Archive For September 23, 2023
‘There is more to see for those who listen’ stated the banner flying by the cobbled ramp up to the so-called Dracula’s castle at Bran. I’ve no idea why these words of wisdom were there but they made me smile. They also reminded me of Harley’s father’s adage ‘The wise old owl sat in an oak, the more he saw the less he spoke, the less he spoke the more he heard. Why can’t we all be like that wise old bird’.
Anyway. What about the skiing?
We started off at Balea lake in the Fagarash mountains, arriving in a windy white out. That afternoon the clouds parted to show steep slopes loaded with fresh, wind-blown snow. We enjoyed several laps in the powder on the gentlest part of the bowl. The following day was perfect with blue skies, sunshine and wonderful cold, undisturbed snow. Magical.
Sadly for us that was it for the good weather. The wind picked up and blew for the remainder of the trip, stripping the snow off the tops and blowing it who knows where? We did enjoy one long sunny day traversing the Bucegi summits but in a howling gale and on blasted snow. What with the winds and stripped snow up high and terrible ankle breaking sludge low down it was a struggle to find sensible things to do. So, at Poiana Brasov and Azuga we skinned up through the trees then descended the pistes which worked out just fine.
Didn’t Shakespeare write something along the lines of ‘one should not be old before one is wise’!?
Жолунар шыдыр болсу. ’May your journey be smooth’. I had spotted the road sign through frosted van windows earlier in the day. It was -13°C. Fast forward to midday and our smart looking Mercedes Sprinter 4 X 4 had front nearside wheel and disc lying on the ground, axle on a piston jack. Wheel bearings finished. Road travel in places such as Kyrgyzstan is often anything but smooth.
In a pre-trip email Gordon had asked whether he should bring his big PHD puffer jacket. ‘Good idea for when the bus breaks down’ was my flippant reply. Tempting fate?
The driver’s son was dispatched to fetch replacement bearings, so we waited, surrounded by orchards, with a lovely view across Lake Issyk Kul and nothing else. After a couple of hours it was time to do something. The only place to eat was in Barskoon and that was way too far to walk so we asked them to send us taxis. An old Lada Samara duly arrived and took half the team. Another vintage banger followed and with relief the rest of us headed for civilisation. We had only just set off when it too broke down and grumbled to an undignified halt. Surrounded by more orchards we had a different view of the lake.
The concrete, bare-walled place to eat was freezing but it did provide most welcome steaming hot soup, dumplings and tea. It was warmer out than in so we wandered around until the sun set. Back inside and with another round of tea, we learnt the good news – replacement bearings were being fitted and the bus would soon be on its way. Spirits rose until Andrey’s phone rang again – the bus had broken down. Wrong bearings.
Another Sprinter was ordered from Karakol but that was going to take two hours to arrive and the ladies were closing up. Where were we to go? The kindly manager Nazik took the lot of us to her home where she and her husband Termirkul and their boys plied us with more tea, delicious homemade bread, jam and blackcurrant and apricot juice. A memorable experience for all.
Eight hours after our initial break down our replacement van arrived driven by Sasha With The Gold Teeth. It was 9pm and we drove off into the night. Pretty scary and you can see why from the photos……
Smooth travels?
‘Throw the ropes!’, ‘Come on!’ came the command. The team turned and looked at the hapless skipper, eyebrows raised, as the yacht drifted closer to the floating dock. There were no ‘ropes’ ready. They had not been prepared despite two members of the team having mentioned mooring warps on the approach.
I’m fortunate to have done many sail ski trips now and seen a range of skippers with differing levels of competence, from the pinnacle of professionalism to this guy.
Svalbard and the island of Spitsbergen delivered the goods yet again. Sailing and skiing in such a sensational environment really is a privilege. Ice threatened anchorages, bears, sunshine, and bad weather along with the expedition feel from being on a very small yacht make this a memorable experience.
Temperatures had been unseasonably high in the weeks prior to our visit in early June. The snow had taken a hammering but despite its soggy nature it was still very skiable. We enjoyed sufficient good weather to really appreciate the place and enough bad weather to remind us of who is in charge. I think the highlights are the midnight sun ski on the Adambreen, the traverse from Gullybukta to Rekvedbukta over the Nepebreen to finish the trip and of course, Emma and Harry’s fish pie!
Our time in Greenland was dominated by three deep Atlantic low-pressure zones which funnelled very strong NNE winds down the coast accompanied by abundant precipitation. It was unseasonably warm, so this fell as rain, which is no fun on a snow camping, ski experience.
The first low delayed our departure from Matt and Helen’s island of comfort in Kulusuk. We eventually made it out using an eclectic mix of waterborne and terrestrial craft. Tents were pitched and polar bear protocol rigidly adhered to. It continued to rain.
Low number two announced its arrival in the middle of our camping adventure. ‘What to do’ as the Russians say? Breakfast debate led to a 50:50 split with Gao, the local Greenlander, using his casting vote. We packed up and headed for Kulusuk pronto. There we spent two days indoors sheltering from forty knot winds and a downpour. At least we weren’t in tents.
The final weather system meant that all flights were cancelled and so we couldn’t leave. We were stuck in Greenland. Listening to ferocious gusts and rain hammering against the windows I think we were all just happy not to be trying to fly in such weather. Irish fails, croissants and bread were baked, books were read, guitars played, and the time passed.
The weather wasn’t all bad and on the good days the scenery and views were magnificent. Just look at the photos. It was also very interesting staying in Kulusuk learning a little about the locals. Their way of life is under huge pressure from the outside world and from climate change.
The snow in Troms this month of May was the best I skied in the entire 2022 ski season. From 1 – 8 May it was full-on winter with abundant cold freshies. Perhaps because of the cold wild weather nobody else was out? It was just great.
Most of our skiing was from the tiny settlement of Reinfjord which is reached by coastal ferry from Skjervøy. There we were based in the warm and comfortable house belonging to our host Oddmund Hansen. Oddmund had pretty much built the place from scratch, and it was a lovely place to stay for a few days. We were well fed on excellent local fare, home cooked by Heidi assisted by her husband Jan Tore.
We had great skiing and a lot of laughs!
The 70 metre, 2424 ton Jon Kjartansson pelagic trawler dominated the little port of Eskifjordur – generators growling and lights ablaze. Fascinated, we asked Berglind if she could arrange a visit.
Jon Kjartansson was in from fishing for blue whiting south of the Faroe Islands and if I remember rightly she had landed 800 tonnes for processing. Her foray had burnt 140 000 litres of her 482 000 litre diesel capacity. She was about to set sail and first stop was Tórshavn to top up the tanks, diesel being 12 Icelandic Kroner a litre cheaper there than in Iceland.
The on-watch engineer showed us her fishing grounds which were all over the north Atlantic. He explained that the worst water was 300 to 400 nautical miles to the west of Ireland in winter where the seas could be huge. Despite the spotless, luxurious accommodation and financial gain, trawling in winter gales and 13 metre swell cannot be for the faint hearted.
The bridge resembled a multi-console video gaming platform and as we descended the stairs at the end of our visit, I couldn’t help thinking that the fish really don’t stand much of a chance with vessels such as this harvesting the seas.
The Jon Kjartansson was built in Norway in 2003 for a family fishing company in Whalsay, Shetland and was named Charisma. The Whalsay fishers have a new Charisma that bit longer, bigger, faster, and better equipped than her predecessor. Her holds can store 2350 tonnes of fish and her diesel tanks 599 000 litres. Definitely worth checking pump prices before filling up.