Trekking (Hardangervidda or Jotunheimen)

[levak]

Hello!

Me and 2 friends are planning to go hiking in Norway this summer. We bought tickets from 4th to 18th of August, and plan to do trekking from 6-16, so we have about 10 days at our disposal.

Currently we can't decide where to go. One option is Jotunheimen, which is really nice with mountains and valleys and the other options is Hardangervidda, which is flatter but is still offers nice view and relaxed hike.

Hardangervidda:

In Hardangervidda, I was thinking of going from Finse to Odda(Trolltunga). If I saw correctly, that somewhere between 100 and 120km of hiking, which I think should be doable in 10 days. Is there any route/path leading that way? I heard Hardangervidda can be quite moisty if you don't stick to the path.

What are the summer temperatures in there? I was thinking of taking a sleeping bag which has a comfort zone around 0. Will that be enough or do I need a winter sleeping bag?

Is it possible to summit Hårteigen? Do we need any special gear?

Is there a lot of people in that area in the summer?

Is there any free topo map of Hardangervidda available on the internet?

Jotunheimen:

A very nice park but a bit harder hike because of all the mountains. But that won't stop us if we decide to go there(we will train at home if necessary ).

How to get there? Bus is probably the cheapest way. I tried looking at www.nor-way.no web page but I have dificulties picking the right town and price from the price table. As far as I read, I should take a bus from Oslo to Lom, and then from Lom to Juvashytta(I read there is a start of a nice trekking route).

Is the climate similar to the one in Hardangervidda?

Do we need ice axes and crampoons?

What special gear do we need on both trekkings. Is there drinkable water or should we take some water purifying pills?

Is it allowed to catch fish in the lakes and rivers?

Is it allowed to make a fire?

Is there possible to make a fire, since there is not much wood around?

Is there any other place/trekking you would recommend?

How about a trekking from Finse to Sognefjord? It looks like a nice mix of flat and mountain area and we finish in a fjord, which is one of the specialties of Norway:)

Thank you all for your help. You people have a wonderful country.

lp, Matej

[Villmarksnett]

Hi

Sounds for me as Rondane ( Next beside Jotunheimen ) is a better alternativ for you. Those mountains have everything your looking for. And you can reach it by buss all the way form Oslo )

You can drink pure water in every norwegian mountains

I would hav used a sleepingbag with comfortemprature -10 above 1000m

Its posible to fish in Rondane but you cant make fire there ( Its nothing to burn )

Its fully possible tu use ten days i Rondane. ( Iwould have done that ) but you can also go to Jotunheimen, its just som miles away from Rondane

Just call me if you need more advice when you come to Norway My number is +47 40612529

I found some pics from two of my trips in Rondane.

Have a nice trip

Vidar

[larbrevi]

Hi Levak

You should check out the web side of the Norwegian Trekking Association (Tursistforeningen) at http://www.turistforeningen.no/english/

It´s a very professional association and they have cabins, marked tracks and routes all over Norway. Specially in the areas you´re talking about.

Most of my own experience is from the south-east part of Hardangervidda (which is huge you know, europas high mountain platou), but you can cross it in all wind-directions if you like.

I´ll attach a very roughly map of the area.

You should also check out www.ut.no , change to english and search for Finse or Odda.

Apart from that my only advice is to bring good clothes and gear. The mountains in Norway could get quite cold even in the mid-summer. I prefer to have, as Vidar also says, a at least a good sleeping bag. -10 © comfort temp sound good to me to.

And for the water, it´s normally crystal clear and fresh and nice, Probably the best

About fire, usually a bit difficult above 800-1000 meters, since you´re over the tree-limit. Which means trouble find something to fire up.

Anyway; i guess I can assure you gonna have a nice trip no matter where you choose to go - unless you´re really unlucky with the weather.

Best regards from Lars

[levak]

Hey there!

Thank you for all the advices. Although it's hard to decide where to go, I decided that we'll try to do two trekkings, 5 days in Jotunheimen and 4-5days in Romdane.

