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Episode guide, 71° nord (Norway) 2006

Photos : TV Norge

Episode 1

This year the final part of the casting is held at Evje, just before the journey begins. This is to avoid the participants to arrange alliances between the casting and the start at Lindesnes. Of about 2600 applicants, 35 are gathered for physical and psychical tests, and of these, the 15 participants are selected.

Day 1 (May 23rd)

The former slalom world champion Tom Stiansen is new host this year. He meets the participants at Lindesnes in the morning. After the welcome, he tells them to catch their new clothes and equipment at the 1000-years centre, and then to go to the lighthouse to get food. Their first night shall also be spent in the lighthouse. When they all go to sleep, Adi sings a goodnight song.

Day 2 (May 24th)

At 06.00 Tom wakes them up, and after a pep talk they get their first assignment. They shall get to Undeland Misjonsgård within 12.00 the next day. Their means of transportation will be known on the way. First, they shall get to the pier at Stusvik, where they will get equipment and further instructions. If they reach Undeland within the time limit, they will be awarded with 3000 kroner. If not, 5 arbitrary will get 15 minus points each at the removal.

It is raining when they start walking along the road to Stusvik. Marie, with "the shortest legs", goes in front to set the speed. After about an hour they reach Stusvik, and finds dry-suits and watertight bags for their backpacks.

Two speedboats arrive. They get on board. On signal from Tom, they shall all throw themselves into the water in Lenefjorden, and swim over to Hornsøy. Their swimming skills differ, and for Marie it is hard. When reaching Hornsøy, they find two jolly boats, but no oars, only frogman's feet. The distance to Molandsli is almost 2.5 kilometres. Thomas estimates the stream to be so hard that they shall cross directly over the fjord, and let the stream drift them to the quay at Molandsli. But the stream is not as strong as they expected, and they have to swim much longer than they had needed to. The water is cold, and some of them get water into the dry-suits.

From Molandsli they shall walk as a joint group to Eikeråsheia. From here, they are allowed to divide into to groups of equal size, and get to a total of 4 point where they shall collect common equipment for the group. After that, they shall get together again, to camp at Ørneknipen.

With the whole group, it goes slowly. As soon as they divide into smaller groups, it goes better. It is easier to communicate and make decisions. However, the terrain is rough, so they don't walk as fast as they had expected. Both groups realize that they have to get transport to reach their target in time. And after they have reached one point each, they both find someone who is willing to carry them to the final two points, where they find the remaining equipment.

Day 3 (May 25th)

Now the group has to go the last few kilometres to Ørneknipen, raise the camp, and go to sleep.

But they have to get up early, and after only 3-4 hours, they are on feet again.

At 11.15 they reach Undeland Misjonsgård, and as this is within the time limit of 12.00, and they have also visited all the places they should, their mission is approved, and they get their money.

From Undeland, they are transported to Evje, where they shall camp the next night.

When dining, Tom appears. They expect him to give information of a free pass event. But instead, to their surprise, they shall already prepare for removal. As usual, they shall rank each other with numbers from 1 to 15, not allowed to vote for themselves. But, there is another twist: The 2 lowest ranked girls, and the 2 lowest ranked boys, are removed !

After the ranking, Tom returns, and gives 4 names; Christine, Adi, Trude and Kai Vidar. But this is the 4 that have got most votes ! The 4 with lowest votes are Tina, Atle, Monica and Rolf Arne.

And then another surprise: They get another chance to get back into the group. The day after, they shall fight a duel, Tina against Monica, Atle against Rolf Arne. The two winners are back in the game.

Again they go to bed with Adi's goodnight song in their ears.

Day 4 (May 26th)

The duels are held in the river Otra. They shall compete in wave surfing. At a wave in the river, they shall stay steady as long as possible. The one that is taken by the stream first, has lost.

The flow in the river is high, and the event might be dangerous. They can be drawn under, and hit stones at the bottom. So they have to get instructions first.

Then is time for the duels. The girls are first. Soon Monica looses control, and is the first to be removed.

Afterwards, Atle fights against Rolf Arne. Rolf Arne considers Atle to be weaker than him, but even so, Rolf Arne is the one to loose control first, and has to leave this year's 71° nord.

Episode 2 :

See episode at VG TV: Complete or Summary

Day 4 (May 26th)

The 13 remaining participants have been transported from Evje to Felle in the southernmost part of Telemark.

Their second assignment is to go by mountain bikes over one of the largest bare rock areas in Norway (more than 40 km2), to Gautefall turistsenter, within 15.00 the next day. On their way, they shall visit 5 specified locations; Somhomfjell, Mjeltenatten, Hellersvannet, Reinsvassnuten and Blekvarden, in addition to the camp site in Uvdalen. If they reach Gautefall within the time limit, they will be rewarded with 2600 kroner. If not, 5 arbitrary participants will get 13 points in minus each at the removal. In addition, if they get to the camp at Uvdalsvatn within 20.30, they will get a bunch of food and snacks. But for each 30 minutes they are late, Tom will remove some of the goodies…

Thomas is in charge of route and maps. He is also an experience biker. They shall visit one specified location, the fire tower at Somhomfjell, before they camp.

After just a few kilometres, they get unsure about where to leave to road. Thomas has made a mistake, and they have to turn back. To avoid that all of them tries to be in charge of the group, Trond Ivar is chosen to be the one in front.

They have to get up above the timber line, where the bare rock starts. The weather is bad, the terrain is hard, and they already feel that the time is running fast. But when they get closer to the top, the sky is clearing up, and at 19.30 they reach the fire tower. From here they estimate about 4 kilometres to the camp. Now they realize that they have not chosen the easiest route. As Thomas says, "they are all so strong, so why do it easy when they can do it hard" !

