Are we seriously going to be sleeping in that!?
Research has shown that humour builds psychological resilience by buttressing the mind against self pity.
I read the above in one of the Sunday papers. Don’t ask me what the “research” was, or who did it. I have no idea, but it sounds reasonable don’t you think? Anyway, this week has been a test of my sense of humour, which could explain the lack of blog posts. That said most of my trials and tribulations are, in the grand scheme of things, minor and do not warrant a mention here. One thing I can report however is that my recovery from the tear in my calf muscle is going well. I’m back on the turbo trainer, doing really short walks, going to the gym, swimming and shopping for a parrot gun (like an elephant gun, only more colourful).
You’ll be pleased to note that this post is not about injuries. In this post I am going to tell you a bit more about the planning process for our Norway ski trip in 2022.
David (our illustrious leader, provider of the idea and all round good guy) came to stay and we took a look at the… let’s call it a tent, for want of a better word, that we will be using in Norway. In winter.
You may be wondering how we made such an important decision about such a vital piece of kit. Well, weight is paramount and pretty much the first consideration with every item we will use and carry on this trip. This means that everything gets weighed (and I do mean everything. For example I now know that my underpants weigh 30 grams) and every item used is carefully considered. Based on this we (read: David) decided that our tent, which we only plan to use on 4 or 5 nights, must also double as our emergency shelter. This is reasonable, but most decent lightweight tents that you might consider trusting your life to in a Norwegian winter weigh in at around 2 .5 - 3.5kg. That’s a lot of weight for something that might only be used on 4 or 5 nights. So David goes off and does some research. I think his search criteria was something like:
"What is the lightest thing that we might survive in that isn’t a bin liner?”
And this is what he came back with:
The Samaya Assault - Weight 1.06kg - Waterproof? - Yes - Price £1,600
The Black Diamond Firstlight - Weight 1.5kg - Waterproof? - Yes - Price £345 (but unavailable)
The Simond (Decathlon) Makalu Alpine - Weight 1kg - Waterproof? - No - Price £299
We couldn’t afford the Samaya Assault and we couldn’t convince them to lend us one (yes, we did ask). The Black Diamond Firstlight is only available in the US and, well, isn’t available for the foreseeable future. That leaves us with the Simond (Decathlon) Makalu Alpine tent. You know, the one that isn’t waterproof. For Norway. In winter.
It looks pretty flimsy, it has no pegs - we will simply bury ski poles in the snow - the poles are made of the same stuff they make cheap toothpicks out of (and are about the same thickness) and it is made of a material that would make a child’s play tent look like a log cabin. In fact, if you gave it to a child to play with, it would last about 10 minutes. In brief; we are going to die!
Did someone drop their shopping bag?
Our illustrious leader conducting rigorous field tests
In its defence though it does have some good reviews and from all the right people. Alpine mountaineers, and really tough guys ice fishing in the far north of Russia etc. However, we couldn’t find one that said they had encountered anything other than perfect conditions.
You’re probably wondering why we would consider a tent that isn’t waterproof. Well, the theory is this: The tent is water resistant. Nordic winters tend towards snow, not rain. Snow, at the time of year we are travelling, is ‘dry’ and will slide off the tent walls, so the need for the tent to be waterproof is (perhaps) not so relevant. The tent will offer shelter from the wind and snow. Our water resistant sleeping bags and other clothing will, hopefully, make it bearable whatever the weather throws at us. It may not be cosy, but we will survive.
Will it survive a Nordic winter storm? Will it be anything other than grim if we get snowed in it for 4 days? Will we drown? Tune in during the first few months of 2022 to find out.
Remember the quote at the start of this blog? I think that may have to become our mantra.
I shall tell you some more about our sleeping bags in the next blog. They are great and have been provided for us to test by the wonderful people at Mountain Equipment.
