Anyway… Sarkofagen is the mountain directly out the back of Nybyen and requires quite the walk around before you can get to the top. We had wanted to go walking for a while, none of this skiing stuff, and we met a now PhD student who came from Aber back in 2007 with Gemma. The plan was to leave early so that we could reach the top when the sunlight was at its greatest and to get down before it disappeared again. This meant, at least for us, an early wake up to be ready and out of the barracks at 1030. As I predicted we made it out a little later heading to Barrack 13 to collect avalanche gear. The path up to Sarkofagen starts heading out the back of barrack 13 and we headed along a trial that a group of skiers had left early that morning, though we later found out why skis are slightly more practical, as they glide along the top of the snow while our feet plunge a foot down into it. The path up was incredibly steep in places and as my back had still not fully recovered from its re-injury whilst skiing last week I could only take it very slowly. Who would have though a back injury would restrict the movement of your legs!
As we neared the top of each ridge the wind picked up significantly and by the time we reached the top of the glacier it was a consistent snowy breeze. It did not feel that cold as we were walking up, however, this was mostly due to the physical exhortation and when the terrain flattened out the temperature drop was felt. We only had one more hill to climb before we reached the ridge of Sarkofagen by following the rocks as closely as possible you can avoid the knee deep snow. This, however, is not guaranteed. At this point Frances and Hannah were way out in front leaving Stu, Andrew and I trudging along as I attempted to make my spine cooperate with my legs. It did not!
When we got to the top of the ridge the wind had picked up significantly leaving my nose almost white in the chill. It is at this point, or before this point preferably, that you cover any exposed areas of skin to avoid the inevitable frost bite. This process is a silly one as it normally requires you to remove several other vitally important pieces of clothing to get the new one in place in the meantime leaving other vital areas exposed. After a relatively swift clothing rearrangement we carried along the ridge to the front and top of the mountain looking out on Longyearbyen in the valley below. After a brief stop and picture session we started the walk down as the light was quickly reducing.
The walk down, I feel, is although swift, a far more jarring and difficult one. We attempted to follow the tracks we had left in the snow for the most part however the wind being what it was and the snow being light most of them had disappeared in the short time since we left them. For most of the way down I got the privilege of Stu’s supporting arm as we both continuously fell through the snow. At points I had Stu on one side and Andrew on the other making it feel like a scene out of singing in the rain though not sure which of the boys was Gene Kelly and which was Donald O’Connor.
I managed to get some spectacular footage of Andrew acting like a seal and a generally hilarious and lovable idiot. We made it back pretty quickly and only on the way down did we realize exactly how steep some of the climbs we made were the last one requiring us to slide down on our butts.
All in all it was a good fun walk and it was really nice to go on a proper hike up a snow covered mountain without people insisting we should be wearing skis. The rest of the day has been spent allowing my back to recover, kinda, and watching lots of Lie To Me at Stu’s insistence. I will convert you all!
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