UKC

What’s it like?

I’m lucky enough to be heading to Norway for 10 days soon. The main reason for the visit is to see friends who now live there, but we’ll be keen to get out in the hills/mountains if possible. We’ll be based in Aurdal, about an hour south of the Jotunheim. 
 

Does anyone have experience of Norwegian hills at this time of the year? I see it’s been snowing on the tops - what kind of conditions might we expect? For what it’s worth, we both have long experience of Scottish winter climbing. Should I even think about packing axe and crampons, or just a pile of good books?
 

I did the first week in September a few years ago  - walking in the Rondane. It was like UK autumn / winter - woke with ice on tent poles one morning, and there was plenty of rime on the top of Rondeslottet, but other than that snow and ice weren't an issue. Temperature peaked at 14degrees. The Rondane plateau is at ~1000m, so bear that in mind - the nearest weather info will be for Otta, which is a lot lower and warmer!  Biggest problem was that lots of places close at the end of August and finding accommodation was harder than anticipated. The Rondvassbu boat won't be running.  A Norwegian couple we met reckoned the Breiheimen had better walking than Jotunheimen, but that's a bit further away for you.

That’s interesting, thank you! On your point about accommodation, I gather some DNT huts are unusually staying open this autumn. I guess they think there’s pent-up demand after lockdown.

Yr.no is showing sub-zero temps overnight next week. I can’t stop myself getting excited…