So, for the 1st part I was look at the following 2 trails:

- 1st trail: Spiterstulen - glittertinden - glitterheim - memurubu - Gjendesheim ---- Is it possible to summit Glittertinden without winter equipment(crampoons and ice axes)? If that is not advisable, then we will make a detour around Glittertinden.

- 2nd trail: Spiterstulen - Visdalen - Urdadalen - Langvatnet - Gjendebu - Memurubu - Gjendesheim

Then we would jump on a bus in Gjendesheim and drive to Mysuseter-Smuksjøseter, where we would begin the 2nd part of trekking:

Mysuseter - Rondvassbu - Storronder or Vinjerondan

Which one in Jotunheimen would you choose? 1st is nice, because you walk above and in the valleys, so you get a nice view over the Jotunheimen. I expect the 2nd to be easier and I would see less people.

As for the 2nd one, what do you think? Would you rather recommend driving to Rondvassbu and take a hike into more inner valleys?

Is my plan doable in 10 days?

Are there any outdoor shops in Otta in case we have to buy some gas for the stove(I forgot how bit Otta was when I was there last year)?

What the weather typically in August in that part of Norway? I know it can be quite tricky and unstable, but does it mainly rain or do I have a good chance of some nice blue sky?

What kind of sleeping bags do you prefer: down or synthetic? Down are good, since they are small and light, but if they get wet, you loose the insulation. But then again, I don't plan to sleep outside the tend and I always have my bivouac bag with me.

Are there any web pages with GPS tracks of hikings that you know of? Someplace, where I could download the tracks and put them on my GPS?

What temperatures can I expect during the day? 20°C? 10°C? 0°C? I'm deciding weather to take a freece and a hardshell or down jacket and a hardshell (I have to watch on the weight of my backpack).

Villmarksnett & larbrevi thank you for previous advices... They were very helpful, specially the pictures and www.ut.no web page with it's map.

lp, Matej

[martin.m]

Hi levak.

Gas:

You can buy gas at G-sport at the mall Ottatunet.

http://www.ottatunet.no/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=2&Itemid=4

Temperatur:

Totally depending of weather (of course) if it rains, and northern winds blows it migth get a bit cold.

But if it is sunny temp. can get up to 25 °C during the day.

As an example, the hottest day over all last year in Rondane the temperature was 21.3 °C (14. Aug. 2010) and the lowest -25.6 °C (29. Dec. 2010).

Take a look at this site:

http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Oppland/Dovre/Rondane_nasjonalpark/statistics.html

and

http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Oppland/Vågå/Jotunheimen_Lemonsjø_alpinsenter/statistics.html

Sleeping bag:

I prefer one made of down. Mine has an temp.range down to -9 °C up to 15 °C or so. I prefer down because of it is smaller when packed and lighter than synthetics. I pack it in an waterproof bag.

I would advice you to use a sleepingbag with a range down to -2/3 °C. (3 season sleeping bag.)

[levak]

Oh, totally forgot about yr.no. Great info. I guess we have to plan for summer and late autumn temperatures:) Just so I know what to take with me.

About the sleeping bag, I guess I will buy the Mountain hardware Phantom 15 model, since it got 600g of 800 fill down and they have a 40% discount in a shop near me, so it costs "only" 240€. I think it's a good price for that amount of down. But great idea about waterproof bag. Typical bags that come with sleeping bags probably aren't waterproof.

Great infos, thanks!

Matej

[martin.m]

The MH Phantom 15 would be a good choice.

Earlier I have used a waterproof bag like this: http://www.outnet.no/no-sea-to-summit/ultra-sil-dry-sack.php

For my sleeping bag (Western Mountaineering Ultralite) an 8 l. bag is quite enough.

Nowadays I mostly use one like this:

http://www.sportsnett.no/s/p.aspx?pid=1183&cid=456

By the way: Very nice pictures in your blog , to bad I'm not able to read your language.

[jbl]

You may summit Glittertind without glacial equipment, at least if you follow the track. But if the wheather is not fine, you will not see much. Then of cause you can walk around the mountain.

