GARY GREEN

Avalanches, awful weather and the snow conditions all conspired against us.  We never made the 1000km, but I believe we have all benefited from the experience.  We have achieved a great deal; young have learnt from old and old have learnt from young.  Twelve Royal Marines and a Telegraph Reporter skiing together successfully and without injury from Lillihammer to Rjukan via 4 of Norway’s magnificent National Parks is an outstanding achievement and every team member should be justifiably proud of their contribution and look back on the challenge with a smile on their faces.  For me, this has been a personal journey, brought about by the tragic loss of my wife Dionne to cancer.  Nine hours of skiing a day, in my own little world and thoughts, looking at the backpack or ski’s of the person in front of me has helped me tremendously to come to terms with my loss.  I have had the time and space to think about my dear wife and children and I truly believe that I have come out of this a stronger person and I can now go forward with the rest of my life.  Dionne was my inspiration to do this and she was with me for the whole 20 days.  I will look back on this time and cherish the experience; always.

JIM HUTTON

For me, this was a splendid journey that saw us take 12 Commandos and a journalist across a significant chunk of Norway enduring the worst of weather and snow conditions that could be thrown at us. We had hoped for 20 days of brilliant Easter weather, we got 2. The rest saw us battling through storm, blizzard, cloud, hail, sleet drizzle and fierce winds. We had to dig deep to push through the weather and complete our planed daily journeys. Even at its worst we still went back out to ski a few more kilometres, because we could. In hindsight, we did not need to, but we did it anyway. It typifies what makes a commando different from others. That ability to remain cheerful in adversity and through determination and sheer doggedness, get on with the job. Watching the younger marines improve their skiing skills, keep their chins up and play a role in the daily routine was energising for all of us. Having the opportunity to ski with old buddies with a wealth of experience honed through years of soldiering in harsh operational environments was a pleasure and truly memorable. Watching and following Jon up the Hallingskarvet as he kicked steeps up the 40 degree slope was inspiring. Skiing downhill over hard neve on Day 20 with everyone smiling and loving the experience was fantastic. Remembering, at Lake Tyin our family, friends and oppos who had passed, was an important part of the trip and seeing and reading the daily messages of support on the Blog and the continued donations into the charities was terrific. Seeing my buddy for the trip, Jimmy, improve, mature and keep smiling was just great. Jamie was with me in spirit throughout the journey and Sally’s cancer was never far from my mind. I have spent a long time thinking about what is important to me in life and having the time to actually do that as we skied endless miles in whiteout was a rare if somewhat odd opportunity. Tusen Takk to all.

BERNIE SHROSBREE

“I hate ready brek!” This has been an incredible journey for me. It gave me a great opportunity to have a sabbatical from my working life.

As a former athlete this was a test of my ability to perform as a team member as normally I’m used to racing as an individual. I will take away a lot from this.

The challenges were different to what I’m used to – long days in flat light, no visibility and wind on the nose.  The monotony was one of the most difficult things for me to deal with because it was outside my control, whether the pace or the hours in the day.

I think I’d still like to thank Jim Hutton for making the call! I feel very honoured to part of this expedition. I’ve been out of the Marines for 20 years and this has been a great reminder of what a fantastic unit of men, young and old, they are. I was really impressed by the young guard. Considering modern operations, their professionalism and ability to adapt to this expedition was an example. To Gary, I hope your wishes were achieved. This also reminded me how much I miss and love my family.  Thanks guys for the great time. My phone number might be changed next year.

WILLIE HANNAH

Involved with Gary from the outset, I had a personal journey I had to make in recognition of my son Billy’s fight against leukaemia.  He was diagnosed with the condition 3 years ago and my wife Lin and I have supported him throughout his treatment until he achieved remission, which he now enjoys.   I hope any support I have generated for CLIC Sargent will enable them to continue their fight against Leukaemia in children.   The trip has been challenging and fulfilling and I hope that the baton has now been transferred from the “old guys” to the “young guns” and that I have played my part in the transition.   To my darling wife Lin I could not have done this without your love and support, I know it has been a challenge for you but you have been strong and have been with me “every step of the way”.  To Billy, you would have made a great bootneck, Ryan, Natalie and Kyran see you later in the year.   Mum and dad, Mo and John, Brian, Mike, Susie and all my family and friends thank you all for your support and encouragement.  I will start acting my age now !!!!!!!!!     

JON CLARE

TARQUIN COOPER

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit apprehensive joining a team of 12 Royal Marines on an epic ski-trek across Norway. What would they make of some bloke called Tarquin? But my fears were unfounded. The team welcomed me with open arms and made me feel, from the very beginning, an integral member of the team. (I could tell this by the fact I got just as much stick as everyone else!)

