Climbing Eldsfjellet

Yea.... ok ... so my husband, my brother in Law and my neighbour were sure trying to ... well .. ummm ... to say it nicely ... kill me the other day.
This hill ... yes its a hill... Is about a 10 min Drive away from where we live. Its on the same Island and the last time I walked up that "hill" it was in June Last year. It was a cold and windy day and on top of the hill is notorius for being very windy .... after all .. it is the highest point on the island.
Eldsfjellet is translated as "fire mountain"..... this I found out AFTER I climbed the thing. So Hubby and I are happily enjoying an afternoon back home and his best man and neighbour called to invite us up this ... hill.... Would I like to go .. my hubz asks .... with MUCH trepedation.. I agreed. In my mind now .. I'm wondering, what on earth am I trying to prove? .. I'm huffing and puffing like a cow climbing a vertical tree on the Small hill right behind our house and I'm trying to go up a Fire Mountain with 1 guy who is pretty much fitter than I am ... one guy who has been doing it fast enough but often enough .. and one guy who just earlier that day .. ran up the bloody thing! ... Obviously, I've lost my mind, and if I thought that my competitive spirit was going to rise to the competition ... I think I overestimated it .... severely..
We reached the ... hill.... and started climbing .. me in a sweater and everyone else is lighter tshirts. Just the beginning of the climb was enough to make my heart sink. I totally forgot how many muscles I had in my bum and my thighs oh no wait ... I didn't realise they existed! Oh the Pain ... I tried to keep my face from showing my extreme Distraught but I think there was a tell tale sign somewhere, since one of the guys kept asking me.."Why do you keep looking at me with that evil eye?" Hmm Go figure....
I pushed along going basically up steep stairs for about 20 mins. It doesn't sound like that long does it? But if you warm up with "Go climb a 60 Degree mountain... yuh kinda get alittle puffed in about 20 secs ... I kid you not ....

oh shut up you fitness freaks ... I'm not talking to you today ....

There came a point where my breathing became as as laboured as a rhinoceros in labour .... I chose to leave out the noises ... after all I was the only girl amidst guys and I really didn't want to seem like I was about to keel over. My brain no longer functioned for talking, smiling or laughing. All I could do was think about where to put my legs.... look for trees to hold on to ... and hope that no hoggorm snake would be in my path ... sunbathing .. since it was a warm enough day. There were norwegian jokes being thrown around all around me.... guys laughing ... I really was not even trying to understand ... I suddenly wondered how on earth did I get this unfit? Where did all this flubber come from? I used to be so fit and be able to walk the Paria hike .... with ease .. in fact there was a time when My brother and I actually ran it for a bit ... good fun.... I was remembering all the President's Award hikes through some interesting terrain ... all the hikes that I would be at the front of the pack .... and now ... I'm wheezing like some overgrown gorrilla ... breathing so hard it felt like my throat was bleeding... my eyes were starting to glaze over and my thighs and buns were screeming to me" STOP you DITWIT .... I'm on STRIKE!" My nose were burning, running and hurting all at the same time
all i could hear in my mind was " Just keep pushing Jaemie, Don't you Dare let these guys think you are a wimp" ...
ahhh Too late ... all of a sudden my legs gave way and my and I had to stop. I was breathing way to hard for my own comfort and everyone around me was telling me that I'm doing great .... huh? Yes .. great for a 1000 Ton Leatherback turtle on Turtle Beach in Tobago .... GRUNT >.... GRUNT..
oh for shame... so much for feeling all competitive and trying to look like I can rival guys in their natural setting....
Reaching the top was such a relief. I can't thank God enough for giving me a great hubby who basically pushed me the last few meters. Yea .... he's so great !!:) .. awwwww..
Just like giving birth the moments of pain and labour are forgotten once the child is born ... well... ok for me it was not immediate ... I was subjected to paparazzi pictures of which I no longer had the energy to quickly smile in my infamous way.... so after a few moments of catching my breath, I looked around.
seriously people ... Norway is one beautiful country.... I'm such a sucker for views, Landscapes and nature that my husband didn't really need to sell the country too much ... I just love the green around me. That day was a great clear day, so we could see so far ... and we were not being blown over like is the usual on top of Fire Mountain.
God creates the most Awesome paintings ... all the time.....
Heading back down ... of course .. is so easy ....... a Cave man can do it...
Whey Yuh say???? Fire Mountain anyone?