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Norway, Land of Mountains'n'Glaciers
Despite the rather unpredictable weather, an epic trip thru Western Norway´s mountains. From Kinsarvik to Åndalsnes . All around the massive mountains and glaciers of Jostedalsbreen and Jontunheimen.
Kinsarvik 2 Åndalsnes
Lom, 27th May
A lazy afternoon in Kinsarvik – time to recover from the chain-climbing trail to Buarbreen.
The next morning, we’re driving on – even though the weather is far from perfect. Looks like we’ll get a bit less rain if we head north – skipping an intended hike near Kinsarvik and the drive up to the Hardangervidda highland.
Honestly, today we’re not really sure how far we’ll go. It all depends on the rain.
So, we follow a side arm of the Hardangerfjord, then head into some highlands – still dotted with quite some snow – and finally arrive at the tiny village of Vangsnes.
There we have to decide: if we trust the current weather forecast predicting dreadful conditions and snow tomorrow, then today is our chance to cross Gaularfjellet, renowned for its breathtaking beauty.
If we think we know better, we might just stay in Vangsnes and hope for brilliant sunshine tomorrow.
Finally, we decide to trust the weather forecast.
So, a ferry ride across the Sognefjord – and we’re on our way to the Gaularfjellet.
Up on the highland. It’s raining and icy cold. Maybe not the perfect time to visit – but who knows if the roads will be snowed in tomorrow.
Finally, in the late afternoon, we arrive in the little hamlet of Vassenden. There’s a small campsite – almost empty, but ok for the night.
The next morning. It’s evident, snow has not arrived. Still, it’s not any better than yesterday – simply wet’n’cold.
Still, we keep driving – today we’re heading to Jostedalsbreen National Park, one of Norway’s top hiking areas.
To Briksdalbreen, a glacier not exactly known for its beauty, but for how easily it can be reached by cruise ship crowds. There’s a cool campsite right next to it – that’s where we’re planning to stay.
Arriving there it looks like we’ll get a bit of sun – at least for the next few minutes. So, off we go to the Briksdal Glacier. Just a 45′ stroll on an overly developed trail.
Surely, this trail was built to help poor cruise shippies in their flashy golden sneakers to reach the glacier. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out for many of them. So they had to build a road where less fitness addicted folks can be shuttled up in little carts. And there are dozens of these strange vehicles.
Whatever – soon we arrive at the glacier lake. Luckily, no cruise ships have docked today, and the guided tour crowds are already gone. So we’ve got the turquoise lake and the nearly invisible, shrinking glacier almost all to ourselves.
On our way back, we get treated to a massive natural shower – completely soaked, head to toe.
Later, back in the van, it’s time to test our skills at drying everything out again. Of course, with a beer.
The next morning, we think it’s time to escape the tourist hotspot of Briksdalbreen before any cruise shippies dare to arrive. We’re on our way towards Lom in the east – the gateway to Norway’s highest road on the Sognefjell. About 150km to drive crossing the Strynefjell.
Driving down the Briksdal Valley to Olden, strange things start to happen. Dozens of buses are coming, all packed with tourists. Then a bunch of those hop-on, hop-off busses – the kind some tourists use to tour towns. And finally, these street cars that look like kitschy versions of a train from an old Western movie. All of them full of tourists.
Arriving in the tiny village of Olden, streets are filled with people sneaking around, souvenir shops at every corner, and market stalls selling pretty much everything China has ever produced. And then we discover the source of all this trouble – a huge cruise ship of TUI – A German mass tourism provider. It probably has unleashed about 5000 innocent tourists from their odd cruising routine onto their big adventure.
Whatever- off we go, heading to the highlands and Lom.
Arriving in Lom, we head for the campsite in town. Nothing special, but the only 1 showing any signs of life at that time of the year. Lom is mostly a winter sports destination, so it’s pretty dead this time of the year.
Still, there’s Norway’s most famous stave church to see – unfortunately, closed, for whatever reasons.
For us, the perfect chance to skip the hefty entrance fee and invest that money in a few beers instead.