Using too much time trying to find a marked track, they exceed the time limit to get all the food, and 30 minutes later Tom removes the first box with snacks. And another 30 minutes later, also two bottles of Coke are removed.

At 21.50 they arrive the camp site in Uvdalen. Issam is appointed as cook, and he is very happy that the chicken is still left among the food. He has been talking about that the whole day.

After the meal, they go to sleep, hoping to get about 5 hours sleep. Issam is still hungry.

Day 5 (May 27th)

They wake up 05.30 to a cold morning. Thomas is still in charge of the route, but with Lynn and Ida as "probationers". 06.45 they leave the camp, but after a few minutes, they get unsure about the way again. After some search, Trond finds it, and they go for their next mandatory location, Mjeltenatten. To get there, they have to go up more than 200 meters of height, through thick woods. They must carry the bikes, and it is very tough. Some of them think they have too many stops, and the time is running.

At 08.55 they reach the top of Mjeltenatten. Trond and Kai act as advisors to those who are in charge of the route. Issam's opinion is that those who are most familiar with map should been in charge.

The route to their next location Hellersvannet goes down along, and partly in, a river. They reach the lake at 10.50, and have their lunch.

They have passed a house just before the lake, and goes back to it to ask for the way to go further. Again they have some trouble, and they don't reach Reinsvassnuten until 13.50

Just after crossing a bridge over a river, Adi skids down into the river, and is helped up again by Atle.

The last mandatory location is Blekvarden. They know they are short of time because of many mistakes on their choice of route. And getting close to the time limit, and the weather getting worse, they decide to skip Blekvarden, save their energy, and go directly to Gautefall, where they are met by Tom, more than an hour after the time limit. As the mission is not succeeded, they don't get their award, and 5 of them will get minus points at the removal.

They have to eat their dinner cold. When Adi fell into the water, the matches he had in his pocket got wet.

The free pass event is to walk on stumps. Each of them has to stumps in ropes, and they have to stand on one stump, swinging the rope with the other forward, and step over to that stump. If they touch the ground, they have to start behind the last one again.

There is one free pass for the girls, and one for the boys. Ida is the winner among the girls, whereas Thomas wins the boys' heat.

Before the removal, Issam has asked the others to vote him out. He has had a hard day, and he lacks of food. Tine, Trond Ivar, Kristine, Marie and Atle are those who get 13 points minus each. Two of them, Tine and Atle, are among the 3 lowest ranked, but in spite of this, Issam is the one to leave.

Episode 3 :

See episode at VG TV: Complete or Summary

Day 6 (May 28th)

From Gautefall in southern Telemark, the participants have been transported to Grotli at Strynefjellet in the western part of Oppland.

At noon Tom gives them their new assignment. They are going for a hike where they will test both their endurance and their physical strength. On randonet skis, they shall go over Tafjordfjellene, from east to west, and get to the dam at the west side of the lake Zakariasvannet within 15.00 the next day. The route goes over Nibba, Sæterhornet and Rødalsegga, and might be dangerous in bad weather, so they have to focus on safety. They need to have enough high-energy food, and must buy this from Tom. If they succeed, they will be rewarded with 2400 kroner. If not, 4 arbitrary will get 12 points in minus each at the removal.

Thomas and Trude look forward to the hike, whereas Marie, who has little experience with skis, is more sceptical.

They leave Grotli 13.30. Trude, with map and compass, and Adi with a GPS, are in front, and Trond Ivar and Lynn with another GPS are in the rear. The first part they go on foot, but after a while they put the skis on. Thomas gives them instructions about the special qualities of the randonet skis. Marie is still sceptical. Before they go on, Trude tells about their further plan, and asks everybody if they have comment or proposals.

Their camp will be at Øvre Koppane, but to get from Skrådalsvannet to the camp site they have to pass the highest point of the route, Nibba, 1740 meters above see level.

Lynn has swollen feet, and because of this, her ski shoes are too narrow. It hurts, and she has to take off her shoes to cool down the feet.

When Trude suddenly looses the map, Thomas has to return to pick it up again.

After a hard walk, especially for Marie and Lynn, they reach the top of Nibba just before midnight. They all enjoy the view.

Day 7 (May 29th)

But their challenges are not over yet. To get to the camp site, they have to pass a narrow area, with steep edges on both sides. They have to go on one line. And suddenly the fog is coming. Thomas takes the lead to find a safe way down. It is steep, with loose snow, and difficult to go with ski shoes, and with their heavy backpacks. And they are both hungry and tired. Fortunately the fog disappears again.

The final part down to the camp is tough. And whereas Kai Vidar is excited, Lynn is scared, and cries a little. They have to take it very slowly, and they have been on tour for more than 19 hours before they can raise the camp. And now the fog is back, and the wind is increasing.

After a few hours sleep, they are about to go on. But the weather is still bad, and most of them have very little energy. And they are uncertain about the safety if going the planned route further.

Then they get a call from Tom at the walkie-talkie. He tells them to go 1 kilometre to the top of a transport cableway. Here they will receive snowshoes which they can use to get down easier. They shall also get rid of their backpacks and skies. And in addition, they get time limit delayed an hour. And this helps. They get to Zakariasdammen with 10 minutes left to the new limit. So their mission is a success, and they get their reward.

From Zakariasdammen they are transported to Tafjord. Here they finally get the possibilities of a shower, and soft beds are waiting at Fjordheim gjestegård.

After the shower, they discuss how the group works. Tina feels that the strong boys always take the lead, and don't listen to the others.

