lovely cou

Hej hej!greetings from sweden!lovely country but still missing blond girls and ikea ;-) klang ran off with a pulk today trying to eat some other dog,otherwise all's well...

I just figured that i might not be sick

I just figured that i might not be sick from all that food consumed today but more likely from the 5-day expired i bought at coop and feasted on do route to camp :-( shame on coop!apart from the stomach all's well ;-)

News from a town...

A short update from one of the few Internet-places along the road... Røros! Probably the largest town on the way, and contrary to its reputation as the coldest place in Norway it's not too bad - a little too warm maybe, somewhere around 0 degrees. The main roads are more or less bare, the mountains are full of powdery snow which both me and Klang sink in right through to the bottom. Fun and games. Now we'll head a little further east and see if the conditions get a bit more wintery over there, looks like some cool mountains out there from the map at least... and then we can get a bike someplace and head northwards. Made a bet with Klang that if we're still skiing in mid-April I'll walk the last km to Nordkapp in boxer-shorts... and if we're not skiing Klang will have to do it naked :)

Here're some random pictures from the large collection, plus my mum's put out some more from the first stage at http://jsenger.rajce.idnes.cz/Jitka_Sondagsturen_www.sondagsturen.no/

Enjoy the spring y'all and have fun! Happy Easter as well ;)

/Kim (& Klang, waiting outside, chewing on some bones...)

Today we could've had lukas bauer with u

Today we could've had lukas bauer with us,with all the prepared tracks we followed...though if might have been a little skeptical to the hairy descents on icy roads,with absolutely no control ;-) our max speed is 31kmh,but we'll try to beat that...not tomorrow though,having a restday here in roros.camping in a deep and scary forest just outside town,even arctic hero klang came into tent for some cuddle since he's so scared of trees :-) K&K

Spicing up the drytech

Spicing up the drytech is easy when you camp 100m from the supermarket ;-) river looks too icy for swimming and a little too open for skiing but we'll figure something out...and thanks to dad and the guys at guardian the tracer is back in action!

Tracer is back!

We can again follow Kim and his dog in the real time (well, almost the real time).

Cheers,
Martin

On the road again

On the road again,not exactly the weather we'd expect here in march.rain and sun,feels like spain...in july.walking to tynset now,then we'll try swimming north in the river ;-)

Still in folldal.

Still in folldal,practicing for easter,who knows where we will be then...slushy snow here,better to enjoy the long breakfast at coop!

My life just got a whole lot better...fo

My life just got a whole lot better...found a bottle of czech rum in the depot,if i remembered where i've put it we would've been here yesterday ;-)

Found another box full of food ;-) and i

Found another box full of food ;-) and it's snowing,so that's good news...spending the night here,with some fresh fruit and vitamin beer.and sausages for mr dog ;-)

In tent

In tent,listening to music.went through rondane in wind,nice views but a lot of useful snow was blown away.also had some fun crossing a river,a little sketch to put it mildly.but we didn't get wet! ;-) eating double portions now,have lots of food leftover and maybe 20km or so to the next depot...have a fine evening!

A real sunday trip

Ice cream as the best cure for last night's party effects :-) today's a real sondagsturen,thanks to atle who drove our gear up to rondablikk and all we've got to do today is a 25km walk along a road,listening to the birds singing here in the valley.life's wonderful and even better :-) K&K

In the wilderness - retrospection

And off we go!!!
Starting at about 9ish we thought that by the evening of the first day we can be at the nearest hut which was 18 km. Well ...
The snow was rather deep to begin with, at places up to the knees, and I realized that the expectations and the reality can be quite different. We were once crossing with Martin Bukovske vrchy (the border of Poland and Slovakia heading towards Ukraine), then we wandered several times with friends in the mountains in Slovakia, but it was a long time ago and I might have forgotten how challenging such tours can be ... but also how nice, refreshing and satisfactory. You just switch off and enjoy the countryside and the rhythm of the motion, sometimes forgetting that you've got the pulks (though mine were not easy to forget and had the tendency to overtake me going downhill :)).

One of the interesting things in Norway are the lakes. But first on this trip I've learned that there are 2 types of lakes there - the usual ones with a stable elevation and the regulated lakes, where the difference between the min and max lake elevation can be tens of meters. One should pay attention going around rocks as underneath the ice is the air and only then you plop into the water should the ice break.
We had an interesting experience when - while crossing Blasjo - we built a tent and Kim realized that according to the GPS we are over the water, not the land :) ... after the lake was drained new land emerged. We've seen then an older map of the area in a hut and it looked rather different from the map we were using.

Our nights were evenly divided between the tent (it was quite cosy especially with Kim preparing dinners :)) and the huts of Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT). The huts are there for everyone to use and I was surprised how well equipped they are, with the stove, wood, candles and a few beds we had all we needed. There was even some food to buy in case we needed. Upon leaving you then fill the form to pay for the goodies, great system, I like it.

Check me out in a civilisation outfit

Check me out in a civilisation outfit,thanks to atle!ready for a real dinner at fefor with the bayerngas family!