It’s been an intensely rewarding journey. The weather wasn’t great but you can’t measure an expedition by the sun. For me, as a self-employed journalist used to working by myself, it’s been fantastic to live and work in a team. I feel I have gained a great deal from the experience and can only thank everyone for welcoming me on board.

For anyone following my blogs, an apology. There were some technical issues at the Telegraph end which meant there were problems uploading so they were a bit infrequent. However the main article is scheduled to appear on Saturday 24^th in the Weekend section. Watch this space.

DANNY JOHNSON

From the word go this expedition has been a exciting challenge to be involved in, and to work with such a range of different experience has been a privilege.  I have learnt so much along the way from the older members of the team.  To work with a former professional athlete has been great and the help with personal training I feel will aide me within my career and pushing myself to achieve other personal goals.

Spending a lot of time away from home is a nature of my life but the constant weather conditions and white background made this trip different to any other.  As a team we have achieved more than originally intended and I would like to thank Gary for all the organisation and for giving me this life experience.

 Overall I have made good friends along the way and will always remember this for the rest of my life!

CLIVE WILSON

Am I happy this trip is over? I guess I am. As the oldest team member, plucked from my relatively sedentary life driving a desk to completing 20+ consecutive days on skis without embarrassing myself too much was my primary aim. The fact that I was able to achieve this with a number of long-standing friends was a bonus. The support I received from friends and colleagues in Adventurous Training Group (Army) was humbling but the support of my wife Pauline, who endures my mid-life crises with calm acceptance, is my most loyal friend and has been my strongest support, I give my thanks and all my love.

Jack Coulson

Well the 20^th day came round, finishing on a glorious day, relieving the memories of all the bad weather. From the start it was a steep learning curve on the downhills, luckily having no breaks along the way! I would just like to say a big thank you to my wonderful fiancée Caroline for all the support on my non-falling days! Hopefully this could be a stepping stone to much more exciting experiences on skis, so Thank you Colonel Green for this great opportunity!

Luke Tagg       

At Last! 20 days of skiing done. It feels good to get up and not have to make packed lunch’s and wax ski’s. Can’t believe the only day of good weather was the last day, but I still managed to gain a sun tan on my arms and legs from the last day, quite literally, “shorts and T-shirts in the Hardangavidda”, but glad I’ve done it.  A good experience, which I will remember for the rest of my life.

ADAM ASHE

Well 20 days of skiing over, just starting to get withdrawal from not being attached to my skis for 9 hours a day. With everything that Norway could throw at us we battled throught and achieved not as many km as we wanted but in terms of experience and unique opportunity I believe ive overachieved. Cheers to all my family and friends for messages of support. Oh I forgot I dint get any until I pointed out that people were beginning to think I was adopted. Thank you to my amazing girlfriend for her support although I may need to load you on to a computer course when I get back. Well ill  look back on the expedition as a success and with fond memories. thanks to all the “old bugers” for helping us on our technique well soon have you up to our fitness levels.

Jimmy Kennedy

“Life’s not measured by how many breaths you take, but by how many times your breath is taken away!” 20 days of non stop skiing, what do I recon now I’ve done it? Awesome, from only having 2 good days of weather it just show’s the personal spirit that bootneck’s have to keep morale high from start to finish in all conditions! I can say that my downhill snow plough is close to perfection but I’ve wrapped on my telemark turning because I just ended up covered in snow! Thanks to my family, friends and my awesome lass Sandie for spreading the word and helping to support our cause. And the old yins…..cheers for the experience and wisdom you’ve shared with us. There good bunch really!    

GUS PRECIOUS

Well it feels weird not to get up, pack my bergen, make some sandwiches and wax my skis… but it’s a very nice feeling! It has honestly been an immense privilege to undertake this challenge and I must thank Gary again for the unique opportunity to do so.  As someone who sits slightly in the middle of the age groups (it’s nice when you are called a ‘young blood’ but at 31 I have no illusions!) I found it humbling and inspiring to witness the similarities of the ‘bootneck’ generations. Whether it is fighting a war in the Falklands, defeating the Taliban in Afghanistan or skiing across the mountain wilderness of Norway, The Royal Marine Commando will always retains his distinctive sense of humour, determination and ability to overcome the odds. As a patriotic Englishman it has also made me proud to hear the long list of ‘you crazy British’ comments from the indigenous population! From a tough mountain race such as the Norwegians that is a statement of hard won respect at our achievement. I must also thank my family and my beautiful girlfriend Lyndsay for the unquestioning support you have provided throughout a long list of deployments recently. Although I think they are starting to forget what I look

