Odda, Trolltunga. Days 19 to 20

August 4. We got up early, packed up, and drove toward the town of Odda. Near it there were two places from our list: a glacier and Trolltunga. On the way we came across a tunnel with a roundabout inside it. Since the navigator did not work there and the signs were unclear, we turned where our intuition told us to, and luckily did not make a mistake.

The weather in Bergen had been rainy, but the farther we drove away from it, the better it became. By the time we approached Odda, conditions were already fairly decent. Without wasting any time we drove straight to the glacier. At first we did not want to go far. We thought we would walk just far enough to see it, take some photos and return. But it remained hard to see, so in the end we decided to keep going all the way. The route was not easy. In some places we had to step on stones to avoid getting wet in a mountain stream, and in others ropes were fixed to the rocks. We got tired, but reached it, and it was worth it.

Then we returned to Odda and went grocery shopping. There the cashier spoke to us in Russian. We told her that the next day we wanted to climb to Trolltunga, and she pitied us. As it turned out, she had good reason. After the store we drove up for a reconnaissance of the trail and also needed to find somewhere to spend the night. Once we reached the Trolltunga area, we realized that there was nowhere along the road to park and pitch a tent, while the parking lot at the trailhead itself was paid, 200 NOK for 15 hours. We drove back to town looking for some decent place to stay, found nothing, and in the end had to sleep in the car. There is very little roadside space there because high mountains rise everywhere and the road runs right along their base. People probably carved that road out with great effort, so there is barely any shoulder and almost no place to park or pitch a tent. We even started thinking about not going to Trolltunga at all, because the night in the car was horrible. Sleeping was impossible. The back seat was crammed with things, so we had to sleep on the half-reclined front seats. In the morning I woke up earlier and decided that we still had to pull ourselves together and go to Trolltunga, because who knows when we would ever get another chance. We returned to the paid parking lot, paid for 15 hours, packed heavy backpacks with spare clothes, food and the gas stove. The backpacks turned out really heavy. I still do not know what exactly made them weigh so much. We took our walking poles and started the hike. The first kilometer was brutally hard: mud and a steep climb. In some places the ascent had been reinforced with stones imitating steps, but elsewhere we had to slog through the mud. The second kilometer was a break, not as steep and with much less mud. The third was another steep climb, though already without mud. There we met some Belarusians returning from Trolltunga. They told us they had set off the day before, stopped a few kilometers short, pitched a tent for the night, and in the morning ran lightly up to Trolltunga, took photos, came back to the tent, packed up and were now walking back to the parking lot without being terribly tired. That is the most convenient way to do Trolltunga. Doing it all in one day is very hard. But we were already committed and there was no turning back. The next eight kilometers were not as hard as the first and third, though fatigue kept building up. Along the way we passed several beautiful viewpoints.

The last two kilometers were hard. We had to put on raincoats because it started raining, but when we reached Trolltunga the rain stopped. In the end it took us six and a half hours to get there from the parking lot. Once we arrived, we made a big mistake: we started resting after the hike, changing clothes and cooking food. Only after doing all that did we go take photos. And exactly then the clouds started coming in. First my girlfriend queued for the rock itself, and she had to wait about 10 minutes. She jumped around on it while I photographed her, and then it was my turn. The moment I stepped onto Trolltunga, clouds blew in and never really left.

This is what it looked like when we first arrived:

This is what it looked like when my girlfriend stepped onto Trolltunga:

And this is what it looked like when I got there:

After the photo session we quickly packed up and started heading back. We still had 11 km to go. We made decent progress, but the return is not easier than the way up. The hardest part of the whole route is the final kilometer down to the parking lot. It is very steep and muddy, and descending there is much harder than climbing, especially in the dark. And we were coming down around 11 p.m., when it was already dark. We had two headlamps, but one of them stopped working. Somehow we managed to get down without breaking anything. On the way we met an African guy with a girl who were climbing up. We advised them not to go at night because it was dangerous. Down below we met a group of guys who had also been thinking about going up. One of them spoke Russian. We explained how hard it was and suggested that they should climb in the morning instead, or plan it as a one- or two-day outing.

We reached the bottom five and a half hours after leaving Trolltunga, packed up, got into the car and drove off. Our legs were shaking from the effort. We drove around looking for somewhere to spend the night, but found nothing civilized. At 3 a.m. we came across a parking area where somebody had already pitched a tent. We set ours up nearby and went to sleep. Strong wind was blowing, and it was raining.