Day 8 (May 30th)

They wake up about 06.00, and after the breakfast, it is time for the free pass event. They are divided into pairs, with at least one girl in each pair. They shall be tested in their knowledge about Norway. Tom says a statement, and with a green or a red sign, they shall answer if they think the statement is right or wrong. If they chose the wrong answer, their partners has to carry 3 more logs of wood. If they loose the logs, they are out of the competition. The remaining pair wins one free pass.

In a stressful situation, it is easy to give the wrong answer, and soon all pairs carry heavy loads of logs. Kai Vidar and Marie is the first pair out, followed by Tina and Adi. After a question where everybody except Atle gives the wrong answer, his partner Christine suddenly looses a log, and they are out too. Ida's woodpile gets higher and higher, and then she and Lynn are the next pair out. The final stand between Trond Ivar and Trude, and Kristine and Thomas. When Trude's woodpile collapses, Kristine and Thomas are the winners. Kristine lets Thomas get the free pass.

Thomas, Trond Ivar, Kai Vidar and Trude have planned to vote off one of the girls that are slowing down the group. But Lynn overhears this, and gets the other girls together to vote off Trond Ivar instead.

Episode 4 :

Day 8 (May 30th)

Still in Tafjord, they get their new assignment at 13.00. They will be transported to Kristiansund, where they shall embark two sailboats. This information causes jubilation among some of them, whereas others are more reserved.

They shall sail to Nærøysundbrua close to Rørvik, within 07.00 the day after tomorrow. If they succeed, they will be rewarded with 2200 kroner. If not, 4 arbitrary will get 11 minus points each at the removal. In addition, they shall sail regatta in several legs, where the two boats shall compete. The team winning the total regatta, wins the opportunity to compete for the free pass.

Before the last removal, Tom had told them that the two rated highest should be leaders for the teams. Those two were Ida and Tina. Ida is in charge of the team Piraya, composed of Atle, Thomas, Marie and Christine, whereas Tina leads team Shark, with Kristine, Trude, Kai Vidar, Lynn and Adi. The leaders are to be regarded as captains of the boats, and shall decide the routines on board, and where to go.

Ida is an experienced sailor, whereas Tina has no previous experience, and neither have the rest of her crew.

Before leaving Tafjord, they visit a store to buy food supplies. Christine has been chosen to do the cooking and catering for team Piraya, and do the shopping together with Marie and Thomas. Kristine, Kai Vidar and Adi do the same for the Shark team.

At 19.00 they arrive to the harbour in Kristiansund, and are met by Harald and Arne from the sailing company Blaa Energi, who will teach them to sail the boats, and be observers at the journey to Rørvik.

The boats are 40 feet, exactly the size Ida has most experience from. However, the boats are a little more technical, with more ropes, but she takes this only as a challenge.

In the basin of Kristiansund, they get the instructions about how to sail the boats, and after having learned the basic, it is time to show what they can do in the first leg of the regatta. This leg is back and forth in the basin, with finish just outside the quay of the Coastal Express.

Despite their lack of experience, team Shark, with captain Tina, wins the first leg, and gets 1 point.

Next they are going to sail together to Hemnskjel, a distance of more than 44 nautical miles, i.e. more than 80 km. As it is strong headwind, they chose to use motor out of the basin, and also have to use it for some time further. And then the crew can take a rest, while the captain steers.

Day 9 (May 31th)

The second leg of the regatta starts 04.00, and goes from Hemnskjel to Knarrlagsund. Tina's boat gets trouble with the main sail, and has to take it down again. In spite of this, they have the lead when they approach Knarrlagsund. But now Ida's boat goes fast, and they pass the other boat and wins with a good margin.

They get ashore for a rest, and some food. Then they get a new message from Tom, telling that they shall sail together to Sæter, where the next leg of the regatta starts. The distance to Sæter is more than 60 nautical miles, about 115 km. This goes out in the high seas, but the weather is nice, and they have a lovely view.

The third leg goes from Sæter to Sør-Gjæslingan. At 23.00 they are off. They are quite even from the start, but then Ida's boat goes ahead. On their way they discuss how the group works together, and think about the next removal. Ida feels that Tina has shown bad leadership, at least regarding the communication between the two boats.

Day 10 (June 1st)

When they approach the finish of the leg, captain Tina is asleep. But when the whole crew are working again, they get closer to Ida's boat in lead. However, not close enough, and when Ida's boat passes the finish line outside the lighthouse of Sør-Gjæslingan at 04.45, they are also in lead of the total regatta, 2 points against 1.

Adi thinks that their captain should have taken more responsibility, and not let most of the crew go to sleep at the same time.

Ashore, they find the message telling the rest of way to Rørvik. They shall sail together to a point southwest of Nærøya. The first boat sailing under Nærøysundbrua will get 2 points. This means that the winner of the last leg will be the total winner.

To fulfil the main mission, they have to be in Rørvik within 07.00. But now the wind has calmed, and with only about 1 hour left when they leave Sør-Gjæslingen, they are short of time.

After being met by the rescue vessel "Harald V", they prepare for the last leg of the regatta. In the calm wind, it goes very slowly. Again, Ida's boat takes the lead, and with only a few meters distance, they win the race, and are the ones that will compete for the free pass.

However, they have arrived Rørvik 1.5 hours too late to fulfil the mission, and don't get the reward. And 4 of them will get minus points at the removal.

The free pass event is rappelling from the 45 meter high bridge over Nærøysundet. On their way down, they shall release three knots on another rope, making a net buoy to slide down to the ground. The one getting the buoy down in shortest time, wins the free pass.

Marie and Christine go first. They are both nervous. Marie soon gets a lead, and her buoy reaches the ground first. After the rappel, they are excited.

