Trip Planning

Keen to get out, but not quite sure where to start? Think about what you want, what you or your group can manage, and who is coming along. That is the starting point. The rest — map, weather, equipment, plan B — is about turning that wish into something that actually happens, and that you come home from.

The only rule Nils Faarlund thought we needed to know is still fundamental: choose a trip within your ability, not beyond it.

‘The only mountain rule we need to know is that we must choose and plan a trip such that our own resources — even should they be reduced along the way — will always weigh more heavily than the demands placed on us — even should those demands become more severe.’

— Nils Faarlund, Turlederboka (1974, p. 22)

Tur etter evne — five things to check

Christian Lund Nes (Skikompis, 2019) puts Faarlund into five concrete points:

• Self-awareness — your own and others’ motivation, energy reserves and abilities
• Knowledge of the weather and the natural environment where you are going
• Experience — what you already know how to do, and what you have the energy for on the day
• Avoid situations that require outside help
• Have methods and enough equipment to help one another in an accident

It is a check that takes two minutes. It catches most trips that should not go ahead as planned.

What goes into a trip plan

For longer or more demanding trips, five areas deserve consideration:

1. The aim of the trip

What do you want to get out of it? A summit? A paddling trip? Learning something new? Spending time together? What does each person expect to experience? These questions decide which trip you should choose — and how high you should aim.

2. The trip area

• Get hold of a map of the area (Kartverket — print Mitt turkart or norgeskart.no)
• What is the terrain like — flat, steep, open, forest, snow-covered?
• Are there paths or tracks, and are they waymarked?
• Locals — anyone who has been there recently?
• Distance — how far is it? And how far it feels?
• Draw the route onto the map — it gives you a concreteness you otherwise do not have

More on route choice and SARTTO →

3. Weather and going

• yr.no for the forecast
• Snow, mud, ice, a lot of water in the rivers?
• How will you adjust the plan if the weather changes?
• Winter: varsom.no for the avalanche forecast — it affects route choice directly

50 cm of fresh snow forecast — then perhaps the day’s stage has to be halved. A storm in the mountains — perhaps a cabin in the lowlands instead. The weather forecast is not a fact, but a probability forecast; check it the day before and the day itself, and have plan B ready.

4. Equipment

What do you need on this particular trip? Check that it is in order — the sleeping bag ready, the boot intact, the battery charged. If you are missing something, it can be borrowed or hired from clubs, a local mountain-sports shop or via the second-hand market.

Packing lists → · Equipment — the category →

5. Safety — plan B and C

The most common safety work is not the dramatic kind, but the simple kind: tell someone where you are going, check phone coverage, have an alternative route ready, and pack a whistle, bothy bag, extra warm clothing, first aid, map and compass. In winter you add a shovel, probe and avalanche transceiver for avalanche-prone terrain.

First-aid kit → · Bothy bag → · Avalanche equipment →

Plan A, B and C

A good trip plan has at least three versions:

• Plan A — what you hope to complete
• Plan B — a shorter/easier variant if the weather changes, the group is tired, or something unexpected happens
• Plan C — a full return or alternative route if Plan B does not hold

It is not an extra safety buffer — it is part of the planning itself. The challenge is not building three full plans, but knowing where and when you switch between them.

Fjellvettreglene

The Norwegian Trekking Association’s (DNT) nine fjellvettregler (mountain code) are still the simplest framework for a typical mountain trip in Norway:

1. Plan your trip and tell someone where you are going
2. Adapt the trip to your ability and the conditions
3. Take account of the weather and avalanche forecast
4. Be prepared for bad weather and cold, even on short trips
5. Bring the necessary equipment so you can help yourself and others
6. Choose safe routes, and recognise avalanche-prone terrain and unsafe ice
7. Use a map and compass; know where you are
8. Turn back in good time; there is no shame in turning around
9. Conserve your energy and seek shelter if necessary

Each rule is worth a whole article — and each of them has both drowned people and saved people.

More on the fjellvettreglene →

Along the way

The trip plan is not finished when you set off — it keeps being updated. Check:

• Does the weather match the forecast?
• Does your condition match the plan?
• Does the terrain match the map?

If the answer is no to any of these, adjust. Plan B is not a capitulation — it is what the plan is there for.

After the trip — evaluate

The least practised phase — and often the most valuable. What worked? What would you do differently? What needs fixing in the packing list before the next trip? Notes made right after you get home are gold — you forget more than you think over a week.

Safety on the trip and evaluation afterwards →

Turn back in good time

There is no shame in turning back. It is where we are weakest — the group is tired, you have spent a whole day getting here, the weather is not all that bad… And it is precisely in that state that we make the worst decisions. Research on avalanche accidents (McCammon 2004) shows that group pressure, goal fixation and earlier positive experiences are the biggest heuristic traps that lead to accidents.

The most common phrasing — ‘we’ve come so far now, it feels odd to turn back’ — is the clearest signal that it may be time to turn back. Snuitide as a name is no accident.

Learn more

• Trip plan and risk assessment
• Route choice and SARTTO
• Examples of trip plans
• Fjellvettreglene
• Digital tools in trip planning
• Safety on the trip and evaluation afterwards
• Exercises — trip planning and safety

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Text: Gina Wigestrand, Snuitide (2021), revised 2026.

Key resources: DNT — fjellvettreglene · yr.no · Varsom.no · Norgeskart

Sources: Faarlund, N. (1974). Friluftsliv. Hva — Hvorfor — Hvordan. · Nes, C.L. (2019). Skikompis: snøskred og trygg ferdsel. Fri Flyt. · Unger, L.C. (2010). Rutevalg. I Turlederboka. DNT. · McCammon, I. (2004). Heuristic traps in recreational avalanche accidents. Avalanche News, 68(1).