UKC

Hi folks,

Currently working on the good lady to go to Norway for a week of trekking this summer.

Want to fly into Bergen and am wondering what the best places in the locale are. We'd only have a week so the closer to Bergen the more time we would get in the mountains. Huts not necessary as we'll be camping anyway.

So, in essence, I'm looking for a mountainous area within a couple of hours of Bergen which has some nice trekking peaks. Nice wilderness feel, probably look to climb two peaks or so in the week with the other days just wandering.

I have walked in Jotunheimen before and that was fantastic, so somewhere similar would be good.

Also - end of May is a possibility. I'd expect there still to be snow on the higher peaks but not lower down. Is that a reasonable assumption?

Cheers,

Matt

In reply to cahotic:

I don't think you will find anything as spectacular as the Jotunheimen within 2 hours of Bergen. The areas round Voss and the Hardangerfjord look reasonably interesting though.


Seems reasonable to me: likely to be soft spring snow so an axe and crampons may not be required unless you are venturing onto quite steep ground.

In reply to cahotic:

Thanks Mark, I think the area around Voss might be a good bet.

In reply to cahotic:

The Rosendal alps, just south of Bergen, are spectacular and accessible daily on a fast boat from Bergen town centre.

http://www.ii.uib.no/~petter/mountains/1000mtn/Gygrastolen/52-56.jpg

In reply to Slugain Howff:

Looks good!

In reply to cahotic:
Late May isn't a good time to go into the Norwegian mountains. It's basically peak melting season and there will be lots of rotten slushy snow and the streams are going to be full. To give you and idea: There's a ski parade on Hardangerjokulen every 17 May (Norwegian National Day). If you can go later than late May, I'd advise you to do so. Anything between late June and mid to late September works.

Anyway, here's a suggestion: Take the train to either Haugastoel or Ustaoset. Make your way across the top of Hallingskarvet down to Finse. From Finse go eastwards (via Rembesdalseter) or westwards (via Kjeldebu) around Hardangerjokulen. Cross into the western part of Hardangervidda, go towards Torehytten and climb Haarteigen, then make your way down to the Hardangerfjord to either Lofthus or Kinsarvik and take a combination of boat/bus back to Bergen.
Or start from Finse, go around Hardangerjokulen clockwise (Kjeldebu-Rembesdalseter). Carry on to Hallingskeid, then over Vossaskavlen to Kaldavasshytta. Down to Upsete, onto Grindaflethytta and down to Flaam. Bus back to Bergen.

Neither of these I would do in late May - apart from possibly on skis in a heavy snow year.

The Folgefonna Peninsula where Rosendalsalpene are is gorgeous, but won't really give you a weeks worth of remote walking with a peak or two. It's great for climbing and scrambling though.

A good site for planning is ut.no, in particular http://ut.no/kart which is a zoomable topographic map of Norway. Most of the information on the site is in Norwegian, but the map should be helpful anyway. I've given you names of DNT huts to describe the routes, but that doesn't mean you have to use them.

I lived in Bergen for 5 years, so this used to be my playground. If you have any more questions just ask.