[RD] Hiking through Norway

[warpus]

Day 24 - Trolltunga (continued)

The climb was steep and strenuous right away and seemed to get steeper the further you went. About 20 minutes in I turned around and took this picture.

Getting to the top took a lot of wind out of me.. I felt exhausted but ready to move on. Ahead of me I saw the next climb.

In the next shot it is hard to get a proper sense of scale... Follow the 3rd red dot from the left straight up until you see 2 people hiking in the distance. It's a bit of a plateau that gradually turns into a bit of a climb - although not nearly as steep as the first one. The many markers along the way exist due to the confusing and vast landscape.

I began the second ascent at about 10am.

This was taken about 20 minutes later:

 

[warpus]

Day 24 - Trolltunga (continued)

By 10:30am I had finished the ascent and was looking back again

Two hours of strenuous hiking.. How far along was I exactly?

4km done, 7km to go, then 11km return hike. 18% of mission accomplished!

The view ahead, a couple minutes before 11am:

 

[warpus]

Day 24 - Trolltunga (continued)

I tried to make up time on this part of the trail. My goal was to arrive at Trolltunga at 1:30pm latest and depart no later than 3pm. According to my calculations this would be enough time to return to the parking lot to catch the last bus back to Odda.

That might seem like a long time spent at Trolltunga, but it is a rather popular hiking destination. I was warned of a 30-60+ minute long wait for the privilege to climb on top of the Trolltunga rock.

At about 11:30am the trail takes you close enough to Lake Ringedalsvatnet for you to get a good look at it. For those paying close attention, you might have noticed the hydroelectric electric station in an earlier post. Ringedalsvatnet is the main reservoir for that station, which provides electricity to the city of Odda.

Trolltunga is in the distance somewhere (straight ahead, on the left), although it's possible you can't quite see it from this angle. Even if you could though, we are still too far away for you to be able to make out any of it. So stop squinting

Click here if you'd like to see the panorama in more detail (4912x1080)

A look in the other direction:

 

[warpus]

Day 24 - Trolltunga (continued)

Hiking high up near the lake lead to some spectacular views along the way.

Giant version of the above here

It was now 12:30pm. I was getting close

 

[warpus]

Day 24 - Trolltunga (continued)

If you have been wondering all along what exactly Trolltunga is, it's the rock that the person in the red jacket is standing on. There is a long line behind him, all waiting their turn to step out onto the rock.

I arrived just after 1pm, meaning I was exactly on schedule. I moved in closer to get a better view of the rock.

That vantage point still doesn't really do it justice either. You can't quite tell how dramatic the overhang is.. That could wait though.. First I sat down and ate a well deserved lunch.

A look in the direction of the parking lot (it's not visible though, off to the right):

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Day 24 - Trolltunga (continued)

If you have been wondering all along what exactly Trolltunga is, it's the rock that the person in the red jacket is standing on. There is a long line behind him, all waiting their turn to step out onto the rock.

I arrived just after 1pm, meaning I was exactly on schedule. I moved in closer to get a better view of the rock.

That vantage point still doesn't really do it justice either. You can't quite tell how dramatic the overhang is.. That could wait though, first I sat down and ate a well deserved lunch.

A look in the direction of the parking lot (not visible):

Those people are crazy for sitting there.

 

[warpus]

Those people are crazy for sitting there.

When I first heard of this place that was my first reaction as well. But as you will soon see I also sat down on that rock.. I even waited for an hour in line for the privilege

 

[Valka D'Ur]

When I first heard of this place that was my first reaction as well. But as you will soon see I also sat down on that rock.. I even waited for an hour in line for the privilege

Okay, I get that the view is spectacular. But why risk your life for it?

You can't even get me down to the viewing platform at Ram River Falls (they might have made it safer now, but back in the '70s, anyone falling off the narrow path was asking for a very bad fall).

 

[warpus]

Okay, I get that the view is spectacular. But why risk your life for it?

If I thought my life was in any sort of danger, I would not have done it! Although you are right to point out the inherent dangers of such an activity.

When you're up on a rock like that, clearly any small misstep can lead to your death. So every single step you take needs to be pre-calculated, with several escape options in mind should you trip. If you take the proper precautions, you're going to be fine, but you are also accepting that accidents do happen. The hikes I had already done in the country leading up to this prepared me for that sort of mentality, specifically the Romsdalseggen Ridge hike. There were parts there that were dangerous, but you sort of get used to that and just focus on the task at hand. If Trollstunga was the first hike of mine in the country I'm sure I would have been a lot more skittish about sitting down at the edge..

For what it's worth, accidents here are rare. From what I understand there is only one reported case of somebody falling off..

