The Deputy Mayor tests: Lean-tos in Ås
The Deputy Mayor tests: Lean-tos in Ås
It is close-by, free and can even be comfortable!
A great deal of the indoor social student life is put on hold. But fear not! Campfires can be lit all the way up until April 15th. The annoying mosquitos have gone into hibernation and the dark of night has returned. Although only sporadic, the starry night sky is a magnificent sight. Welcome to the most underappreciated season for outdoor life, the Winter!
Freelance journalist and photographer: Martin Løken
Translator: Aleksander Mæland Munkejord
Map: Marius Ellefsen
It’s no secret that the winter at the Agrarmetropole can be a wet one. The solution to this is the “lean-to” shelter, an old but useful invention. It’s basically a hut, except that it’s missing one of the walls. Which is practical, as you don’t have to put a door on it.
Here’s your guide to a world of sloped roofs within a 10-minute bike ride from campus. And with such a short and comfortable trip, why not spice up the hike with a theme? Every shelter is different. Here are five suggestions to how you can make something great out of something so small.
Harahuken - try glamping
Harahuken: The shelter tester of Tuntreet realized that he should have dressed himself and the shelter fancier, when he found out that half of Ås pass by the Harahuken on their morning walk.
Do you feel like you don’t get enough attention these days? Stash your bike trailer with reindeer skins, lanterns and your biggest pillows. Don’t forget matching curtains. Make the fanciest coffee you can on a campfire. Aeropress? Or maybe more creative – moss filtered cortado? The greatest advantage of this shelter is that it is in plain sight from a well-travelled trail. Make yourself at home and sip your coffee while reading a good book. Here you can glamp for the entertainment of all the Ås-people on their morning walk in the Eldor woods.
Kinn-huken – The ice bather
Kinn-huken: Amanda and Amalie Woie ate lunch by the Kinn-huken when Tuntreet showed up to take a picture. They had no intention of swimming.
If you’re one of those who just have to go for a swim on your trips, this is your shelter. Get up in the morning and leap into the muddy waters. Nowadays it’s so cold that you can’t even be bothered by the smell. They say that the risk of the poisonous cyanobacteria is greatest from June to October. On a winter trip to Kinn-huken you can utilize the season to the fullest. Årungen is in its least repulsive state between November and May. And the Instagram-hashtag #årungen is still lacking good swim photos. Are you up for the task?
Brattberget – Italian evening
Brattberget: “You get what you give” is a fitting phrase.
Charming and homemade, but still a well-made shelter, located south of Hestehagen on a mound called Brattberget. Here, you are left more to yourself, so this is the place to bring your date. This is also the only shelter with drinkable freshwater nearby. Thus, this is the ideal shelter for cooking pasta without bringing lots of water. If you carry trauma from eating canned spaghetti ala capri as camping food, you now get the chance to work on said trauma. Invite your date to an impressive Italian evening. Bring the large camping pan, colander, red wine, parmesan, and to crown it all, the red squared oilcloth.
NGApahuken - suburban camping
NGApahuken: The shelter of NGA, among the railroad and the containers, is worth a visit.
Suburban camping is a trend that has yet to strike its fame, so here you have the opportunity to be a pioneer! This shelter was part of the liquor loop of UKA 2020. Now it’s moved and upgraded with a proper roof, benches and its own campfire pan. The choir NGA announce that it is open for use on request (contact via their fb-page “Epleskrotten”). It is located in a mix of a residential area and an industrial area, with containers, and framed by the noise of the railroad. Get the best of both worlds. Smell the campfire smoke while being lulled to sleep by the sound of the railroad: the nightly wood-transport, taking the last of the country’s old woods to the cardboard factories in Sweden. Think of it as a different shelter-trip. That’s exactly what you get.
Frydenhaug – pure landscape-porn
FIREWOOD STORAGE: It’s mostly resembling a storage place for firewood.
From the road down by Frydenhaug, it looks like a firewood storage. It is not pretty. You are not likely to sleep well on the sloped ground. The proximity and the view from this shelter made it a part of this guide anyways. With such a short walk from Sørhellinga/Akropolis, this may very well be a tempting accommodation for the students of MINA and Landscape Architecture during the exam period. Who wouldn’t like a Hundred-Acre Wood as their walk to school? As you sit there one day with your morning coffee and gaze upon it all, you might get infatuated. Smitten by the sight of an old, lush seafloor, now a wavy agricultural land. A state truly belonging to the category “You know you’re an Ås-student when …”
BEAUTIFUL: They say that in clear weather, you can see all the way to Gaustatoppen…