On the way to wilderness - a bit of retrospection

It's about 3 weeks since I returned from the wilderness and I still feel privileged (and always will :)) Kim took me on such a trip. I always liked winters and mountains and best holidays through my childhood were in the Giant Mountains (well, Giant, the highest point there is Snezka with 1602 m (5260 ft)) in the Czech republic. Just we don't have such vast areas without civilization back home, so it was quite extraordinary to go 3 weeks while meeting 6 folks (and much more reideer).

Starting at Lindesnes (Kim on a bike, me with the car) after a night spent in the car (no idea, how Kim survived there with the wheel in his chest) we headed North through a lovely countryside of Lindesnes commune. Contrary to our last visit in the area when we wanted to ski there was snow now everywhere. We met on the way in Lyngdal - a place with a lovely musical cafe in the Kulturhaus - for hot chocolate.

Heading further North I even needed to use the snow chains (though I had winter tires) and as it was still quite a long way to Ljosland in the afternoon, we decided to stay for a night halfway and camped at the lake Lygna.

The next day Kim set off on the bike and I went for a bit of sightseeing - in fact looking for the help to start the car. There are nice people everywhere and I found them in the Sorlandets rehabilitation centre in Eiken. The rest of the way to Ljosland was without noticeable moments as I didn't end up in the Madland nearby.

The evening was dedicated to the repacking, eating and relaxation in the pleasant Fjellstove Ljosland.

Beer and vitamins.just what the arctic h

Beer and vitamins.just what the arctic heroes need ;-)

1km to go!pitch black,just some stars an

1km to go!pitch black,just some stars and lights from the valley.i very much doubt there's enough beer in the whole of gudbrandsdalen to satisfy our (ok,mine) thirst today :-)

Action!we gave our pulk away and are try

Action!we gave our pulk away and are trying to get to vinstra to pick it up...looks like summer's come to norway :-)

Norge the beautiful...and lajla the red!

Norge the beautiful...and lajla the red!ps:looks even better in real life ;-)

Extra portion for mr klang today,he's be

Extra portion for mr klang today,he's been pulling aS if he expected some reindeer up ahead ;-) me,in the meanwhile was busy fixing my broken binding and keeping balance-backpack,pulk,dog and very gusty winds,thankfully from the back.live well!

Well fed and well rested we zipped

Well fed and well rested we zipped across tyin-lake and began our bygdin paa langs adventure.this lake muSt be 50km long or so.but thankfully the wind (gale may be a better word sometimes) is blowing us the right way...tip of the day-attach your pulk to the tent if you don't want it to be blown away ;-)

Tent bound because of the wind,may use t

Tent bound because of the wind,may use the time for some hair cutting.np maybe just eating,drinking and yoga exercises.ha det!

This's sharing up to an interesting nigh

This's sharing up to an interesting night,so much wind that even klang came inside the tent :-) but lajla (my fantastic hilleberg tent) is holding up very nicely...let's see if it keeps on blowing tomorrow as well...

Chilling out in the tent

Chilling out in the tent as the wind is picking up outside,enjoying a fabulous bayerngas chocolate cake from solveig!tusen tusen takk,gives the needed energy to pull the full pulk a little bit farther!until next time...K&K

Fantastic action today,try going down a

Fantastic action today,try going down a skiing slope with two pulks behind you and a dog in front.guess we scared some local kids at tyin.now we're enjoying some luxurious life at the lodge,beers,food and skiing on tv :-) go bauer go ;-) will continue north tomorrow,but right now we're a little to drunk to ski straight :-) K&K

Oh yeah,maybe you noticed alReady but th

Oh yeah,maybe you noticed alReady but the tracer is not tracing anymore.just wanted to give my word for it that it ain't my trick of making you believe we're on this incredible trip while we're drinking beers someplace warm :-) though a beer or some rum would not be so bad right now;-) have a cosy evening!

Norge pa langs - 3 times!at least that's

Norge pa langs - 3 times!at least that's how it felt today.first with one pulk,plough away the snow.then back,and same thing again with another pulk.at least there're great views on all journeys ;-) K&K

Still no food,but i've got some spices a

Still no food,but i've got some spices and fuel left...a got dog is a norwegian national food after all ;-) seriously,all's well,heading north,today with very good snow conditions.-10 in tent.

SMS from 881631578544@msg.iridium.com

GOOD NEWS-PULKS ARE LIGHT.BAD NEWS-RUNNING OUT OF FOOD.YOU CAN PLACE BETS ON WHETHER KLANG EATS ME FIRST,OR I HIM :)

Manually added points to the progress map

As you undoubtedly noticed, the Kim's tracer is still not working. We have notified Guardian Mobility, the tracer sponsor, and they are trying to help. Meantime, Kim sends me, time to time, a satellite SMS with his current location that I manually add to his progress map. Of course, the daily distances between such two points are only estimated (by dividing the total distance by number of missing days). It is far from perfect but at least we can see now,time to time, his progress.

Cheers,
Martin

SMS from 881631578544@msg.iridium.com

ALL WELL IN HILLS,RESTING AT 1450M AND PLANNING ON EATING PANCAKES.FRICKING COLD IN TENT LAST NIGHT,HARD TO GET UP AT -20 :)