Geiranger, 30th May
The weather this morning definitely has a lot of room for improvement: drizzling rain, cold temperatures , and thick clouds hanging over the hills around the town. So, it must be quite an interesting drive today on Norway’s highest road on Sognefjell.
Still, miracles happen – by 9 am it starts to clear up. The 1st patches of blue sky appear – maybe the sun’s not too far off. Time to hit the road to Sognefjell.
We drive through the valley for a while before the climb begins – reaching the highest point after about 50km at 1428m. Sure, it’s not Mount Everest, but for Norway, that’s pretty high.
Even if the weather gets worse again, it’s an epic road to drive – especially the highest stretch, winding between walls of snow.
After a 3h drive thru the snow we’re back down to sea level, right by a side arm of the Sognefjord. Since we’re planning to hike tomorrow to what’s said to be Norway’s most beautiful glacier, the Austerdalsbreen, we continue to the trailhead. Just 40km into a valley, to a place called Tungestølen. The road is pretty narrow, basically a single lane with lot’s of very dark tunnels, and for the last few kilometers, it’s a private toll road.
When we arrive, we’re the only 1s staying overnight in the parking lot. Well, there’s a mountain hut nearby, so there are probably a few people up there.
The next morning, we’re still the only 1s around. Maybe not that surprising, with the rain and thick clouds hanging around.
Since we feel pretty optimistic about the weather, there’s no reason not to go for the hike to the glacier.
It’s about 5km to reach Austerdalsbreen. The trail doesn’t seem to have any steep climbs – which is a rare thing in Norway – but there are a few muddy sections along the way.
It takes us about 2h before the glacier finally comes into view. Most of the time, there’s a light drizzle, making the trail super muddy and slippery. But, it seems like today we’re the only 1s crazy enough to come here.
In the afternoon, we’re back to Tungestølen. Pretty worn out from muddy trails, slippery rocks, and drizzle. Just in time to head off to Bøyum and find a decent spot for the night.
The next morning, the weather still looks the same. But the forecast promises bright sunshine for the next few days. Who knows.
The road over the highlands to Geirangerfjord is said to be beautiful. Every visitor seems to be excited to drive these 180km from Bøyum to the tourist village of Geiranger.
But if it’s so foggy the whole way and snowing up in the higher elevations, how the hell are we supposed to see any of that? Anyway, after 3h, we finally arrive.
Luckily, we find a beautiful site at a campground just a few km outside the village – with direct view on the fjord.
Strange, but true – today, there’s not a single cruise ship moored in Geiranger. A sight most visitors haven’t seen in the last 50 years. This fjord is Norway’s ultimate epicenter of cruise ship mass tourism, with 3 – 5 massive ships rolling in every day – each with 5000 to 8000 cruise shippies, all eager to snap a selfie for Auntie July from this spot.
Whatever. We spend the rainy afternoon sorting out pictures no one will ever want to see and working on some blog poetry. And in the evening, the miracle finally happens: the sun is back. At least for a few minutes.
Åndalsnes, 31th May
The next morning weather seems to be much better. Still a few clouds, but none of these thick clouds hanging in the mountains – and no more constant rain.
We decide to revisit the spots we couldn’t see yesterday because of the terrible weather. So, we’re heading back up to the highland.
After this small detour, we continue on to Åndalsnes. About 140km, roughly 3h to drive. Since the road thru the famous Trollstigen is closed due to falling rocks, we have to take the longer and less interesting route along fjords.
1st, a steep climb on the other side of Geirangerfjord with some awesome views. Then we cross the next fjord on a rusty old ferry – kinda reminds us of the car ferries in The Gambia. And finally, we drive along the shoreline until we reach our destination.
Åndalsnes is just a few minutes’ drive to the lower part of Trollstigen. So in the afternoon, we head out to get a glimpse of what we missed because of the road closure.
The views aren’t anything spectacular, but you can still imagine how touristy the whole area will be once the road opens again.
Hey guys, you’re probably gonna have nightmares about Norway’s mountains and its unpredictable weather. That´s why it’s time to wrap up this post – to give you a chance to recover from stuff like that, and to keep you jealous until the next post drops. Someday.
Cheeeers
Monika’n’Martin