 

[Cutlass]

That water below, is that a river or a fjord? I can see there's a high water mark well above where the water is that day.

 

[warpus]

That water below, is that a river or a fjord? I can see there's a high water mark well above where the water is that day.

It's Lake Ringedalsvatnet.

 

[warpus]

Day 24 - Trolltunga (continued)

A great spot for a lunch break.

Found a troll!

Eventually I got in line, which moved very slowly towards my destination.

Here you can really see the dramatic nature of the cliff.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Day 24 - Trolltunga (continued)

A great spot for a lunch break.

Found a troll!

Eventually I got in line, which moved very slowly towards my destination.

Here you can really see the dramatic nature of the cliff.

I need a parachute or a transporter lock, just to look at these!

 

[Lillefix]

For what it's worth, accidents here are rare. From what I understand there is only one reported case of somebody falling off..

Yes, an Australian student if I remember correctly. But I agree with Valka. If I ever go up there, I'll not go out on that rock and I don't feel it's something to brag about even. My initial reaction on such images tend to be to roll my eyes and sigh.
Admittedly I work with cranes and I've done dumber things, but that was because I had to.

But seriously only one fatality after all these years is almost nothing, so it's objectively pretty safe.

 

[warpus]

Yes, an Australian student if I remember correctly. But I agree with Valka. If I ever go up there, I'll not go out on that rock and I don't feel it's something to brag about even. My initial reaction on such images tend to be to roll my eyes and sigh.
Admittedly I work with cranes and I've done dumber things, but that was because I had to.

But seriously only one fatality after all these years is almost nothing, so it's objectively pretty safe.

Basically the only way I was going to die was if the cliff broke off or people started throwing rocks at me maybe, both of which seemed very unlikely. Believe me, I considered all possibilities before stepping out on that thing

In that situation I was paranoid enough to even be ready for people rushing the cliff and trying to push me off. Sitting down and standing back up were slow and precise operations.

It's pretty safe overall, but it's getting a lot more popular due to social media, which is leading to bigger crowds, a more relaxed air about the whole thing, etc. That could lead to tragedy again in the future. People need to be well educated about the dangers before they decide to participate. You need to also be wearing good boots, you don't want to be in shoes you're not comfortable in. Well broken in hiking boots that feel like a part of you, with good ankle support, so every step can be a confident one. I saw some people not wearing anything like that. Also when it gets windy you might not want to wear a windbreaker jacket, depending on the design, as it can push you around unexpectedly.. Mainly I think I would be concerned with how much the hike to get there takes out of you. You have 30-60 minutes to rest (in line), but it could lead to some people becoming too complacent

I wasn't sure if I was going to do it when I started the hike. Most people do it for the photo op - they hand their camera off to a friend (or stranger) and then retrieve it after. I didn't really care enough to bother anyone about that, although there were a bunch of people there who had several cameras around their neck.. I assume mostly people who hiked there with friends but chose not to wait in line. But in the end I figured that I was there, I had time, it was a pain to get there, so I might as well just step out and see if I can figure out a safe way to sit down at the ledge, face my fears in a safe way. Glad I did in the end, as I'm still alive and that was actually a pretty cool moment, to be sitting there like that.

Wait till you see what I did a couple days later though...

 

[warpus]

Day 24 - Trolltunga (continued)

Waiting in line took a while.. About an hour total. You got to see people go on the rock one by one from different vantage points.. And also unexpectedly a climber

Most people did not sit down and stayed away from the edge

Some people crawled up to the edge, some lied down on their stomachs and looked down.. Every 5th person or so sat down at the end.. and some were judged for it by a giant David Bowie

 

[warpus]

That person happened to randomly get into a couple of my shots. And.. Yeah

 

[warpus]

Day 24 - Trolltunga (continued)

Finally, after an hour in line, it was my turn to step out on Trolltunga.

I very slowly made my way to the end and very carefully sat down.

I was so focused on staying alive that even taking pictures was hard. My hands were needed elsewhere! I snapped a couple shots of my feet and did not dare taking a selfie.

This was all supposed to have been recorded by my goPro, but unfortunately I accidentally left it on while I was waiting in line. My last battery died at some point during that. I have a lot of footage of people's backs.

At 3pm I started the walk back to the parking lot. The last bus to Odda was due to depart in 5 hours, at 8pm.

The walk back takes you down the exact same trail as the walk there.. I took less pictures and many of them look similar for that reason. The ones posted here stood out to me as being a bit different

By 5:22pm I was about halfway back. I was more or less on schedule, but I was starting to feel the hike taking its toll on me.

With about 3km left I realized that the sun had been hitting me hard and I did not have my sunhat on. Looking back at my (badly) taken selfies, I had a bit of a tan going on even.. and the sun was beginning to have a small effect on my mental faculties.

