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FishyFolk
26-04-2012, 04:09 PM
Weather was nice today, with a temp where wearing a thin jacket is too warm, but still to cold to go without. So I decided to head into the woods behind the house and just light a fire and have a brew. As around the house the snow is now down to where our strawberry patch on the south wall is free of snow.

So threw a hatched, knife, kettle and firekit in the daypack, and heaed into the woods. 3 meters in, I knew this would be a struggle. 50 meters in I turned back and wen't home, praying for rain so this !%!"#¤% meter of snow would melt quicker. It's completely rotten in there, and I sank in up to my hips for every step.

Now Ray Mears would have fashioned himself a pair of snow shoes and trundled on, but I am a 41 year old, out of shape bloke carrying 20 kilos to many, chrons patient recovering from surgery where I had 50 cm of intestine removed...I had my brew in the garden. My excercise will be had allong the roads for a while... :campfire:

Anyway, mountain code #7 is: Turn back before it's to late, there is no shame in doing so.

Here is the 9 rules the code, which was developed in 1967 after 18 people perished in the mountains during easter that year.

1 Do not go on a long trip without excercise/training.
2 Report what your route will be (and stick to it)
3 Respect the weather and weather reports.
4 Be equipped for bad and cold weather, even on short trips. Always bring a rucksack with the equipment that the mountains demand.
5 Listen to experienced mountaineers
6 Use map and compass
7 Don't go alone
8 Turn back before it's to late, there is no shame in doing so.
9 Save your strength, and dig a snow hole in the snow if necessary

Norway is for the most part just a mountain range, stretching down the scandinavian peninsula from north to south, and in the north, mountain conditions persist even in the low lands.

Martin
26-04-2012, 04:17 PM
Very good advice Rune. It applies equally to remote low land areas as well as mountain areas although we don't get much opportunity to dig snow holes. :(

Enjoy your next trip out.

Martin

comanighttrain
26-04-2012, 04:32 PM
good post - this bit sticks out to me



1 Do not go on a long trip without excercise/training.


so many people end up abandoning even flat routes due to this....

FishyFolk
26-04-2012, 04:35 PM
I am really out of shape. After 50 meters I knew I just did not have the strenght for this. This will be the summer where I work myself into shape, with the goal of getting up in the mountain plateus above the house for a few days of hiking...but that is for next summer....I am that bad off and need the time. It's strange to think that just 10 years ago I was a quallified infantry signals/rifleman...and could tab anyone into the ground.

I really let myself go when that life was over....

Silverback
26-04-2012, 05:20 PM
good post - this bit sticks out to me



so many people end up abandoning even flat routes due to this....

Yes, and its no fun carrying a loaded stretcher for 9 hours in waist deep snow.

We have our own advice here.....

http://www.mountain.rescue.org.uk/mountain-advice

scotland.....

http://www.mountainrescuescotland.org/advice/

and as Martin says it applies equally well to low lying areas too.

FishyFolk
26-04-2012, 06:42 PM
The norwegian mountain code is short, but it makes it easy to remember. We learn it by heart from early in school.

Of course it also covers low lying areas. But if you are prepared for the mountain, you are prepared for the low country as well...

happybonzo
26-04-2012, 06:44 PM
It's amazing how quickly one becomes unfit. You just need to do little and often then it will al come right for you.
Crohns is a real b*****d, just take it steady. My pal had it and he went from about 90kgs to 55kgs in just a few weeks

FishyFolk
26-04-2012, 06:50 PM
good post - this bit sticks out to me



so many people end up abandoning even flat routes due to this....

A lot of peopel simply don't know their limits. One thing is to walk home from work a few clicks ebvery day, another is to trundle on a path in the wildlands, with 10-20 kilos on your back.
Also, people have no idea what to is necessary, and what is a total waste of space/energy...

In younger years I worked in a youth club and we had what today I would call a Bushcraft group, we called it the Wilderness group. Anyway, I was their mentor, as the kids did it all themselves. I was only with them becouse this was funded by the council, and a grown up or two had to be with them on trips.

Anyway these kids had no problem packing right. As we called in their parents to learn a.) How to dress in cold/wet weather, b.) what to pack.
As on the first trip, kids showed up with things like 2-3 litres of coca cola and 3-4 pairs of demin trousers in their back packs for an overnight tenting trip in the mountains...it was lunacy.
After that I always checked the kids packs before we set out...

Metal mug
27-04-2012, 10:46 AM
It's a good little guide to print out and keep up on your wall, or kit cupboard. :)

Silverback
27-04-2012, 12:13 PM
The norwegian mountain code is short, but it makes it easy to remember. We learn it by heart from early in school.

Of course it also covers low lying areas. But if you are prepared for the mountain, you are prepared for the low country as well...

If only ours were taught earlier............. I and others like me may get to spend more time at home.

gumball
28-04-2012, 02:10 PM
1 Do not go on a long trip without excercise/training.


Yes, we do sometimes care too much about our knives, axes or other pieces of kit, forgetting that our bodies need to be kept in a good shape as well.

ChristerM
12-05-2012, 07:12 PM
Another thing here in Norway, is that those "rules" are repeated every year on tv and in various newspapers just before the easter hols etc.
When lots of people head for the mountains....

"Severin Suveren".....

(That won't mean anything unless you are norwegian... haha)