The Challenges of Norwegian Cabin and Ski Trips (Short Film)

This is my third post this week aimed at raising awareness and supporting an awesome project my friend is working on called Taqanu, which aims to provide blockchain-based banking access to refugees and everyone who might be excluded by the modern financial system. To learn about the project, please click here to see my original post about it.

Almost every Norwegian family I've ever met has a cabin somewhere. They are often in remote, hard to get to places, which makes for some interesting challenges, especially in the winter time. Here are some of the challenges we faced on a trip in Easter week of last year, technically in the spring but still with plenty of snow, and not all that far outside Norway's capital and largest city, Oslo:

1. Getting there

Many cabins are purposely well off the beaten track. They often require long car rides followed by a hike or ski trek into the woods. We didn't have a car, so we had to find other means. This involved a train ride to Hønefoss (an hour long because it was a very indirect route through Drammen but was the only option) followed by a taxi ride from the train station since almost no buses were running on the holiday weekend.

We didn't want to spend too much on a taxi ride (they are insanely expensive like everything here), so we had the driver drop us off somewhere along the way to the trails. However, we soon realized we were still pretty far from the trailhead, so we resorted to hitchhiking. Now, I've never really hitchhiked before and was admittedly a bit nervous to try (even though Norway is an incredibly safe place). Luckily, seeing that we were merely some fellow cross-country skiers, the very first car stopped for us, loaded our gear into their roof rack, and took us right where we needed to be. I could get used to that!

From the trailhead, it was just a few kilometers across the frozen lake, and we were home free.

2. Waxing up the skis

Cross-country skis require waxing. Why? Not to make them slippery, it's actually to make them sticky. The ski is slightly bowed in the middle so that, when you are gliding, the smooth front and back tips are taking the bulk of the contact with the ground. When you go to push off for the next step, the weight of your step pushes down the waxed middle section of the ski and gives you the necessary grip to take a hearty lunge forward.

The wax is a bit of a pain, however. First, you have to know which color to use based on the temperature. It's also sticky, so it gets everywhere if you aren't careful. Gotta have it though!

Wax on, wax off

3. Fetching water

As I mentioned, a lot of cabins lack electricity and running water. This is by design - Norwegians are really good at connecting with nature by unplugging. But it is nice to have some water to, you know, clean the dishes and such.

Luckily for us, the cabin we visited is right next to a lake. A quickly drilled hole through the ice and we were ready to collect some fresh water good enough for drinking.

Can't beat fresh mountain water

4. Walking around the cabin

When the snow piles up, walking is not easy. This I learned the hard way. We were fortunate to have several sets of snow shoes from our host at the cabin. One of the pairs was really old, though! While they looked awesome, the newer snow shoe "technology" is far superior in gripping the ground on uphill inclines.

Vintage!

5. Skiing down hills

Cross-country skiing is great exercise. You'd think the hard part would be going uphill, and it is. But going downhill is difficult for other reasons, and frightening for a beginner like me. Aside from falling, there's also the fear of crashing into a person headed the other direction on crowded trails. I managed this particular trip with just a few spectacular wipeouts, but nothing major to speak of.

6. Navigating the trails

Many of the cross-country trails are neatly groomed with tracks, definitely a plus. But if you get too comfortable on a track and forget to check the signs and map, you could quickly end up headed down the wrong path. The paths can be quite labyrinthine, and choosing the wrong one can quickly add a significant distance to your journey. Hope you brought some extra granola bars!

7. Intimidating Norwegian youths

And by youths I mean 8-year old girls. A pair of which flew right past me at one point, further rubbing in how terrible I am at cross-country. In my defense, we were 25 km in, and I was carrying a heavy backpack!

I say this jokingly, of course. I actually think it's really awesome that young people want to get out and be active, and that they are so skilled at skiing!

One day I'll be this good at skiing...but not today

8. Making an entertaining film from the trip

If you thought a video about cross-country skiing would be exciting, well, I hope you aren't disappointed. It's basically like jogging through the woods, after all. I gave it my best shot, though, and I think it went okay. Enjoy!

Music from my friend's band Miranova, from Columbus, Ohio. Check them out here!

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Adventure Every Day is a travel & exploration channel started in 2016. In addition to the Steemit blog, I post short films of my adventures to the Adventure Every Day YouTube channel. Please follow and subscribe if you enjoy the content, and upvote this post to help me help Taqanu!

Have you been on any cross-country skiing adventures? Tell me about it in the comments below!