We’ve settled into a good routine and were organised and out of the door before the sun came up again. This time, there was not a cloud in the sky and it looked set to be a beautiful but bitterly cold day.

I last hiked up this mountain in December 2003. This time at least, some other climbers had put a track in the snow, which made it much easier than pushing through the shin deep snow, like the previous time.

It was cold from the outset, but today there was an added windchill to contend with as we hiked. The colours of the sunrise were lovely.

It took an hour to reach the ice falls on the side of Gaustatoppen Peak. The ice was well formed this time.

John got straight to work and led up a steep grade IV pitch and set an anchor just below the top so we could do some bottom roping.

I set off up the Grade III gully to the right, but two thirds of the way up, didn’t like the feel of the ice, so retreated off two ice screws. While John got the guys climbing on the steep route, I climbed around the side of the crags and rigged my route, abseiling down it to retrieve the gear. It was cold work and we thought it might be too cold for the group, but between climbing, digging in the snow and huddling behind a snow shelter, we lasted all day.

I was last to climb John’s route and then after creating a double thread ice anchor, I abseiled back down while the others packed up. It certainly warmed me up and focused my attention, hanging high above the floor, from a small bit of cord threaded through the ice!

The sun was setting in superb fashion and the moon rose over the horizon as we hiked back towards the warmth of the van.

This time we had the wind behind us which was a blessing!

I was pretty tired, on arrival back down, but unfortunately, while collecting in the gear at the bus, it was discovered that someone had left an ice axe behind! Two lads volunteered to hike the 45mins back up to the icefalls with me to search, while John took the rest to get some shopping for dinner.

As it turned out, although none of us wanted the extra 5km hike after 7 hours out in the Arctic conditions, it was actually a rather beautiful walk.

With the full moon rising behind us, we didn’t need to use our headtorches and hiked instead by the light of the moon.

The higher the moon got, the brighter it became! The ice cliffs looked incredible and happily, our efforts were not in vain – after five minutes of digging, the lost axe was discovered!

We texted for a pick up and set off back down the mountain.

The lights of the ski resort of Gausta and the full moon guided us back. With the windchill, it was easily below -10°C, but we were well wrapped up and enjoying the experience.

8 hours and 10km after leaving the van, we climbed up onto the heated seats, happy and exhausted. Everyone took a nap on arrival back at the hut, while John and I enjoyed the quiet, with a coffee and feet up in the sofa. Once rested, a big cooking operation took place to get us fed and ready for more tomorrow!

While I sorted the mound of damp kit…