In the Gjende area (Gjendebu-Memurubu-Gjendesheim) you will meet a very lot of people. It is one of the most popular areas in Jotunheimen, very spectacular and also a little alpine. If you dont want to see to many people consider heading south against Bygdin. Here you will also find bus connections.

If you choose the second (western) track also consider Gravdalen and Utladalen from Leirvatnet. Utladalen is a very spectacular area, a little fjord like, with big contrast between high mountains and wood, and with some very great water falls.

The wheather is very difficult to predict. You may decide your track ad hoc depending on what the single day will bring. You must bring clothes for both warm and cold wheather, also for whole day rain. Also remember cap and cloves.

Wish you a great trip.

[levak]

martin.m:

I was looking at dry sacks as well. It can be quite handy if it's raining. And it will come handy in September when I go kayaking in Sweden. And they aren't that expensive (lately, all outdoor equipment is getting more and more expensive).

Thank you for your comment about blog. In case you really need to read it, google translate is your friend. But if you ever consider getting down here, you can write me and I can help you in english:P

jbl:

Great to know about Glittertind. I was affraid there's also glacier at the top and that I would need some winter equipment.

Gravdalen and Utladalen also sound nice. I already took a peek view at the route, but I would like to mix high and low routes, so I will walk some path above the valleys and some in. I wouldn't like to spend all trekking captured in the valley. But the waterfalls would be nice to see. Are there any waterfalls in Gjende area?

At the end, we will probably go with the weather anyway, but it's good to know the options and to know what to expect in every valley. And you guys can more easily suggest routes, since you already(probably) been there.

One more think. How is with the electricity in mountain huts? It would be nice if I could recharge my bateries every now and then and mini-solar-panel-chargers just don't work.

Anyway, once again, thanks for all the ideas:)

Matej

[marmotta]

Although you intend to climb a few summits I can assure you that a strict valley walk, along streams, across passes into the next valley, etc., offers a lot of variety.

To illustrate this point, these are my pictures from a 10-day hike in Jotunheimen in 2002 ( http://www.huthyfs.com/jotunheimen.html )

http://www.huthyfs.com/jotnewgal/index.html

(at No. 34 you'll have to link to another gallery, "De scannade korten finns här", later there's a link back to No. 35

"Länk tillbaka till diabilderna").

Some of the best parts of Jotunheimen are often overlooked, like Fleskedalen and Hjelledalen - but then I never climb any summits.

My down sleeping bag for summer use has a comfort temperature of +2. I count on a temperature difference

between the outside and inside of my tent of at least 5-7 degrees

in the early morning, i.e., around 5 am.

[JohnnyGunn]

If I had 10 days in Jotunheimen and I never been there before I would select this route:

Start from Fondsbu - Skogadalsbøen - Fannaråken - Leiravssbu - Spiterstulen - 1 day for Galdhøpiggen - Glitterheim (the Glittertinden route of course) - Gjendesheim - Memurubu (Besseggen) - Gjendebu - Fondsbu. You could also start from Gjendesheim.

This is 10 days. Normally I think a day rest is needed when walking more than a week but a couple of the tracks are short so it should be ok. You could also shorten the trip by taking the boat from Gjendesheim to Memurubu or to Gjendebu. The Gjendesheim and Besseggen area is very crowdy but I would still choose it if I never had been there before. I would not select two different areas since you will loose a day travelling with bus.

[jbl]

Hellerfossen at the track from Langvatnet to Gjende is a quite nice waterfall. Also Storåen and the Muru rivers are very spectacular. The track from Gjendebu to Eidsbugarden at Bygdin passes the Høystakkafossen. But the far greatest waterfalls of Jotunheimen are all placed in Utladalen, for instance Vettisfossen (275 meters free fall). The usual track along Utladalen from Skogadalsbøen to Hjelle is for the nothern half placed above the valley with a great view to Hurrungane (dependent of wheather conditions of cause), while in the southern half it follows the bottom of the valley.

You will find electricity in most of the huts.

