For the last four days we have been out on our snow shoe expedition. On Tuesday morning we had a short taxi drive to our drop off point where we met our dog team of 10 Huskies and our Musher. We loaded camping kit onto the cargo sledge and set off on our first day. This involved an 8km hike along a frozen lake to a remote island where we found our first cabin. Along the way the boys took turns driving the Husky team in the sparkling sunshine. After a cup of tea we climbed the highest summit on the island through fresh powder that without snow shoes would have been waist deep. We stood on the top and took in the wilderness that was spread out before us, islands and mountains jutting out from frozen ice as though they were jutting out above a sea of clouds. We picked out a beautiful mountain that was reminiscent of Ben Nevis and traced a line that we thought might be possible for the following day. The run down through the trees with the powder sparkling like fairy dust was spectacular. That night we enjoyed a cooked meal and the warmth of the log burning stove.
Wednesday saw us head off from the cabin across a frozen lake to the base of the mountain we had chosen the day before. We used the dog team to shuttle some of the team across for a bit of fun, Martin had been out with the dogs the night before for a night time trail bash through deep powder to put a route in for us. As we steadily climbed we followed safe travel techniques to avoid any avalanche danger and soon reached our summit of 1353m (Laksanutane). The views were stunning, the morning light was spectacular again but the clear skies gave us a summit temperature of -25c so we did not hang around for long. The run down through the fresh powder was incredible. We spent the late afternoon building a snow shelter which became that nights accommodation for those that wanted too. No names mentioned of those that stayed in the cabin! Some members of the team had a ride with the dogs that afternoon too.
On Thursday we had a big day snow shoeing about 15km through deep powder. We had another 6km or so of crossing frozen lakes, island hopping along the way. We then headed over a high ridge and dropped down into the next valley. By now the visibility was negligible with low cloud and snow swirling aorund us. This made for challenging navigation following a bearing through featureless ground for 4km to find our Lavu camp for the night. Our Musher had got there first by a longer route that was dog friendly and had the stove lit and the Lavu warm for us. We pitched tents and cooked our own meals on our stoves. Stu and the Musher enjoyed a 20km night time ride to collect firewood for us.
Friday morning saw us emerge from our tents to more fresh snow and a breakfast in the Lavu. We then had a 10km snowshoe over rolling hills, through snow carpeted forests, across a frozen lake and back to the road for a pick up. Ed spent the morning with the dog team, reveling in his new role as assistant musher! We then all enjoyed a hot shower and good meal at the hotel before a late night of drinking expensive whisky!
It has been a truly awesome trip, a real adventure through a frozen and incredibly beautiful wilderness. The boys have been brilliant company, the dogs amazing and we have all loved the variety of the week. The thrill of exploring, looking after ourselves in the extreme weather and conditions and the sheer jaw dropping beauty of the environment we have been in has been something we will all remember for a very long time.
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