Atle and Thomas go together, and of them Thomas is the quickest. Both of them had some troubles releasing the knots. Ida has to go alone. She has been rappelling before, and looks forward to it. She gives all, even biting herself in the lip when trying to release the knots. But she is the fastest one, a few seconds faster than Marie, and gets the free pass.

Then it is time for a new removal. First the four of them getting 11 minus points each are drawn. Those are Atle, Adi, Kristine and Thomas. Trude is voting the strongest ones on top, and Tina and Lynn, who try to form a girl alliance, lowest. Lynn on the other hand, ranks Trude relatively high. Atle and Kristine have a deal to rank each other high, but Atle doesn't follow up the agreement.

Marie has got most points, whereas Tina, Lynn and Kristine are the three ranked lowest. And Tina is the one that has to leave the group.

Episode 5 :

Day 10 (June 1st)

After their fourth removal in Rørvik, the group consists of 10 participants. Their next assignment is to get to the ferry landing at Ramstadlandet within 18.00 the next day, by use of sea kayaks. On their way they shall visit three specified locations in order to fulfil the mission. In addition, they can visit a fourth point, and if they do, they will get a shower, dinner and accommodation the next night.

They have to spend the time well, as several of the channels they have to pass are dry by low tide. There are also strong tidal currents that they should take advantage of.

If they succeed, they will be rewarded with 2000 kroner. If not, 4 arbitrary will get 10 minus points each at the removal.

But first, they shall get to Tjørnsøyvågen, where they shall camp for the night. As the weather is nice, they shall make that leg on tandem bicycles !

A woman passing by car, tells them the way to go.

The bikes are too small for most of them, and carrying their backpacks too makes it difficult to cycle. But despite of that, and also that most of distance is on gravel road, they reach the camp site in reasonable time, at 21.30.

For the first time the group works perfectly together. Two girls start to prepare food, three of them raise the tent, three look up the map to plan the route for the kayaking, whereas Adi makes up a fire at the beach.

They find that the best time to leave, according to the tide table, is 10.00. The plan is to get up at 06.00, do the training in "friend rescuing" for two hours from 08.00.

They have a cosy evening around the fire, as the final 10 of the nearly 3000 applicants for this year's series. They go to sleep just before midnight.

Day 11 (June 2nd)

During the night, the weather gets worse. It is windy, foggy, and it is raining.

Just a few of them are experienced kayak paddlers. And especially Kristine is worried about the paddling. When the weather was nice, she thought it would be OK, but with the bad weather, she doesn't feel safe about it. Also Marie is afraid. Kristine considers to back out from the event, but chooses to participate, and joins a two-person kayak together with Ida, who is very experienced. By this, Kristine is calmed down. Marie goes together with Atle.

Ida has got inflammation of the tendons in her left arm, in addition to a bad knee.

They have planned to start paddling 10.00, but they are some minutes late when they start. The distance to paddle is 17 nautical miles, more than 30 kilometres.

Their first mandatory point is Fokksøya, about 3 nautical miles from the start. Just before they reach their target, they get together and make the final orientation. Ida is also experienced with draft, and together with Kristine, she is in charge. However, some of the boys still have their opinions, and want to have control. It seems that they don't trust that the girls can handle map and GPS.

They reach the target 11.15, and now they have the faith that they will succeed.

Their next point is Magerøya, again a distance of 3 nautical miles. Here strict navigation is important to get through the narrow straits between the islands.

But suddenly they are stuck. They have been paddling into a strait that because of low tide is dried out. They have a discussion what to do next, and the decision is to carry the kayaks over the dried strait, instead of paddling out into the sea again. The navigation error naturally costs some time.

Two hours after their first point, they reach their second, when Kai Vidar picks the flag.

Next, they chose to go for the voluntary point at Liss-Valøya. If they pick the flag at the 100 meter high top of the island, they will get dinner and accommodation for the next night.

Except for the twin kayak with Kristine and Ida, the other two pairs, with Christine/Adi and Marie/Atle, have their internal fights. Adi is not motivated, and is longing home for his partner and child. This doesn't exactly help on Christine's mood either. Marie thinks Atle is too lazy, whereas Atle feels that Marie is nagging, making them both annoyed with each other.

Reaching Liss-Valøya, Adi, Trude, Thomas, Kai Vidar and Atle go to the top to pick the flag, whereas the others are resting in the kayaks. The dinner and the accommodation are safe.

They still think it is possible to reach the final time limit, but they know they are short of time. And they still have one mandatory point left, Hummeløya, where they arrive 17.10. It is less than 1 hour left, and it is 4 nautical miles over to the finish at Ramstadlandet, in open sea. The time is running out, and they reach the quay 30 minutes late, meaning no money and 10 minus points to four of them at the removal. But they get their bonus reward, which will be at the Coastal Express.

By the Coastal Express they will now travel to Nesna, from where they will be transported to Mo i Rana. They are welcomed on board MS Polarlys by the captain, and are served a fine dinner.

Lynn wants to establish a girl alliance, to get all the boys removed first. But not all the girls agree, and also think about the weight of the common equipment that has to be carried. Kai Vidar also thinks that the physical strongest of them you retain to be able to succeed in their assignments.

Day 12 (June 3rd)

The arrival at Nesna is early in the morning, so they don't get as much sleep as they had hoped for.

It is raining when they get ready for the free pass event in Mo i Rana. Today, they shall test their strength. Thomas and Marie are chosen as team leaders, and they select the rest of the teams, so that one team is Marie, Kai Vidar, Adi, Ida, Christine, and the other team is Thomas, Atle, Trude, Lynn, Kristine.

They shall pull cars. But first they shall find 5 volunteers each to help them. Thomas has a theory that the 5 persons shall not help to pull, but instead to be extra weight in the car. So they select light persons. And he is right.