[josteink]

Topomap:

http://www.norgeskart.no/adaptive2/default.aspx?gui=1〈=2

A lot of the tracks are marked here also.

[levak]

Uff ufff uff, so much of great new news:)

marmotta: great pictures! I see I will get a great view if I choose a mountain pass every now and than as well. I am having troubles locating the valleys you named (Hjelledalen and Fleskedalen). In which part of J. are they located? Am looking at a map on ut.no, but can't find it.

Also, I bought my sleeping bag yesterday and I know I'm not gonna be cold in it. Comfort of -9 should be enough for the summer in J.

JohnnyGunn: HEy thanks for the idea. I also decided now not to take a look at 2 different parks. Instead, I will stay J. and make a longer hike. Since we will only summit a mountain or two, I think we will be able to make quite some mileage every day.

jbl: I think I definetly have to go to Utladalen to show my 2 friends, who will be with me, the waterfalls. I personally have seen so many waterfalls in the last 3 years then I was in Norway, that they don't impress me anymore:P, but I know my friends will love it! Will take a look there the others are and try to make my route so that I will pass most of them.

josteink: Thanks. Another user also replied me with the www.ut.no, where you can also find all the huts and some more info. But thanks anyway:)

Ok I think now I have all the infos that I need so far:) I just have to find the right busses to start and end point and it's a go:)

lp, Matej

[marmotta]

Fleskedalen connects Utladalen with Koldedalen and lies about 5 km South of Skogadalsbøen. To me it's the most beautiful valley in all of Jotunheimen, very green, and not rocky like many other valleys in Jotunheimen. The pass leading from Urdadalsvatnet into the valley is majestic.

The tricky ford near Kvitevatnet (image 29) can be avoided by walking along the river and using the road instead.

Hjelledalen lies 7 km further South. It is fair to point out that the passage shown as Hjelledalssmoget is extremely rough and rocky. Also, I advise against crossing the river on the T path shown on the map especially in rainy periods; I had a very frightening accident there in 2000, lost my foothold and was carried away by the river. Further West there is (or should be) a bridge at Fremre Hjelledalen.

Hjelledalen is not shown on Jotunheimen Aust or Vest maps but on the Årdal map, 1:50 000, Ugland IT, Best.nr 2531.

And, yes, however you choose to combine all the tips given here I agree that you should spend all ten days in Jotunheimen; less hectic, enough variety.

I've been there seven times, last time in 2010. And you can manage if you're reasonably fit. I know I'm very fit for my age (almost 67)

but you're much younger, I suppose.

[jbl]

Gjende, Bygdin and Årdal (south of Utladalen) can be reached by Valdresekspressen from Oslo. Spiterstulen, Juvvasshytta, Krossbu, Sognefjellhytta and Turtagrø can be reached by local busses from Lom.

Another recommendation you may consider is the glaciers. If you does not have equipment or experience you may join a guided tour. Spiterstulen has daily guides to Svellnosbreen (may be combined with summiting Galdhøpiggen). Daily (or almost daily) tours are also arranged accross Memurubreen/Hellstugubreen (between Memurubu and Spiterstulen), Smørstabbbreen (between Leirvassbu and Krossbu/Sognefjellhytta) and Fanaråkbreen (between Fanaråken and Krossbu/Sognefjellhytta).

[levak]

Uff uff uff, so much great ideas and routes. I think it will be hard to choose which one at the end:)

By the way, what do you take with you for eat and how much. Since we plan to stay in the Jotunheimen for the duration of 10-12 days, we need all out food with us. We were planning to take some "premade and dried" pasta/spaghetti and some dried army food for dinners and a lot of fruit & chocolate bars to eat during the day. Would that be sufficient?

Are there any fish in the lakes? Am I allowed to fish? Do I need a permit card?

Does any of you use Primus Gravity burner? How many gas bombs should I take? I was thinking of taking 3 500g bottles. I think that should be enough.

Other than that, I think we are ready...

Anyway, once again, that you again for all the help. You really made my/our trip a lot easier!

Matej