 The Team covered 41 km and the Baton was carried by Gary until Helberg Hytta; it was then handed over to Oivind, one of the Norwegian members of the Gunnerside Battalion, for the final 10km.  Today was a fantastic day for a number of reasons.  Firstly, it was the final day of a challenging 20 consecutive day’s skiing.  Secondly, the sun shone all day, which was the first time this has happened throughout the expedition.  Thirdly, the wax worked!  If you have read the previous 19 blogs you will understand that this is absolutely fundamental if we were going to cover any distance on ski’s.  The only sad part of today was, I suppose, the fact that it was indeed the last day.  The last day we will be clipping our feet into our bindings, the last day we will be putting our back packs on and the last day we will be in the mountains together on Ex TUSEN TAKK.  We started this morning in brilliant sunshine and climbed to the top of a mountain to experience for the first time the Hardangervidda in all it’s glory; a truly magnificent sight, with the Gaustatoppen towering above the plateau in the distance; that was our destination today.  The foot of the Gausta is where the town of Rjukan sits, close to the Heavy Water Plant and the scene of the Heroes of Telemark attack.  The snow conditions were perfect and for the first time on the ski, the more proficient of us were able to “free the heal” and carve Telemark turns off the mountain; quite appropriate given that we are in the province where the turn was invented.  Today we were skiing at pace and making very good progress.  Our Norwegian friends, who left us the night before, met up with us on route and we stayed together for the final part of the expedition.  We passed Helberg Hytta, the cabin named after Claus Helberg one of the Norwegian Saboteurs before our journey ended at the top of the Rjukan cable car, reminiscent of the cable car in the film ‘Where Eagles Dare’.   830 km in 20 days; a significant challenge – please read the next blog which gives some of the thoughts of the team members.

Distance covered today 21Km and the Baton was carried by Gus.  All now realise that the Hardangervidda has its own weather system after we woke to temperatures of +3C and rain.  Our plan to visit the saboteurs hut was thwarted and we ended up with a much shorter ski in wet, slow snow.  With lakes now beginning to thaw the team had to navigate carefully to avoid anyone going for an impromptu swim in the cold water now covering some of the lakes.  The team arrived at their overnight destination in the much accustomed to white out conditions, wet clothes and boots.  Tomorrow is day 20 and the final ski day and will be heading for the Helberg Hut and onto some of the German gun positions on the hills surrounding Rjukan and the heavy water plant.  The team are looking forward to meeting Oivinds grandmother and hearing her first hand account of meeting with Helberg and Poulson just prior to the attack on the plant.  The team are at Kalhovd mountain hut overnight shown by tracker number 3.

 The team covered 42Km today and the Baton was carried by Willie Hannah.  This morning the team woke to Oc snow temperature, which generally means no wax works (even Bernie cannot beat it!) and the realisation that today would be a heavy day on the arms.  Fortunately a short day was planned that enabled the team to ski to areas close to the “Heroes of Telemark” route.  This morning they skirted an area called Skyrekken, where 6 Norwegian saboteurs parachuted into the Hardangervidda in order to attack the heavy water plant in Rjukan.  This afternoon the team met up with 4 local Norwegian soldiers who will ski the rest of the route with them.  They briefed in detail the route taken by the saboteurs and planning is ongoing for tomorrow to travel via the hut that they stayed in for the best part of 3 months, prior to the attack on the heavy water plant.  At last the forecast looks good for the final 3 days of the ski; fingers crossed!  Oivind Tangstad one of the Norwegian soldiers presented the team with his unit (Gunnerside) flag and badges this evening at Marbu mountain hut which is shown by tracker number 3.  The support team are now based in Rjukan finalising administration for the finish on Saturday and subsequent return to the UK.

 Distance covered today 29 Km and the baton was carried by Jon.  The team entered the Hardangervidda this morning in heavy snowfall, but ski conditions were good and the wax worked well and the team quickly climbed onto the plateau.  When the snow stopped and the cloud cleared they saw there first glimpse of the magnificent Hardangervidda, a vast barren featureless landscape a whiteness in every direction.  It became clear to all why Edmundson trained here for his race to the South Pole with Scott.  As we skied south we looked back to the huge Hallingskarvet feature that we had crossed the day before.  The temperature rose to +4C this afternoon and no wax worked and the last 10Km were completed using mostly arms.  A grim finish to what had been a fantastic first day on the Hardangervidda.  Tomorrow we ski past the lake at Skrykken where the saboteurs parachuted onto the Hardangervidda.  The team are marker number 3 overnight, Raudhelleren mountain hut.