The cars shall be pulled about 200 meters up a slack hill. But despite their extra weight, Marie's team soon gets a lead, and holds it to the finish line.

To decide who of the 5 persons at the team shall get the free pass, they shall do a jig-saw puzzle. Each of the participants work together with one of the extra persons. That person is blindfolded, and shall make the puzzle by instructions from the participant. Christine and her partner are first, and she gets the free pass and is safe through the next removal.

As they didn't reach the time limit of the kayak event, 4 participants are drawn to get 10 minus points each for the removal. They are Kai Vidar, Thomas, Kristine and Trude.

Ida is ranked highest, whereas Lynn, Kristine and Atle have got decidedly least points. And lowest ranked is Kristine, who has to leave the group.

Episode 6 :

Day 12 (June 3rd)

In the afternoon, they get their new assignment. By use of randoneskis they shall cross the glacier Svartisen from south to north. They have to be at Svartisen tourist centre within 15.00 the day after tomorrow. If they succeed, they will be rewarded with 1800 kroner. If not, 3 arbitrary participants will get 9 minus points each for the next removal.

First they shall, by their own, get to Hilstad camping, where they will get information about where to camp the next night, and how to get to Nordfjordbotn, where the climb up to the glacier starts.

After trying the bus station, which was closed, they go to the taxi station. Thomas, Lynn and Atle ask for help, and are luckily, they get in touch with a taxi driver with maxi taxi who is willing to drive them to Hilstad, and they arrive to the camping 21.15. They are met by Bent, who shows them two small cottages where they shall spend the night.

They decide that Christine and Marie shall be in charge of the route during the hike over the glacier. As Marie is quite inexperienced with map, Christine also wants Trude as consultant.

Day 13 (June 4th)

The day starts at 05.30. Before leaving Hilstad, Bent gives them instructions about the necessary equipment for walking on glacier.

Kai Vidar and Trude are both looking forward to the hike, whereas Marie and Lynn are more reserved. Ida's problems with the bad knee and the inflammation of the tendons in her arm are getting worse, and she is anxious about whether she will be able to complete the assignment or not.

At 07.00 they are transported by boat into Småslåttan by Nordfjorden. They have to decide who shall carry the common equipment. Adi carries the lavvo, and to lighten Adi's backpack, Atle takes Adi's boots.

09.05 they start the walk. It is steep uphill, and with additional equipment their backpacks weight more than 25 kg average. Marie, who is a small girl, has trouble holding the balance. It is also difficult to find the right track, and Christine who is in charge is annoyed by all the objections from some of the others.

As most of them are tired, they have to stop often, and it goes slowly.

Ida has still pains, but thinks it goes better than she feared. But when the terrain goes a little downhill again, she gets really trouble with her knee. The tears are rolling, but she doesn't want to give up, even though her team recommend her to stop, to avoid permanent injuries. But then the medical responsible decides that she is unable to complete the hike, and orders her to stop. She will be transported down again, for a closer inspection of her injuries.

Reaching about 700 meters above sea level, Adi is tired of carrying the lavvo, and asks for someone else to take over. Kai Vidar takes it, and fastens it between the skis, at the top of his backpack. Atle continues to carry Adi's shoes.

Thomas takes over the map, and his mood gets immediately better. Trude suggests that they shall switch over to skis, and after a discussions, they put the skis on. Marie's problems holding the balance don't get smaller on skis…

After 13 hours, they reach Grønkvannlitjørna, where they shall camp. Adi doesn't agree on the spot to raise the tent, but has to surrender.

In the meantime, Ida has got down to Halsa. She will spend the night in a tent by her own, and will be checked by a doctor the next morning.

Day 14 (June 5th)

They get up early, about 04.00. It is Marie's 25th birthday. The weather is still not the best, and their mood varies. Trude is looking forward to the hike on the glacier.

At Halsa Ida has been examined by a doctor, and the advice is to not keep on the journey if she shall avoid injuries of permanent character. Even though it was her bad knee that caused that she had to break off the hike the day before, the doctor thinks that the injuries in her arm are the worst.

The others have finally reached the border of the glacier. But before they can keep on, they have to carry out some safety exercises.

Starting the walk on the glacier, it goes slowly, and they are tired so they stop often. Then Thomas "meets the wall", caused by dehydration. They don't have much spare water, but try to share as well as they can. But now they realize that it will be tough to reach the time limit.

1.5 hours before the time limit, Kai Vidar finds that they are moving much too slow, they are running out of water and food, and they are tired. If they try to continue, they will still have about 12 hours walk left. Kai Vidar is of the opinion that this will be unjustifiable, and suggests that they break off the assignment. They all agree, even though Trude is a little resigned and disappointed about the decision.

Before they start the descent to Tjongsfjorden, a helicopter arrives, and Tom jumps out. He informs them that if they had not decided to break off themselves, the responsible for safety would have stopped them. Because of this, the result is that they don't get the reward, but none will get minus points either.

The helicopter carries them the way down to Halsa. Most of them are disappointed that they have once more not finished an assignment.

Then Ida is joined with the group again. Even though she still has pain, she will try to participate on their next mission.

The participants have different impressions about how well Christine did the job as being in charge of the group.

Day 15 (June 6th)

The next morning the weather suddenly is nice. They get ready for the free pass event. As Ida was taken out of the assignment, she is not allowed to participate in this event. The other eight are asked to divide into pairs, each consisting of one girl and one boy.

From a pool, they shall catch salmon with their hands only, and then gut it. The pair with most cleaned fish in 10 minutes, wins one free pass.

