After my experience at Preikastolen/Norway, I'm not particularly eager to participate in another mass hike, so I read enthusiastically about the 2018 opened via ferrata.
It was opened a few years ago, after the old one was so damaged by falling ice and rocks in spring 2017 that it could no longer be used. Since I don't have any equipment with me, I book a guided tour without further ado. Richard Mauseth is the mountain guide who will accompany us on the "via ferrata triathlon".
We start at 8 o'clock in the morning with the mountain bikes at Ringedalen Lake.
A gravel path takes us away from the engine noise of the busy car park. Behind the dam begins the lonely Norwegian mountain world I have been looking for. A single cloud still hovers picturesquely between the vertical escarpments that reach straight down to the water - apart from Richard and the three jolly Australians who have booked the same tour, there is not a soul in sight. The further we drive, the quieter it gets. Here, all we hear is the distant murmur of the waterfalls and the crunch of the tyres on the gravel. After 6 kilometres, a wooden bridge leads over a stream -
here we come to the second discipline: running.
Steeply uphill! Thick porcini mushrooms, poisonous toadstools and delicious blueberries grow at the edge of the path, so you can lose track of time a little while harvesting. As soon as we leave the tree line behind us, we see the real challenge:
Discipline number 3, climbing!
One of the group members gulps at the sight of the vertical granite wall, but Richard, who helped build it himself, can reassure him.
"We built 900 metal stirrups into the 250-metre-high wall - actually, it's no more difficult than climbing up a ladder."
In theory, of course, he is right about that. The Via Ferrata is very well secured and technically not particularly demanding, but the higher we climb, the more air we have under our soles ... and thus a vertical view down to the ever-shrinking lake. If you don't suffer from a fear of heights, a spectacular panorama opens up: with every rung we see more of the Folgefonna glacier covering the mountains opposite, individual waterfalls rush down into the depths.
There is nothing here to spoil the beauty of this scenery.
After 200 metres of altitude, we reach a wider grassy strip where we can walk unsecured to the next entry point. "The biggest challenge was to secure the mountain so that there would be as little rockfall as possible. To do this, we cleared the entire wall - in some cases of rocks up to four square metres in size." Although my helmet wouldn't do me any good there either, I prefer to pull it a little tighter for the last 50 metres. At the end of the via ferrata, we reach a rock plateau that already belongs to Hardangervidda National Park. On the other side of the gorge we see the "normal" hiking trail, on which we cover the last 2.5km to the object of our desire. After the solitude of the via ferrata, the world has us again.
Click on the first photo to start the photo gallery with picture description:
The via ferrata, newly opened in 2018, is still an insider tip and thus - at the moment - the deserted alternative to the normal route. If you have a bike with you or rent one, you save a total of 12 km of hiking if you also descend via the via ferrata.
♡-Factor: ♡♡♡♡♡
Difficulty: Via ferrata, medium, B-C
Walking time: 8-10h
Altitude difference: 1000Hm
Length: 22km hike (if the way back is via the normal route) + 250 metres of via ferrata
Accessible by public transport: yes
Hut on the way: no
Best time: mid-June to mid-September
Starting point: Hikers' car park to Trolltunga (420 hm): Skjeggedal 20, 5770 Tyssedal. Paid parking. Public transport between Odda and Skjeggedal (starting point of the hike): Trolltunga Shuttle: (15 June - 15 Sept) Pick-up service from most accommodation sites in Odda, www.oddataxi.no.
Maintenance fee: 350NOK to be paid at the Trolltunga Active Store at the car park, as they have privately funded the via ferrata.
Info:
The route to Trolltunga is described at www.visitnorway.com
Equipment: Hiking boots, wind- and weatherproof jacket and trousers, change of clothes, cap, scarf and gloves, enough provisions and drinks for the entire hike, headlamp, hiking map, compass, first aid kit, a charged mobile phone. For the via ferrata: via ferrata set and helmet (can be rented at Trolltunga-Active).
Mountain guide:
Trolltunga-Active offers guided hikes to Trolltunga also with overnight accommodation near the rocky outcrop. Two-day hike incl. guide, overnight stay in a specially built plastic dome, dinner and breakfast from 400 euros.
Skjeggedal 20, 5770 Tyssedal, tel: +47 99 11 2121, trolltunga-active.com.
How to get there:
By own vehicle by ferry from Hirtshals/Denmark to Kristiansand/Norway. 2h15 journey time, directferries.co.uk. By plane with one change to either Stavanger or Bergen. From there, continue by public transport or rental car. From 1 July to 31.8 there is an express bus between the starting points for the hikes to Preikastolen and Trolltunga, gofjords.com.
Sleeping:
The Trolltunga Hotel in Odda offers accommodation in 4-person dormitories or double rooms. There is also a shuttle bus from here to the starting point of the hike. Double room with breakfast from 124€.
Trolltunga Hotel, Vasstun 1, 5750 Odda, Tel: +47 400 04 486, www.trolltungahotel.no/en
Lofthus Camping offers normal pitches for tents and campers as well as bungalows for 2-8 persons. The location directly above the Hardanger Fjord is spectacular. Tent pitch from 15 euros, 2-person bungalow from 40 euros.
Lofthus Camping, Hellelandsvegen 120, 5781 Lofthus, Te: +47 53 66 13 64, https://lofthuscamping.com