Upcoming Training and Exploration Trip in Hardangervidda, Norway

Hardangervidda is the largest plateau in northern Europe and the largest national park in Norway. This park is an extremely valuable highland area. It is home to the largest herds of wild reindeer in Europe and is the southernmost habitat of the snowy owl, the Arctic fox, and other species of Arctic flora and fauna.

One of the main reasons for turning this territory into a National Park was to ensure a good habitat for wild reindeer populations. In Hardangervidda, herds of wild reindeer still follow their seasonal migration routes without much danger. Hardangervidda is also well known for its good fishing.

Here, the famous explorer, Roald Amudsen, almost lost his life in the winter of 1896. But his failure set him on the path of education, study, and exploration that led to his historic conquest of the South Pole.

<< Lost in a snowstorm on a frigid day in 1896, disoriented and without direction, Roald Amundsen and his companion Leon decided to bivouac. They dropped their immense backpacks, unstrapped their long skis, and dug a hole in the snow.

After digging two holes, like shallow graves, they crawled into their reindeer skin sleeping bags. They couldn’t stop trembling terribly. It was January in the mountains of southwestern Norway, when snow and wind, darkness and cutting cold—the winter wolves—conspire to kill the unprepared. After skiing for three weeks to cross the 100-mile-wide expanse of the Hardangervidda plateau, wandering between snowstorms and bivouacking repeatedly, they became thin and weak beings. Their stove didn’t work, and they hadn’t eaten for days.

During the night, the snow piled up on the sleeping bags, muffling the sound of the wind’s roar. The slow breathing moisture of the brothers froze the interiors of their bags. The weight of the snow almost buried their bodies in that place, forever. They were almost buried alive.

The next day, at 23 years old, Roald woke up, found himself buried in ice, unable to move. But Leon, at 25, with crazy effort, managed to escape. Only the tips of his brother’s boots were still visible. Leon, digging frantically, took over an hour to pull Roald out before he suffocated.

Later that day, the brothers, skiing south of the Hardangervidda, frozen and hungry, found their way to Mogen, a cluster of wooden cabins at the northern end of a body of water called Vinjefjorden.

There they were found by a farmer, who fed them and took them in. >>

Undoubtedly, this experience prepared Amundsen to become one of the greatest polar explorers of all time. Amundsen, in gratitude, gave his compass to the farmer. His great-grandson still preserves it.

Hardangervidda became the perfect polar training ground. Amundsen would later ironically recall that his ski trek “was as exhausting and dangerous as any of my trips

This experience shaped the course of his life. Ill-equipped and ignorant, flush with youthful arrogance, Amundsen would never again make such mistakes.

Here was born one of his most famous quotes: “Adventure is just bad planning“.

In this incomparable setting, which we deeply respect, not only for its nature and landscapes but also for being the place where the greatest explorers in polar history trained for their journeys, we are going to “get in shape” ourselves as well.

We leave on March 1st, and for 8 days we will embark on a ski and pulk journey, during which we will have time to train and carry out various workshops with the students of the third Spanish promotion aspiring to the W.G.A.

We will also take the opportunity to collect information and contacts so that we can soon share new experiences with you.

We will keep you posted!!