Sun
21 Jun
2015
(20th-21st June 2015) – Beerenberg – this famous, infamous mountain, towering 2277 metres above the sea in the middle of the north Atlantic, with its glacier-crowned crater summit, is a peak that one should be careful to hope for. Too much has to fit, too many factors that you just can’t control, mainly the weather, of course. How many times did I write emails to people who were thinking about this trip emphasizing they shouldn’t be focussed on Beerenberg too much. And quite right so. This would mainly increase the risk for frustration. Nevertheless, be prepared. There might suddenly be an open door.
But of course, most of us here have got this desire. And for me, it was this imagination of this peak that made me search for options some years ago, which resultet in the trips with Siggi and his boat Aurora. So, yes: I want to get up there, too.
Today might be the day. Everything is looking good, starting with the weather forecast. It is supposed to be mostly calm for several days, and the low cloud layer that is covering Jan Mayen should give way to the blue sky as soon as one has reached an altitude of some hundred metres, according to the Norwegian meteorologists. This could be our window of opportunity, our golden moment.
And everybody in this group who wants to join the climb is fit and experienced. There’s eight of us who dream of the Beerenberg summit. All of us have got similar experience from arctic or alpine environments. You should not underestimate Beerenberg. The distances, the altitude, the terrain … it is easy to think, it can’t be much of a problem, I have been to 3000 metres in the Alps. No, Beerenberg is more demanding, although 2277 metres don’t sound like much.
We have got yet another advantage: station commander Viggo, who would love to join us if duty was not calling elsewhere, offers us a very welcome ride to the north lagoon, which saves us from a hike of 13 kilometres with full luggage, saving important energy reserves that we will need later. Not a big deal for Viggo, but a huge advantage for us, that we could never have asked or hoped for – such are the rules here.
(more…)