Introduction
A middle-aged woman, climbing ice solo, in the middle of nowhere... WHAT?!
Gone North is a documentary about just such an occurrence, and a lot more. Why would a nice city girl from good family want to freeze her backside sleeping in a tent, without a shower, eating ramen noodles for 5 weeks? What is so compelling about remote wilderness? Why do we seek solitude? Why does climbing ice make more sense than climbing career ladders? I don’t quite know the answers to these questions, but I will film my journey as I try to make sense of some of them in the Arctic Norway.
After two decades of doing (almost) everything ‘by the book’, I had to admit it did not make sense to me. That speaks poorly of ‘the book’, considering that I used to be paid a lot for the expert analytical ability to make sense of the most inscrutable laws of nature, and I was quite successful at it...
While I’m looking for alternatives, I live a very simple life and engage in exploration of that which inspires, both me and others. One of the inspirations comes from the mountains.
Lofotens in Norway is the home of the last unspoiled mountains in Europe, the place I have longed to explore since I was 12—the time I read my first Knut Hamsun novel. Now I finally have the time, if not enough funds, to make that happen and share it with you through the documentary Gone North I will film in the process.
The Expedition
In early March this year I will start my tortuous journey to the cliffs of Austvågøya (the biggest of the Lofotens islands) via Oslo, Trondheim and Bodø (by plane) arriving to the village of Svolvær by boat. I will spend couple of nights in the village buying food and getting beta from locals. Then I will load my sled with my climbing and film gear and ski out into the white beyond. This is not the first time I’ll be doing that, but this time I will be going without the benefit of a guide book, armed only with my well-honed map & compass skills and conservative judgment of conditions!
I will go around and behind the big horns you saw on the photos, away from direct exposure to the warming effect of the sea (and Gulf Stream) and look for fat ice flows tucked in the gullies scouring the granite faces all over the island. I will pitch camp (and likely move it a few times) close by but out of the way of potential avalanches. And then I’ll live there for about 4 weeks, likely going back to the village to resupply only once.
Depending on the ice conditions, I will relocate to Senja island at some point, and do the same there. Senja being further North, would be colder, with more ice, but still warm enough at the end of March for a skinny Southerner.
Why solo? Check out my website http://gonenorth.weebly.com to get an idea how it all started...
As a volunteer farmer and an advocate of small-scale farming, I will try hard to visit a local farm for a week or so at the end of my expedition, in order to understand better how people survived and fed themselves there for centuries.
The Gone North Documentary
I will record everything—successful ascents (some of which will likely be the first ever there), failed attempts, camp routine, some whining too most likely, as well as my thoughts and questions inspired by this life of solitude in the midst of spectacular nature that is so close to civilization and yet, has managed to avoid human scrutiny and abuse. And when I return to civilization, I will put together a compelling story about a search for purpose and beauty outside of conventions of prescribed life.
I am excited about this serious undertaking for several reasons:
- I love telling stories and I have always loved film, especially the documentaries. Over the years, I’ve directed thousands of them, but only in my mind. With this documentary I will finally be in the position to film and tell the story I think is important—that of a middle aged woman on a purely subjective quest well within the limits of her skill and experience but also completely outside the many boxes into which life and society had tried to fit her up till now. It is not meant to be a story of success, nor that of failure, it will be a story of trying to understand and trying to find balance with self, society and nature, while keeping the best part of each intact. In a way, I am going North in order to tell a story about going North—I find this circularity rather appealing....
- I love technical challenge, and filming this documentary will be an awesome one. I will be climbing most routes multiple times to rig booms half-way up the cliff in order to get the bird’s eye footage of myself slowly picking my way up through the ice cauliflowers. What makes me think I can handle the technical aspects of filmmaking? I just happen to have spent most of my science career filming microscopic events in metals, polymers and live cells in high resolution. I used much more sophisticated cameras, acquisition scenarios and image/video processing software, built my own imaging systems and wrote my own programs, and dealt with much worse odds (e.g., department heads and deans) than a bit of nasty weather. This film will be in many ways easier to make, the challenge is all in the newness of the angle of attack and the fact I’ll be filming myself, trying to keep my big nose out of important scenes... I can’t wait to begin!!
I will also put together The Filming of Gone North video, with extra footage of rigging of filming gear half-way up the cliffs and all kinds of fun and possibly funny mishaps.
Expense Report
Your donation will be used wisely to cover a mountain of expenses of the Gone North documentary and some expenses of the expedition itself. As a climber and a world traveler, you can be sure I have mastered the Zen of making do with a minimum. The general list of expenses includes a camera & tripod upgrades, extra batteries and memory cards, solar power source, additional luggage fees and ground transport, additional climbing gear for camera rigs, film editing software, new hard drive, as well as new ski climbing skins (to make pulking of a much heavier sled a bit smoother), etc. It also includes taxes and Indiegogo fees.
Without your help, I could still make the trip, but not the documentary. And this documentary is more important to me than the first ascents I will likely make there.
I Need Your Help
Indiegogo is an awesome, reliable online fundraising platform enabling ordinary people to complete their extraordinary projects that would otherwise never progress beyond the stage of a dream.
Even $1 will make a difference, as the more people donate, the more visibility my project gains among the potential donors outside of my own community. But if you think this is interesting, consider donating the cost of a movie night (ticket, popcorn, soda)!
You can also help by forwarding my Indiegogo link to your friends and liking me on Facebook, especially my post with the link for this project.
http://www.facebook.com/GoneNorth2013
When the project is successfully funded and completed, you will receive a reward listed for the type of donation you made.
Indiegogo allows and encourages overfunding!! If you think my project is important, you are welcome to increase my goal of $7,700. This sum is the absolute minimum I need to make a documentary of the quality acceptable for the large screen showing. Every additional penny will go towards increasing the quality of post-production (e.g., a pro editing software) and additional filming accessories that will make the shooting easier for me (e.g., a remote as opposed to timed trigger). Some might even go towards upgrading my ramen noodles to a bit more palatable freeze-dried dinners...
Your Rewards
Firstly and most importantly, you will be a part of this story because there would have been NO story without your contribution!
Also, you will receive the reward for each donation—each one a token of gratitude for your support. One of them is a token of gratitude with a twist inspired by discussion I had with some male friends about cover-girl calendars and climbing photography.
Upon my return from Norway, I will post a selection of photos on my website http://gonenorth.weebly.com so that you can choose the one(s) you like. If you have an idea for a new reward or questions about the rewards, please email me damljano@yahoo.com
THANK YOU for taking time to look at my project!
Many thanks to Tyler Gillen (camera) and Alain Comeau (editing) for helping me make the video pitch for this campaign!