Wind, Whales and Volcanoes
Jan Mayen Expedition.
By Todd Mason
The Scene: Jan Mayen is an island situated 550 km north-east of Iceland and 500 km east of Greenland, on 71° 08' N latitude. The island is 53 km long and covers 377 km2. As recently as 1985 there was an eruption from the volcano Beerenberg (2277 m) - the worlds northernmost volcano above sea level, and Norway's only active volcano. There is a constant threat of new eruptions and earthquakes. The island is a part of Norway and can only be reached by boat or chartered airplane. The waters surrounding the island are normally icy from February until April, but this varies from year to year.
Pure Adventure was about to become reality as we loaded the last of our toys and started the 4000km rally to Bodo in Norway. Leaving Chamonix on a rainy spring day in the F2 super bus armed with snowboards, skis, mountain bikes, windsurfers, surfboards, rockclimbing and mountaineering equipment. Stian Hagen and Todd Mason were the happiest Blokes alive! We chose an express route to meet tight deadlines of planned activities and parties. Stopping only to collect more gear and our cameraman Frederik Jacobi in Copenhagen. Final parties and preparations were made in Oslo before rallying north across the Polar circle to the small fishing town of Bodo. Here we met with our trusty skipper Terje Olson and crewmate Hermod onboard the 40foot Kong Christian.
Our teammate and photographer Xandi Kreuzeder also greeted us. Todd put his boatbuilding skills to work on the final woodwork and sail preparations on the classic wooden, Colin Archer Gaf Rigged Kong Christian. We worked like bees for two days stocking the boat with food, fuels, supplies and our huge gear show.
Finally setting sail at 2am on the 25th May under a beautiful midnight sun we weaved our way out of the Fjord.300 degrees West and the Lofoten islands was our goal. With calm winds and 8 hrs the Kong Christian sailed into the jawdropping beauty of Reine Fjord. Surrounded by 300m cliffs and a backdrop of spectacular mountains. This place was one of the most beautiful we had ever been. We tied up along side the fuel jetty to top up and make final preparations before we hit the open Norwegian Sea. A quick visit of the classic village which is dotted with red houses and racks of dried cod. The latest weather fax was received and we hoisted all four sails of 140sq/meters into a stiff breeze. The wind picked up to a really strong 35 knots with a lumpy 4-meter swell. Our break in period had begun faster then expected and most of the crew secured a position driving the porcelain bus (sea sick). We raced around the deck reefing and pulling down sails. A shift watch list of 2hrs on and 4hrs off was implemented. We were charging through the sea at a swift 8 knots. It was chaos below deck therefore no food was consumed for about 40hrs. Heck, Stian and Freddy even stopped smoking! The pace was tough going just nodding off to sleep when you were woken for your next shift. The wind mellowed and we settled into life at sea. Swapping stories, eating and a celebration party as we crossed the Greenwich time Line.
After a long 70 hrs and 542 nautical miles we had the first visuals of our goal. Beerentsberg stood high out of the clouds and the excitement hit. Running around with binoculars and cameras, the Boys were Stoked! To top it off our first Bottle Nose whales cruised up behind the boat. Terje put Jean Michel Jarre music on the stereo to keep them around. Huge amounts of energy were flying as the visuals overloaded us all! Rounding the North Cape to an incredible sight of big sea cliffs with hundreds of thousands of sea birds singing like an opera. Three massive glaciers spilled out into the small bay. Wow! What a sight! With the midnight sun casting a bright light over the bay we dropped anchor and proceeded to shuttle our junkshow to the beach. We set up camp on the rocky black sand beach just below the green and red algae covered cliffs. Within thirty minutes our camp was up and the ”Bird Bar” was open with our first two customers. A few celebration drinks followed as we awed in the beauty of this place. Passing out and waking several hours later to a snow storm, which flattened the bar and kept us tent bound for 32hrs with wind gusts reaching 40+knots. Terje had to leave during the storm to a safer anchorage 2hrs south leaving us alone to deal. Storm clearing, we explored our surroundings and discovered the grave sites of the last expedition to this hostile place. Five young university students were killed when their boat capsized in the bay during a storm.