Kai Vidar and Lynn catch the first fish, and hold the lead through the whole competition. When it is time count up, it is no doubt that they are the winners.

Then they have to find who of them shall get the free pass. Tom holds up a salmon, and Kai Vidar and Lynn have to guess for the weight of it. Kai Vidar tries 3.25 kg, whereas Lynn goes much higher, to 13.15 kg. As the fish weights 4.6 kg, Kai Vidar is closest, and wins the free pass.

Before the removal, the girls have talked together, and as they find that they get fine together, they have decided that they will removed the boys one after the other. The three lowest ranked are all boys, Atle, Thomas and Adi. And Atle has to leave.

Episode 7 :

Day 15 (June 6th)

From Halsa, the remaining 8 participants have been transported to Drag, near Kjøpsvik at the entrance to Hellemofjorden, and in the evening they get their new assignment.

The assignment will be a hike that few persons get the ability to do. They shall get into the greatest canyon of the Northern Europe, Hellemojuvet. After that, they shall get up to the highest point, Kanonen, before they turn west again, to the finish in Nordbukta. If they reach Nordbukta within 16.00 the day after tomorrow, they will get a bath in an outdoor hot tub. If they reach it within 15.00, they will also get a barbeque meal. And if they reach it already 14.00, they will in addition be rewarded with 800 kroner. If they fail, 3 arbitrary participants will get minus point for the removal.

This is an area that the participants of 71° nord first visited in the 2000 season. However, then they didn't go into the canyon.

By boat they are transported to Hellemobotn, where they shall camp for the night. This is area where Norway is at its most narrow.

Adi has realized that he was very grumpy on their last assignment, and intends to be more pleasant this time.

Ida has still pains in her knee and arm, and doesn't want the injuries to be permanent. She wanted to wait and see what their assignment would be before she decided what to do. But now she doesn't want to slow down the group, or to need them to carry some of her baggage. So when the camp is ready, she informs the others that she has to back out from the assignment.

Trude and Ida have been very close friends, and Trude is sorry that her friend will not join them. And naturally Ida is depressed by not being able to participate. She expects to be the next one to be removed.

The boys have carried most of their common equipment so far, but this time the girls have chosen take their share.

Day 16 (June 7th)

As usual, they get up early. Today Adi will be in charge of the route, and also to make sure that they have 10 minutes rest every hour. Christine has become sick, and has fever.

The distance into their first mandatory point in the canyon is only about 1500 meters, but in addition to the fact that they have to cross small lakes, big rocks and windfallen trees (the results of the storm "Narve") make it hard to get through. "If it isn't the first, it is the second", Thomas says, "it isn't raining and it isn't snowing, so than we must have a wood laying horizontally ahead of us !"

Reaching the first lake, they discuss what to do. Luckily, they find a track, and don't have to make a raft this time.

As the girls carry so much of the equipment, it is tough to get upwards. Marie slides down, but her backpack prevents her from getting hurt.

The second lake is surrounded by steep rock walls, and now they have to make a raft of their baggage, packed in watertight sacks.

After that Kai Vidar has tested the raft, they all lay down at it, and paddle across the lake. They are very satisfied that it all worked, and that they have really worked together as a team today.

The walk across the big rocks in the canyon continues, and 14.30 they reach the flag marking their mandatory point. And after a rest, enjoying the fantastic nature, they start the walk back through the canyon, to where they can get on to the track upwards to Kanonen. As they now have experience, the building of the raft to cross the lake again goes quickly.

Christine's body is all aching, and she has a tough walk. She is worried about what the others thinks about it, and if they will remove her because of her sickness. Kai Vidar tries to encourage her.

On the track up to Kanonen, they have a beautiful view down to the canyon. However, the weather is not the best, cloudy and some fog and rain.

At 20.35 they reach their second mandatory point at Kanonen. This is a large cliff, with steep sides down. Again, they have a rest, talking about all their positive experiences today.

They raise the camp, and have a good meal inside the tent.

Meanwhile, Ida is at Kjøpsvik. She is disappointed that she is not able to join the group on the hike. She goes to sleep alone in a small tent.

Day 17 (June 8th)

Their next day starts at 06.30. They expect the walk against Nordbukta will go easy, and feel sure that they will reach the finish line before the time limit runs out. But after only a few hundred meters, they loose the track. Adi has been in charge of the route, but now also Thomas tries to contribute.

After a while, they suddenly find a sign, telling that they are now at the border to Sweden ! Their orientation has been completely wrong. But it is still possible to succeed their on their mission.

Thomas continuously tries to find better and shorter routes, whereas especially the girls prefer to follow the track. This difference irritates both parts.

The time is running out, but now they walk fast, and hurry each other. And reaching the finish point 13.55, they have 5 minutes margin to get all the goodies.

By boat they are transported to Stetind hotel in Kjøpsvik. Being a gentleman, Adi chooses to let Ida have the bath instead of himself. And next the 7 participants that have fulfilled the assignment get the promised barbeque meal, prepared by the crew's cook, Robert.

Tom arrives, asking if they enjoy the meal, and if they miss anything. Except for missing Ida, they also miss a glass of wine. And that is something Tom can help with, if they can beat him in a karaoke game at PlayStation. Tom will choose who that shall compete, and the group decides which song to sing.

Tom chooses Kai Vidar as his competitor, and they shall sing "Splitter Pine" by Dum-Dum Boys. This is definitely not music for the starlight hours ! The machine has found that Kai Vidar was the best (…or not the worst), and they are served wine.

Day 18 (June 9th)

In a rainy morning, it is time for a new free pass event. By use of slingshot, they shall shoot each other's balloons. Each has 3 balloons. When all your balloons are hit, you are out of the game. The one with balloons left at the end is the winner.

