– We were in the shape of our lives

Wenche (48) and Sverre Øksenberg (50) thought so when they decided to buy a new cabin in 2019.

The couple chose the simple cabin life, and bought a 35 square meter cabin in their own home municipality of Levanger.

A 25-minute drive from home, 350 meters from the car park and with a 65-metre climb, they bought a cabin at Småhårskallen by Tomtvatnet in Levanger.

– It is a small knoll with a beautiful view, pine forest and good sunny conditions, describe the married couple.

The cabin, on the other hand, needed a good dose of renovation. This made it a difficult choice for Wenche and Sverre when they had to refurbish the cabin – not for their wallets, but for their backs.

– We decided to refurbish the cabin, but there was so little snow the first winter, so it was not possible to transport the equipment on a snowmobile. Then we waited until it was completely bare, and then we started carrying, says Sverre.

Trønder-Avisa mentioned the case first.

“A few kilos” turned into well over a ton

The first trips with a carrier started by attaching things to ordinary straps on a completely normal backpack.

– All the furniture was transported up to the cabin that way, says Wenche.

Thus Sverre set about carrying a chest of drawers and a dining table on his back. After a while, they found the genius on the big internet: One commodity titCan be compared to a carrier in which you transport small children, but unlike children, you can transport “goods”. Hence the name warmeis..

– With it, we have been able to carry everything we need to the cabin, the couple explains on the phone to VG – from the cabin, of course.

Scroll through the photo gallery below to see wear in all seasons:

And they have needed a lot, it turns out. They have lifted and carried everything with their own muscle power, apart from a 90 kilo wood stove and a 100 kilo Ikea sofa bed in two flat packs, which have been motorized by a snowmobile.

New Ikea kitchen with appliances weighing a total of 450 kilos? There is no case for the couple Øksenberg.

Flat packs were strapped to the warehouse and carried up, along with table coverings, windows, roofs, and all the material the family needed for a new veranda.

– After all, there has been some exercise and training out of this, say the two.

– There were probably a few kilos in the end?

– I guess between one and two tonnes were carried up in the end, as well as a few hundred kilos down from the cabin – so we were in the shape of our lives in the summers of 2019, 2020 and 2021, say Sverre and Wenche.

– “Gønne” on

If you thought it was a dirt road all the way up to the cabin, you’ll have to think again. There is a trodden path for the 350 meters from the car park – a path that the Øksenberg couple and about one tonne of things and tools have helped to tread down even more.

– The only thing we could do was to “benefit”. It’s heavy when you’re carrying it, but it’s become a funny story afterwards, and there’s a certain charm to it all, says Sverre, who carried 43 kilos on his back at his heaviest.

Normally, without a load of goods on the back, the trip to the cabin takes about ten minutes. With all sorts of different things on your back, the trip takes less than 20 minutes.

– There is something about having done everything yourself, says Wenche, before Sverre adds:

– Or fan for fan, then!

Everyone in the “family sherpaOriginally an ethnic group from Nepal known for their mountain climbing skills, but used here metaphorically to describe someone who carries a heavy load. ” has contributed. Although Sverre has carried the heaviest loads, Wenche has also taken on a challenge.

Literally an entire roof.

– She carried the roof tiles up from the car park, while my father and I screwed battens onto the roof, says Sverre.

– You didn’t lose motivation or suffer any back injuries during the carrying period, then?

– No back injuries, just good exercise and good form, replies Wenche, before her husband breaks in:

– The simple is often the best.