Jotunheimen

[Charley]

Hi together,

I'm going to hike Jotunheimen during this summer (2 - 3 weeks). And I have a few questions.

1) What's the best time (July, August, September) to hike Jotunheimen because of weather, melting snow, water level in rivers, mosquitoes, etc.?

2)Are there bridges over the rivers there? Does it often necessary to wade rivers, streams etc.?

3) Is there any bus connection to / from Fondsbu, Sognefjellet, Leirvassbu, Spiterstulen, Juvashytta there? I'll arrive to Oslo by train. What's the best starting point if you come by bus.

I'd like to avoid Gjendesheim.

4) What to see? I'd like to avoid the most crowded places... I'm going to hike trails below:

Fondsbu - Olavsbu (JOT 31)

Olavsbu - Leirvassbu (JOT34)

Leirvassbu - Spiterstulen (JOT 40)

Spiterstulen - Glitterheim (JOT 23)

Spiterstulen - Uradalen - Leirvassbu (JOT 16 and 15)

Leirvassbu - Olavsbu via Gravdalen, Storutledalen and Rauddalen (JOT 47 and 32)

Olavsbu - Vesladalen via Rauddalen (JOT 19), Vesladalen - Skogadalsboen along the lake Snoholsvatnet

5) How difficult is to hike or climb Glittertinden and Galdhopiggen? Is it difficult for a common hiker?

6) Last question. What would you prefer If you could chose between Jotunheimen and Trollheimen?

Regards from Czech,

Charley

[ter]

Hi

1. To avoid to many people, July is a good month.

2. There are bridges on some rivers, but not all.

3. I would recommend to take the bus to Bygdin and then take the boat to Fondsbu. That is a good starting point. For bus:

http://www.nor-way.no/

For boat:

http://www.jvb.no/bitihorn/

.

4. You have picked very popular routes in Jotunheimen

A nice trip is Fondsbu – Olavsbu –Skogadalsbøen-Olavsbu (choose a different route) – Leirvassbu – Spiterstulen – Glitterheim and then to Gjendesheim, where you can take the bus back to Oslo. There are, of course a lot of other route options.

5. Both Galdhopiggen and Glittertinden are easy to reach. Spiterstulen is a good starting point for Galdhopiggen. If you walk from Spiterstulen to Glitterheim, one of the route are over Glittertinden. There is not so crowded on Glittertinden.

6. I have never been in Trollheimen, but I assume there is not that many people there

Hopefully the input from me help you in your planning.

[askogvoll]

I've been hiking 2K peaks all the 12 months of the year, and july and august are the most crowded months, by good margin. I've been both to Trollheimen and Jotunheimen. There are people at both places, so that is not the biggest diffrence. The climate in Jotunheimen is more alpine, with colder weather, more rocks and snow/ice (higher terrain = colder weather).

You can se valleys, peaks, snow and glaciers watever route you choose, nothing more or less..... , The peaks you have choosen are quite easy to reach, you just need to be in a normal physical condition..

Good luck, and have a nice trip

[Phanini]

1. July and August are the best months, but also the most popular and crowded. Perhaps mid- or late August,

when most people have ended their holidays. September can also be nice, but the weather is generally colder and it may also come snow.

2. Most of the T-marked trails have bridges over rivers.

3. All of these (except Leirvassbu, I think) can be reached by bus.

4. Olavsbu is very popular in the holiday season and may be very crowded. Spiterstulen - Leirvassbu via Urdadalen sounds like a very long trip. Why not go to Gjendebu instead? A very nice place, although popular, it is not as crowded as Gjendesheim and Memurubu. Perhaps my favourite hut in Jotunheimen (along with Skogadalsbøen).

The last trail on your list, Olavsbu - Skogadalsbøen via Snøholsvatnet is VERY long if you mean to walk it in a single day.

I would rather recommend to start on the trail to Fondsbu, and then go to Skogadalsbøen via Mjølkedalen and Skogadalen (which is also long, but manageable). I would also recommend Fondsbu - Skogadalsbøen, a very nice and not too crowded route.

5. Easy, if you are in a normal physical condition.

Have a nice trip!

[Þróndeimr]

I find September to be the nicest month in Jotunheimen, fewer people, and its more beautiful. However, the weather is much more unpredictable then, so might as well prepare for storms, snows and suns. If you are lucky its will be sunny and nice for weeks, or the complete opposite. That goes for July/August as well, but its usually warmer (less likely to get snow).

[Blackbrrd]

For the past two years, the best weather has been at the start of September. At the same time, if you get bad weather at that time of year, you might get snow. From mid july it's very popular, in many ways because most of the snow has melted at that time (except on the peaks).
 I hiked up to Galdhøpiggen from Spiterstulen when I was 8, so yeah, it's pretty managable.