Update and Some Exciting News
I’m writing this on the bus back to Oslo. It is snowing quite heavily as we drive south past both frozen and not so frozen lakes.
The cloud is low and the falling snow compounds the poor visibility. It is though still very beautiful. The pine trees bedecked in white above a mantle of winter snow.
Certainly no sign of spring here.
The traditionally red painted barns and outhouses provide the only real contrast to this monochrome world. Occasionally a particularly imaginative local may have painted their home bright blue but generally the clapboard houses we pass are varying shades of white. Bright, light, dark, dirty or maybe a hint of yellow. Ultimately all shades of white are carefully accounted for.
Ah… Forgive me. I seem to have descended into a state of poetic melancholy.
Here’s an image from yesterday to show that it doesn’t take much to give this monochrome world a touch of glorious colour.
A spot of sunshine and the white turns to blue
Work commitments mean that this has been a short (for us) break, just two weeks, so I’ve not been so prolific with my blogging.
Partially this has been down to technology. Not a lack of signal, or issues with my phone, no, this has been about being sidetracked by new technology. More commonly known as new toys.
Garmin GPS67i. My dream navigation device. I even know what some of the buttons do.
The camera body is old. The lens is new. The photographer is inept
The problem has been that, whilst I may own shiny new things I don’t necessarily have the foggiest idea how any of them work. This means that much of my spare time has been spent conducting the following types of Google searches in the hope of becoming an expert user, preferably by the YouTube osmosis effect
Why won’t my Garmin talk to my phone?
Why do I need my Garmin to talk to my phone?
What does this button do?
My very expensive camera takes great photos, but not in overcast conditions, how can I fix this without spending days staring at YouTube videos…
…or actually reading the manual?
What happens if I press this?
Why are YouTube videos so dull?
The problem is, as many of you will know, that rabbit holes in the Googleverse abound. By some quirk of quantum leap theory, this means that research into say, ‘photography and over exposure in dull light,’ is more likely to lead you to discovering why characters in American sit-coms never say goodbye when ending telephone conversations than anything remotely relating to photography.
Anyway, blogging excuses aside, it’s been a marvellous holiday, which I will now illustrate with some pretty pictures, a few not entirely random statistics and the odd informative jotting.
One misty, frosty morning when cloudy was the weather…
…I met a lovely lady a clothed all in Gortex (Apologies to Steel Eye Span fans)
We have skied just shy of 100 miles (160km) through some amazing wilderness. We have seen some slightly odd things…
Snowmageddon! How’d that boat get there!?
Mrs P has learned that her new ski boots are very comfortable.
These boots were made for skiing
We saw some sun-dogs…
Sundogs, an atmospheric optical phenomenon
…which was cool because they are quite rare. They are, also known as "mock suns," and can only be seen in certain conditions. For more info see the following link
Getting used to my new camera lens
Much fun has been had avoiding the marked trails.
One snowy day we set out to find a hobbit house…
… Open to the public these huts are a great place to stop for lunch.
Mrs P has learned how to ski in lots of different conditions.
Good snow, sticky snow, deep snow, snow on lakes, snow through trees, even downhill through trees. Mrs P and her new boots have tried it all.
Which brings me on to a bit of news.
We both already miss the simplicity of just skiing every day. No chores to worry about, just the daily journey into the beautiful, white wilderness. So why not plan a big trip?
As many of you will know I didn’t manage to ski the ‘whole’ length of Norway in 2022. There is an approximately 900km (560 mile) gap in that particular journey. From a place called Haukleseter Fjellstue to Sandvika, Nordli.
In 2025, Mrs P (and her new boots) and I will be filing that gap, following the Hamilton Route. Over approximately 50 days of skiing we will pull a pulk (sledge) with camping gear and travel from hut to hut with occasional stays in the tent.
Watch this space as we plan and organise this epic journey.