As Ida didn't participate in the assignment, she is not allowed to join into the free pass event.

First they have to make their slingshots. Then the competition starts.

Trude is the first one out, followed by Christine, Lynn and Marie. Then only the 3 boys are left. Kai Vidar is next out, and after some misses, Adi hits Thomas's last balloon, and is the winner of the free pass.

It is time for removal. Backing out from the assignment, Ida gets 16 points minus. She has also asked the rest of them to vote her off. So this time the result is given in advance, and Ida leaves the group.

Episode 8 :

Day 18 (June 9th)

It is a cold and rainy day in Kjøpsvik. The participants are longing home, especially those who have children. Tom starts the presentation of the next assignment by telling that if all of them succeed, they will be allowed to phone home.

The assignment is to get to the top of the Norwegian national mountain Stetind, 1392 meters above sea level. The participants of series 3 in 2001 also tried to reach this top, but had to give up because of the weather.
If all of them succeed, they will be rewarded with 700 kroner. Those that back out will not only miss the possibility to phone home also get 14 minus points at the next removal.

Lynn and Adi are both sceptical about the assignment. Adi is absolutely not motivated, and only wants to go home to his girlfriend and their little kid. But after a discussion, the others succeed to convince him to go for the assignment.

They first head against Svartevatnet, where they shall learn basic mountain climbing and safety. The next day they will self be responsible for the climbing.

Christine has some problems after her sickness, and also Marie is very tired.

In the evening they reach Svartevatnet, where they shall camp. While climbing the top, they can leave most of their equipment in the camp. But before going to sleep, they get instructions about climbing from Robert Caspersen and Harlan Taney from the safety crew.

Day 19 (June 10th)

Around 06.30 they get up. It is still cold, with a little snow in the air. But after 2 hours, they start the climb.

The boys know that the girls have made an alliance, and they fear that they shall remove the boys one by one.

They shall first go up to Hall's fortopp, where the real climbing starts. As they get higher, it gets colder and colder. They reach Hall's fortopp at 13.05, and do lunch. It is very foggy, and they don't see long ahead. And the ground is also icy, and Adi is again sceptical, now because of the safety. In a short moment they get a glance of blue sky, and also see the terrain they will meet.

They start the climbing, but it is ice and very slippery. So they have not reached long before Robert calls them by walkie-talkie. His opinion is that it will be impossible for them to reach the top. So they are instructed to abort the appointment, and return to the camp at Svartevatnet. For the second time, the weather has stopped a 71° north group to reach Stetind.

Well down again, they are met by Tom. The instructions were that all of them should reach the top to allow them to call home. As none of them has been on the top, the assignment is not fulfilled. But no one backed off, and they were stopped for safety reasons, so none will get minus points, and they get the 700 kroner. And…they will get the chance to phone home. And all of them do. Some conversations more emotional than others. Talking about the feelings, they go to sleep.

Day 20 (June 11th)

For the free pass event, they are transported to Skjomen golf park outside Narvik. They are going to play golf "the 71° north way", whatever that means.

First they are allowed to some practice, and get instructions from Tom, who is an experienced golf player.

The game is to hit the ball against a large 71° north flag lying on the ground. The one to get the ball closest to the centre of the flag after all have had equal number of strokes, wins the free pass. After each stroke, the two persons longest from the flag will be removed. Like in ordinary golf, the boys start further away than the girls.

After stroke one, Adi and Marie are out. Another stroke, and Thomas and Christine are also out.

With three participants left, Lynn, Trude and Kai Vidar, the goal is to get the ball to lie on the flag.

Kai Vidar's ball is lying out in the woods, and this makes it very difficult for him. And he gives up. The battle stands between Lynn and Trude. After Trude has had 6 strokes and Lynn only 5, Lynn's ball is nearby the flag, and she only have to get it onto the flag. But she hits too hard, and the ball passes the flag. And getting a second chance, she hits a little too weak, getting the ball only to touch the flag. But on third chance, after Trude also has placed her ball on the flag, Lynn succeeds, and wins the free pass.

To avoid the girls to remove all the boys, Thomas and Kai Vidar have spoken with Lynn. But this doesn't seem to help, as the three boys are all ranked lowest. And Adi is the one to be removed.

Episode 9 :

Day 20 (June 11th)

The 6 participants are in Birtavarre, and in the evening they get their new assignment.

They will be transported by helicopter to a point at Finnmarksvidda, and from this point they shall orientate to Nedrefosshytta. From there they shall get down by canoe the 120 km long Reisa river to Storslett by the coast, within 18.00 the day after tomorrow. If they succeed, they will be rewarded with 1200 kroner. If they fail, 2 arbitrary participants will get minus point each for the removal.

Day 21 (June 12th)

The helicopter brings them to Vuobararassa, and they arrive 00.30. They immediately raise the lavvo, and have a before going to sleep, they look at the maps and try to orientate.

The two remaining boys are sure that the girls will remove them one by one. But in the morning, Kai Vidar, who has so far avoided alliances, suggests to Trude to form an alliance with him and Thomas, and remove the weaker girls.

They get up 05.30. Because of the status of the game, the boys are getting unconcerned about the assignment, and don't want to carry the common equipment anymore. So the girls have to take heavier loads.

At 11.25 they reach Nedrefosshytta, where they find the 3 canoes. But of course, they are unassembled. After about 3 hours, they are ready paddle.

They divide into 3 teams, Maria and Thomas, Lynn and Trude, Christine and Kai Vidar. The goal the first day is Biltohytta, where they shall camp, before getting further to Storslett the next morning. The trip goes in beautiful nature, and with nice weather.

