SAMAYA x SVEN BURGI

 

 

Sven Burgi, Swiss mountaineer and young filmmaker, took five of his companions on their first major expedition to Norway. Paul Dutoit, Paul Jaquet, Julien Bédat, Quentin Moreillon, Matthieu Pujol and Sven faced two weeks of itinerant bivouacking in total autonomy, carrying 300 kilograms of equipment towed by pulkas. For Samaya, the team recounts this icy epic.

 

Sven Burgi: I grew up watching films of big ski expeditions, and when you're in the mountains, it's something to dream about and something that's always in the back of your mind. I see it as a mountaineer's lifelong goal, at least for me. Staying in the Alps would be like evolving only on our training ground. Of course, there are extreme projects to be done in the Alps, but undertaking expeditions in uncharted territory remains an achievement with a special flavor. I asked Paul D. if he was up for the adventure, and once the team was complete, we embarked on 6 months of preparation.

 

Paul Dutoit: I immediately accepted Sven's invitation and joined his project. There was one condition: I had to travel to Norway by soft mobility.

 

Sven Burgi: Travelling by train turned out to be an incredible experience, both for the film and on a personal scale. It added so much density to our journey, rather than boarding a plane, flying for a few hours and being telescoped to the other side of the world without really realizing it.

 

Paul Dutoit: Long-distance train travel is an experience everyone should have. You realize the distances involved, and you share the moment with your mates. With our 52 hours of transport, 7 trains, 3 buses, 5 pulkas and 300 kilograms of equipment, we were really immersed in the sensation of traveling, sunk into our seats and absorbed by the landscape passing tirelessly behind the windows. Having experienced this, you appreciate the place you arrive in all the more.

 

Sven Burgi: The parallelism we felt was that of comparing the enjoyment of a ski descent after having climbed the mountain in skins or having taken the ski lifts.

 

Matthieu Pujol: Our adventure really got off the ground at Lausanne station. It was the first day and we were already off to a flying start.

 

Sven Burgi: Camp 1 wasn't necessarily very interesting, as the skiing was average due to our low altitude and a terrain that had become concrete following heavy rain.

 

Paul Dutoit: When we arrived at this starting point, which marked our first steps in the valley, I felt a kind of disillusionment. As if it wasn't everything we'd dreamed of for 6 months.

 

Sven Burgi: As we went deeper into the glacier over the next few days, we could see the conditions improving and this hidden treasure gradually opening up to us.

 

Matthieu Pujol: Getting to Camp 2 was a tedious process. The transitions between camps meant dismantling the previous one in the cold and wind, loading the pulkas and then pulling them for miles to the next drop-off point. We tried to take the flattest routes possible, but some inclines were unavoidable, slowing our progress and adding to our fatigue. Once we arrived at our destination, it took us at least 4 hours to set up camp, between pitching tents and erecting our "ramparts", large walls of snow that protected us from the wind and noise. Once the camp was up and running, we had our work cut out for us. Freshly installed in the tent, my mattress was punctured and the freeze-dried food Paul D. kept under his fleece to keep it warm burst.

 

Paul Dutoit: As a little anecdote, when I cleaned my fleece at home on our return, after having worn it throughout the expedition and on the train, I still found pieces of chicken in it.

 

Julien Bédat: In addition to the wind, the cold was an integral part of our expedition. Before leaving, we carried out a 5-day test phase, which proved to be essential. It may have seemed obvious, but it was essential to get a feel for the cold. The temperature dropped to -15°C on those first few nights of testing, and it was much worse in Norway. It made me realize just how cold it was, and helped me readjust the equipment I'd chosen. I'd never have thought of taking a pair of down pants otherwise. Today, I realize that it was one of the most important pieces of equipment on this expedition. Almost as important as my skis!

 

Sven Burgi: On this kind of expedition, dealing with the cold over such a long period is not the same as dealing with it over 3 or 4 days. The excessively low temperatures without an ounce of warmth were wearing us down, especially as they were dropping day by day. Gradually, all our gear started to get damp. For me, socks really started to become a problem, and I could barely keep my feet warm. We spent our time shaking our hands and feet, looking for a little warmth. It wasn't enough to avoid the frostbite we all suffered by the end of the stay.

 

Paul Dutoit: We were almost constantly below -20°C, not to mention the incessant wind, which made things feel even worse.

 

Julien Bédat: It was one of my first experiences where the cold was a factor that really scared me. All our days were organized to deal with the cold. When do you prepare food, when do you melt water, how do you dress, do you put on several layers, knowing that the climb on skis will warm you up, then your perspiration will cool you down and you'll be cold again? These incessant questions gnawed at our insides and contributed to our fatigue.