I cursed my mistake, put on my sunhat, and tredged on. I did not think to put my sunhat on because on the way there it was just so cloudy. It totally slipped my mind to re-consider the conditions once the sun came out again, it sort of did so gradually and snuck up on me.

With about 1.5 km left I felt a sharp pain in my right knee.

I stopped to reassess the situation. The pain was coming back each time I bent my right leg. I had 750m or so of flat walking ahead, but then the steepest part of the trail, straight down.. I gulped down a couple pain pills in gelcap form and hopped forward, trying to only put weight on my left leg.

This was easy enough on relatively flat ground with a hiking pole, if annoying and slow. Time was running out though and I had to get back to that parking lot before the last bus left.

The hike down took a very long time. Sections are very steep, making it really tough to get down if you're also trying to not bend your right leg. I had to readjust after every step down to make sure that the next step would lead to me landing on my left leg, all while my right leg does not bend too much. All at the same time people were passing me and I had to get out of the way, which also slowed me down. I had to forget about the pain, the annoyance, that it felt like I had very little energy left in the tank, and focus on every single step one at a time.

At first I didn't think I was going to make it, but I managed to make it to the bottom by 7:47pm.

I sat down beside the other people waiting for the bus in relief. I was drained of energy, my right knee hurt and might have gotten damaged, the sun made me a bit loopy as well, and on top of all that I ended up sweating quite a bit throughout the walk. I felt like some parts of my body were chafed right off, and it hurt a bit, but for the time being I was happy to just have made it to the parking lot on time.

I had dinner at a steakhouse that day. Nothing fancy, just an order of Biffsnadder and some adult beverages. But first I of course showered and changed.

The last entry of the day in my journal reads: "Destroyed"

 

[Broken_Erika]

That person happened to randomly get into a couple of my shots. And.. YEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!

FTFY, since he kinda reminds me of..

Spoiler :

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Day 24 - Trolltunga (continued)

Finally, after an hour in line, it was my turn to step out on Trolltunga.

I very slowly made my way to the end and very carefully sat down.

I was so focused on staying alive that even taking pictures was hard. My hands were needed elsewhere! I snapped a couple shots of my feet and did not dare taking a selfie.

This was all supposed to have been recorded by my goPro, but unfortunately I accidentally left it on while I was waiting in line. My last battery died at some point during that. I have a lot of footage of people's backs.

At 3pm I started the walk back to the parking lot. The last bus to Odda was due to depart in 5 hours, at 8pm.

The walk back takes you down the exact same trail as the walk there.. I took less pictures and many of them look similar for that reason. The ones posted here stood out to me as being a bit different

By 5:22pm I was about halfway back. I was more or less on schedule, but I was starting to feel the hike taking its toll on me.

With about 3km left I realized that the sun had been hitting me hard and I did not have my sunhat on. Looking back at my (badly) taken selfies, I had a bit of a tan going on even.. and the sun was beginning to have a small effect on my mental faculties.

I cursed my mistake, put on my sunhat, and tredged on. I did not think to put my sunhat on because on the way there it was just so cloudy. It totally slipped my mind to re-consider the conditions once the sun came out again, it sort of did so gradually and snuck up on me.

With about 1.5 km left I felt a sharp pain in my right knee.

I stopped to reassess the situation. The pain was coming back each time I bent my right leg. I had 750m or so of flat walking ahead, but then the steepest part of the trail, straight down.. I gulped down a couple pain pills in gelcap form and hopped forward, trying to only put weight on my left leg.

This was easy enough on relatively flat ground with a hiking pole, if annoying and slow. Time was running out though and I had to get back to that parking lot before the last bus left.

The hike down took a very long time. Sections are very steep, making it really tough to get down if you're also trying to not bend your right leg. I had to readjust after every step down to make sure that the next step would lead to me landing on my left leg, all while my right leg does not bend too much. All at the same time people were passing me and I had to get out of the way, which also slowed me down. I had to forget about the pain, the annoyance, that it felt like I had very little energy left in the tank, and focus on every single step one at a time.

At first I didn't think I was going to make it, but I managed to make it to the bottom by 7:47pm.

I sat down beside the other people waiting for the bus in relief. I was drained of energy, my right knee hurt and might have gotten damaged, the sun made me a bit loopy as well, and on top of all that I ended up sweating quite a bit throughout the walk. I felt like some parts of my body were chafed right off, and it hurt a bit, but for the time being I was happy to just have made it to the parking lot on time.

I had dinner at a steakhouse that day. Nothing fancy, just an order of Biffsnadder and some adult beverages. But first I of course showered and changed.

The last entry of the day in my journal reads: "Destroyed"

Nobody offered to help you after you were injured?