With enough visibility the climb commenced right off the beach up a 400m 50-degree couloir to a glacier bench. As the clouds rolled in we charged on reaching 700 meters to be shut down by zero visibility. Beaten but not defeated we descended to base camp to rest. The morning bought perfect blue skies with a light breeze so we set off to try again. We moved fast off the beach and up the boot pack placed the day before. The sun was heating up the snow and rocks which showered us towards the top of the couloir. Surviving the Barrage we strapped on our skis and began the long 7hours of skinning to the summit. On approaching the upper glacier we were greeted by amazing visuals of the summit and our goal became clear. A long way! The East Side of the island was in clear view with its glaciers spewing out into the ocean below. Stopping for a rest and a snack before charging the last pitch to the col on the crater. I led us up the last 200meters with a boot pack in the steep soft powder. All feeling quite tired but very excited to reach the summit after months of build up and work. Rhythmically kicking steps in the last 20meters and feeling secure on the stable snow pack. To my surprise I lunged forward for the next step and fell to my waist in a crevasse. I carefully placed my pole on the other side and pushed back. Close Call! I shouted to the boys a caution, jumped over the gaping hole and continued to the col. My mind racing with excitement for the visual of the inner crater.
Arriving on top of the world I let out a loud scream of happiness, relief and achievement! The views were incredible!! A smoking crater with a massive glacier flowing out from the West Side. I could see for miles out into the ocean and to all shores of the island. The boys joined me with equal excitement and we swapped stories of the epic adventure to this point. Stian and I climbed around the crater to the Hakluyt Top 2203meters and strapped on our gear for the epic descent to follow. Xandi and Freddy climbed around the crater to an opposing peak for a bird’s eye camera angle. From our perches we could see the Kong Christian approaching the Nord Kapp under full sail. We scoped the descent and I dropped inside the crater wall for some fresh pow turns.
Adrenaline surging through my veins as I continued to Bash the Lip!! of the crater. I was so into it that I forgot the crevasse we had climbed over and stopped just short of it and then jumped it. Traversing out onto the North face I found quality snow and laid out some big turns. Yeah! I yelled, this is what I live for! Stopping and turning back to see Stian’s spray billowing of the crater lip. He popped over the lip and railed big turns towards me. He stopped and we swapped high fives. Xandi and Freddy followed and joined us with big smiles and laughs. We all continued down stopping for the occasional photo. Freddy was laying down some nice telemark turns when he Blew a shoe! His rental ski went rocketing down towards the gaping glacier and we all stood and watched down, down when finally it tumbled to a stop. All relieved, Xandi retrieved the ski and we continued down. A 9.2-km, 1hr descent followed with quality windpacked snow and beautiful visuals all the way to the beach. All of us fatigued but happy that our mission was complete.
The boat arrived shortly after and within an hour we were sailing south to Walrus Bay. Passing by huge glaciers to round the luna like rocky headland of Walrus Bay. Here we caught some rest then visited the islands meteorological station. The staff here sends up two weather balloons a day and then send the information to Oslo for publishing. Jan Mayen is a very historical place, with records dating back to the early whale hunters of the 1600s. Some old photos hung on the wall revealed the hardships of these explorers. After a quick walk down history road I decided to test my futuristic windsurfer in the Arctic waters. With a stiff breeze blowing I rigged up and charged the 0 degrees water. A couple of fast laps across the bay were all I needed to satisfy me. This was a first ever on the island and the staff was excited to see me in action.
With my two goals completed we decided to sail back to the mainland. Skirting the West Coast with mellow winds. Things changed as we rounded the south cape, gale winds and large seas hit us head on. The weather reports showed that we would have to endure this storm for four more days with increasing strengths. That’s about seventy hours of being flogged!! We all geared up with wet weather clothes, reefed the sails and battened down the hatches. A long journey followed getting bashed around the boat, starving ourselves and the sleepless hours slowly faded. The welcome site of a pod of killer whales lifted the energy of the boys. Then as we were nearing Lofoten the storm passed and the sun warmed us. We dried out the boat and dropped the anchor in the scenic sheltered Bay of Aa. A welcomed rest and we sailed on to enjoy fishing, diving, eating and the sheer beauty of the Lofoten islands. This was the perfect way to round off an epic adventure in the North Sea.
Forget the hassles of the material world! Adventure, simplicity and good laughs is where it’s at!!!
Being at peace with your surroundings and your friends is the Big Picture the Pure Adventure team lives for!!!
Jan Mayen Expedition.; )
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