Days 7 and 8 - Arctic Winter Trial
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The Smaal's on the road to Honningsvåg
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In Scandanavia, as the participants have experienced, fish is a favourite dish at any meal. Nevertheless at the Tromsø breakfast, Angela Fenhalls and Diana Runge (car A2) were amused to find, along with the usual pickled herrings, cheeses and hams, a more surprising victual, when they hazarded upon a large bottle of cod liver oil on ice. We are unsure how much was imbibed (accidentally or not) by the participants, but they managed to fishtail their way along the route to Alta.
On Day 7, some of the officials were feeling the worse for wear, having enjoyed true Scandanavian nightlife at the (only) Tromsø nightclub. The attraction of the Arctic Winter Trial gilets was in evidence judging by the eagerness of one local to trade in his pretty "niece" for the HERO apparel. We are still trying to ascertain if any gilets have disappeared.
Leaving Tromsø, car A5 (Mahinder Gurnam and Dr Nainesh Chotai in the Nissan Terrano SE) had a close call when they nearly lost all their thermals after stopping for petrol and driving off with their boot open. Fortunately, Mary-Jo I'Anson (car 21, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) resisted the temptation of making a quick Kroner by setting up a roadside jumble sale, and so flagged them down.
The competitive participants had fun on the first Regularity, slipping around on a particularly icy road, in overcast and foggy conditions. Meanwhile, participants on the Historic Touring Rally and 4x4 Adventure Drive had the opportunity to try their sea legs, taking two ferries to cross the fjords.
The views from the pass connecting the two Regularity sections were so spectacular they made your jaw drop: deep blue fjords framed by spectacularly steep, snow-covered mountains. Meanwhile, participants were terrorised by the indigenous population of snowploughs, which frequent northern Norwegian fjord roads, driven with a terrifying confidence that only many winters can bring.
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David Redwood at North Cape
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Day 8 saw the Rally leaving Alta and trekking up to the North Cape. The day started sunny and bright as the event followed the main icy road northwards, winding around the fjords. Soon after the participants had set off the wind whipped up, and the temperature dropped below the moderate 0˚C that the event had recently been enjoying. The roads however were smooth and fast and it was possible to keep up a good pace.
The Rally ascended the mountain road, reaching the snow plains where the wind drove clouds of powder snow and ice across the path. Suddenly the weather turned for the worse. A snow storm ensued making for exceptionally poor visibility and drivers were forced to use the barriers (or worse, simply the poles marking the edge of the road) as guidance - any more than walking pace was a non-runner. Finally, the event arrived at the convoy point, ready to follow the snowplough organised to lead the participants up to the North Cape.
The summit was fantastically slippery, making driving easier than walking, while the wind from the north west howled across the frozen plateau. And the local people go fishing in these conditions…!
At the allocated time, the snowplough arrived to take the event by convoy back to the main road from where the participants rolled down into Honningsvåg
The only snag with all this pace is that a new Beaufort Scale had to be invented for ice driving. Please note the following:
Palms dry - okay
Palms clammy - getting scary
Palms sweaty - really quite scary
Oh sh@t! - car going sideways and may not straighten up
Oh f@ck! - truck coming the other way and is bound to hit me
© Jeray, Antler and Juan Kerr's Little Helper 11.3.03
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