Today the team covered 28 km in 8 hours with an ascent of 650 metres. The Baton was carried by Jim. This was the day our Mountain Leaders (Jon, Willie, Clive and Gus) have been waiting for, the climb up and over the Hallingskarvet – they were all heard muttering throughout the day, “another Quality Mountain Day chaps”. We started early with a 6 km ski across a low lying lake. As we moved towards the Hallingskarvet the clouds parted to reveal the majestic sight of this awesome monolith that was barring our way to the Hardangervidda and our traverse across the final National Park of the expedition.  Once we reached the lower foothills of the Hallingskarvet, we stopped for a live interview on British Forces Radio.  We then set off up the mountain.  The climb started gently, but it wasn’t long before the shout was made “put skins on”.  That was the signal that the real climbing was about to begin.  Steadily we ascended this snow packed mountain making good progress and feeling strong.  As the terrain steepened, the traversing (zig-zag up the mountain) began, but we still made good progress.  As we turned a corner and crossed some high mountain lakes, the real challenge was ahead, a massive wall of snow rising 600 feet onto the Hallingskarvet plateau.  To the left of our route, built up over many weeks of heavy snow fall, was a huge cornice and the residue of previous avalanches spread down all over the lower slopes.  Fortunately our track took us away from this danger area, but directly towards our vertical ascent.  Jon and Jim lead the way; “ski’s off chaps” came the call, and we all strapped our ski’s to our back packs and headed off up the ‘wall’.  Jon and his team made steps in the snow often traversing waist deep; it was a struggle and it took some time, but we all got there in the end.  The prize was eating our sandwiches in a small unmanned stone and wood hut, built in 1880 and perched on the edge of the gully overhang.  Our final 10km was undulating and down hill.  At times this was as difficult as the climb and the prize for the most spectacular “Yeti” now sits firmly with Willie who did a double role with a twist over the tips of his skis as he descended a particularly fast and icy stretch of the ski. As we neared the final part of the descent, in sight for the first time was the vast and daunting Hardangervidda plataeu; our final conquest was about to begin.

 The Team covered 45km today and the Baton was carried by Gary.  Jack also had another “Yeti” free day so that’s another £5 to the kitty Caroline.  Our mountain hut last night was staffed, which means that there are people there who cook dinner and prepare breakfast.  Because it was Easter Saturday, we were treated to Elk steaks; an absolute delight following the days spent on pasta and tuna.  There was also a local folk singer staying in the hut and, following dinner, he sang some Norwegian songs to us all.  He was actually very good and it was a very relaxing end to a tough day.  We awoke this morning to overcast conditions and a very strong southerly wind.  Something told us that today would be no different to the past 7 days; strong winds and blizzard conditions.  Fortunately we were spared the blizzard, but the winds were particularly strong and pretty much in our faces for the whole ski.  At one point the wind was so strong that we were struggling to walk down hill!  We decided last night to amend the route and avoid the long climb out of the sanctuary of our mountain plateau.  Instead we took a less direct route, which was more undulating, but kinder on the legs; some of us older skiers appreciated the rest that this gave us.  The final 4 km was all down hill on a logging track through the trees.  As we meandered towards the pick up point, the clouds parted and the sun shone for the first time today.  It was an absolutely majestic feeling with the snow glistening as it reflected the sunshine back into our faces.  It made us all forget for just a moment the previous 6 hours of wind swept tundra.  Tomorrow we have our hardest climb of the expedition; just over 2000 feet in 6 km.  We will be ascending the Hallingskarvet, which is a 25km monolith running East to West, with only one crossing point from North to South.  We will be taking this crossing point and if the sun is shining it will be fantastic; however, if we get our accustomed strong winds and blizzard conditions it could be a particularly testing day, not just physically but also mentally; our fingers are all crossed.  Location overnight is at tracker 3.  Thanks to Sally for the Easter Eggs we all enjoyed them.  Happy Easter to all our readers.

 Distance covered today 46km ascent 1220m, the Baton was carried by Jimmy and Jack had another yeti free day.   For those of the team that ventured out of their sleeping bags and tents after dark last night (most would have done after several cups of coffee) they would have seen the most beautiful sky with an array of stars that were very clear due to the lack of any ambient light around our roadside camp.  The clear sky meant a cold night, but a crisp clear morning with brilliant sunshine although once again a biting wind. Sunscreen applied and morale high in expectation of the first sunny day in over a week, the day started with a steady traverse up a mountain valley. Sadly as the team climbed onto a high mountain plateau the weather “clagged in” once again and they faced blizzard conditions with strong winds directly in the face for much of the day, making the ski much tougher than expected.  This was exacerbated by having to trail break through deep snow for most of the day and delayed the arrival at the overnight mountain hut. Jimmy and Luke learned today how to lead an uphill traverse and set a good mountain pace. The highlight of the day was the ski off the mountain to lower ground, which was blighted somewhat by the thought of the climb up again in the morning. The skiers are shown by marker number 3 on the website location link and the support team have now moved south to Geilo (marker 2) through the longest road tunnel in Europe (26Km) to prepare the next campsite just west of Geilo for Easter Sunday.  Happy Easter to all our readers.