 

Matthieu Pujol: Our days were the easiest, despite the commitment we put into each outing, because we could enjoy the sunshine and the effort that warmed us as we climbed in our skins. In the evenings, on the other hand, all we could dream of was curling up in a cosy bed by the fire. When the sun came out on the other side of the mountain, it was hard. There was never a moment's respite in which to recharge our batteries. We still had to fight to do everything. Just melting the evening water for everyone took us 1h30. Sometimes we just wanted to let ourselves go, to lie down in our comforters without eating or drinking.

 

Paul Dutoit: That's where the strength of the team comes in. We all had our moments of weakness, but they didn't all happen at the same time. Some nights, those who needed to rest did so a little less than the rest of the group, and vice versa.

 

Sven Burgi: Camp 3 was the mildest day of the whole expedition. Sometimes we found our camp flooded with sunshine, and even at -10°C, we were warm. Being able to enjoy moments in the tents without wearing down jackets was precious. But before that, it was at Camp 2 that we were able to start making great images with good skiing in big lines. At that point, we really felt we'd found what we'd come for. It had snowed, we'd done some big lines and we were all pumped up. The fatigue of dragging the pulkas was behind us: we reached the foot of the faces in just 40 minutes.

 

Paul Dutoit: It's hard to describe the sensations we experienced on the ski runs. You wake up, you're in the thick of it, you're starting to climb, all your neurons aren't quite connected yet, and suddenly you realize you're climbing an incredible face. Below us, the immense glacier, all around us, the Norwegian light flooding in with its low sun diffusing warm hues on the snow. Clouds and crystal-filled flakes sparkle. We're with our best buddies. It's beyond magical.

 

Sven Burgi: To reach these timeless spots where we set up Camp 3, we crossed this immense glacier with our pulkas, navigating between the seracs. Little by little, all the mountains opened up. We felt like tiny, tiny dots in the middle of a gigantic landscape, with lines as far as the eye could see. We were able to descend many magnificent faces that flowed into the fjords. We also had to give up a lot. We never put ourselves in danger. We're serious about that, and the locals' warnings about avalanches on our outward journey made us all the more cautious.

 

Paul Dutoit: We had 3 days of good weather left, during which we wanted to ski as many big lines as possible. Paul J., Julien and Sven wanted to do a big line in the morning and follow it up with another at sunset. It was already late for the second line and a certain amount of fatigue had built up. We had to move far enough away from the first glacier to take advantage of the beautiful evening light. For my part, I set off with Quentin on a first line a little further away. Galvanized by the first descent and full of confidence, we decided to go for a second. For the same reasons of light orientation, we had to switch to a valley further on. Once we've completed our last descent, we quietly make our way back to Camp 3.

 

Sven Burgi: On our side, we spend quite a bit of time waiting at the second summit for the sun to turn and reach the face.

 

Matthieu Pujol: The walkie-talkies we used to use to communicate from one team to the other were no longer working because of a pass that separated us. We weren't too worried, though, because we knew that the other half of the group would be back late. Slowly, the bad weather moved into the distance, in the area where it was. We still had no news and began to worry.

 

Julien Bédat: In terms of emotion, it was pretty tough. We were on Store Jægervasstinden, with its rather unusual and extreme face, very exposed, opening onto a narrow 50° couloir off a cliff. To get down, you have to traverse a whole strip of snow before emerging through a snowdrift that leads to a final, much flatter phase. We were all aware that the first part was a nofall zone. By the time we reached this magnificent summit, whose ridge was silhouetted in the sunlight, we were beginning to feel the accumulated fatigue of the last few days. We had to redouble our vigilance and make no mistakes. We waited at the top for the right moment, keeping our wits about us. It was the last descent of the expedition and we were going to make the most of it.

 

Matthieu Pujol: Back at camp, we still had 3 days to go. The weather had taken a turn for the worse, and by mutual agreement we decided to cut our stay short. After rationing ourselves a fair bit during the expedition to make sure we didn't run out, we feasted on what we had left, gobbling up snacks without a second thought. After this last night, we packed up camp and returned to civilization. But we weren't done yet, as we had to pull the pulkas in the opposite direction again. With the sloping terrain, it was a struggle right up to the last moment.

 

Paul Dutoit: As on the outward journey, we found ourselves on the return train. As on the outward journey, we were this tight-knit band of friends, with perhaps a little less equipment, but with a lot more emotions and feelings mixed in.