The first part seems calm, but the speed is high due to the high water flow. The cooperation between Maria and Thomas is not the best, and the girls suspect the boys to want to sabotage the mission to get minus points for the girls. However, both of them claim that even though they have discussed it, they don't want to sabotage. Even if the girls should get the minus points, it will not help the boys to avoid the removal.

By the beautiful Mollis falls, they rest and take a bath, before continuing towards Biltohytta.

Then they reach heavier stream. Maria and Thomas hit a tree in the water, and the canoe tips over. Maria almost panics. The others save the canoe and the equipment. Christine and Kai Vidar must cross the river to get the canoe back to Maria and Thomas.

The accident costs them much time, but at 21.30 they reach Biltohytta, and are allowed to sleep over in the cottage.

Day 22 (June 13th)

At 06.00 they are up, and ready for the last part. Maria is more sceptical, after the accident yesterday.

This part goes well and quickly, and they reach Storslett 15.00, 3 hours before the time limit. So the assignment is approved, and they get the reward.

They prepare for the free pass event. The only hope for the boys is that one of them gets the free pass, and that two will be removed together.

The free pass event is a bobcat race. They compete in pairs, the same as they used during the paddling. The first driver shall carry two pallets (one a time) in slalom between some poles. Then the other shall do the same. When all four pallets are carried, a bucket should be knocked down from the top of a pole. The first pair to do this receives free passes for both of them.

Trude, Thomas and Kai Vidar are first. Kai Vidar is first to change, just before Thomas. Trude is last. When Christine takes over from Kai Vidar, she sabotages. Also Marie has trouble. Lynn, from starting last, drives fast and faultless. And by this Trude and Lynn win the free passes.

Day 23 (June 14th)

They have had a good night's sleep, but now it's time for a new removal. They are curious if one or two persons shall be removed. But it is only one person that has to leave. The girls want to remove Kai Vidar, but as Thomas still rates Kai Vidar on top whereas Kai Vidar for tactical reasons votes Thomas on bottom, it is Thomas that is removed.

Episode 10 :

Day 23 (June 14th)

The five of them are in Sappen. Tom tells them that they in the next assignment shall be competing against each other, in pairs. That means that they are one too much.

Each of them gets a black board, where they shall write who they don't want to carry on. Naturally all the girls have written Kai Vidar, and he has to leave. A very strange removal, and the girls have succeeded to get rid of all the boys.

They choose to work together Lynn and Trude, and Christine and Marie. Their assignment is to cross Seiland from south to north. They start by sea level, and shall go to the 985 meter high Seilandsjøkelen, and down to Hønsebyhamn. There are very few tracks to follow. They are first transported to Saraby and Nyvoll respectively, where they self have to get transport to Bekkarfjorden and Lille Bekkafjorden, where they shall start. They not start before 06.00 the next morning. Their routes are given at GPS, and by choosing GPS they also choose their route.

Christine and Marie start from Saraby, whereas Trude and Lynn start at Nyvoll. As they have to cross the fjord, they need to get boat transport, and visit some local people. Both pairs get help quickly. And while Trude and Lynn get sleeping accommodation in a small shack, Christine and Marie are invited to sleep in a house.

Day 24 (June 15th)

They get up early in the morning, ready for the boat transportation. They are hitting for Seiland, Norway's 7th largest island, and the glacier is the northernmost glacier of Norway.

When Christine and Marie reach Lille Bekkarfjorden, Trude and Lynn are late, and are still at the harbour of Nyvoll. And they are about 30 minutes behind when they finally starts up towards the glacier.

Almost reached the glacier apron, Christine and Marie can see the other pair behind. And when Trude and Lynn reach the glacier, they also see the other ahead. But Christine and Marie are first to the top, after a little more than 9 hours walking. The other pair is 55 minutes behind when they also reach the top.

Down from the top of the glacier, Trude and Lynn have a little advantage by walking along the tracks from the first team. Marie is tired. It is cold, and it is raining. Little by little Trude and Lynn are getting closer.

In the last steep part down to Hønseby, Maria is extremely tired and falls as her legs don't carry her.

Day 25 (June 16th)

It is only a couple hundred meters left when Trude and Lynn finally pass Christine and Marie, and by this win the race, after more than 18 hours walking. Tom has prepared the lavvo for them, and they go to sleep.

They are carried to Hammerfest, and the local athletics stadium, where the free pass event shall take place. It is only the winners of yesterday's race, Trude and Lynn, that shall compete for the free pass.

The two girls shall compete in four different events. In each of the first three, the winner gets two small sheets that will be helpful for the final event.

First event is hurdle race, in a special way. They carry three sheets each, and shall only step on these, and not on the ground. Lynn shows the best technique, and wins this event.

Second event is a sort of puzzle, where they are connected to a rope each. The ropes have several knots, and the contestants have to get their bodies through all the knots. Here Trude is the best.

The third event is to, blindfolded, walk towards a flag. The one standing closest to the flag after 1 minute, is the winner. Trude walks a little too long, but is much closer to her flag than Lynn, and gets the final two sheets.

Now Trude has 7 sheets, Lynn has 5. The sheets shall be used to throw against a line. The one getting her sheet closest, but not over, the line is the winner of the free pass.

Lynn takes the lead after two sheets each, whereas Trude is in the lead after 4 sheets. Trudes 5th sheet is over the line, but Lynn gets her final sheet very close to the line, and is in the lead again. Now Trude has two sheets left. And her next hits the line, and she wins the free pass.

So far the girls have been in an alliance to get the boys out. Now they have no agreement, and the last removal is open. Marie is the one that has showed most weakness, and this is possible the reason why the other girls vote her out.

Episode 11 :

Last update : 20.10.2006