There was a little fresh snow on the road as we drove away from our misty mountain cabin for the last time.

There were quite a few climbers heading down to where we’d planned to go, so carried on towards the Krokan area, where we’d climbed previously. There was still plenty to do there and the group were beginning to tire, so the short walk and easier climbs appealed to everyone.

While I looked after those who wanted to climb, John set to work with the others for a few hours of digging, that produced a ‘shovel up’ igloo that could just about house them all.

We packed up and drove away around 14:00, down the valley past the famous ‘Heavy Water’ factory, having dusted off as much snow off the kit as possible.

As we rolled away, we had all the van heaters on to dry our boots and had gloves lined up on the warm dashboard, to avoid having to pay additional baggage weight at the Airport.

The drive took about four hours as the roads were snow covered almost all the way. We stopped at a petrol station for a snack. They all seem to serve petrol and hot dogs in Norway, so we decided to forego our usual athlete’s diet and try some local cuisine! It made a curious ‘popping’ sound as you bit into it and also had a gross looking melted cheese inside. All part of the Norwegian experience (but probably not one I’ll be rushing to repeat!).

We took over a corner of the airport and re-packed all the gear to even out the weight and ensure no kit was lost, before checking the bags in. There were only machines for this process and one very stressed member of airport staff, who did her best to get our bags tagged, after the new machines inevitably didn’t work properly! An hour and a half in a queue was a bit of a shame, but we’d all enjoyed a big pizza meal first, so were at least not hungry as well as tired!

We had a laugh at the pizza place when I went to pay. It’d been given some cash to spend in Norway, but when I produced it at the till the cashier very apologetically told us that this was no longer legal currency and I was holding about £100 worth of scrap paper!

The moon was still full as we eventually flew away…

The group dispersed at the arrivals area at Manchester Airport, leaving John and I with about 100kg of equipment to drive back to Wales.

We arrived back in Llandudno at 02:30am and both went straight to bed down in our respective vans, that we’d left ready. Unfortunately, we both had to attend a course at 09:00am the next morning!

It would be fair to say, that after a tiring week and now with only 5hours sleep, I wasn’t firing on all cylinders at 9am that next morning, but we got through it and enjoyed a Christmas lunch with the team. By mid-afternoon, I’d been to Plas y Brenin to return some boots we’d hired, retuned some Ice Screws to Dave, had a brew with Clare and a short walk/catch up to get some restorative fresh air and the local views!

By 17:00, I was on my way to re-meet my Outdoor Education team in the pub in Y Felinhi, for a quick catch up and Christmas drinks!

By the time I got home I could barely see straight (and not because of the Christmas drinks!). Clare had a warm welcome and a late big dinner waiting. After a final kit check, I fell fast asleep…

Next morning, there was time for a shower, shave and final sort out to prep The Cottage for it’s next guests.

Before I knew it, we were back at Manchester Airport. This time with significantly less luggage!

We’re through security and have a full 30 minutes to spare! Next stop, Portugal…