Two years ago my dad, my little brother and myself had our first trip to Norway - it was the middle of September – we went for only three days and one of those days we were planning to do the famous Trolltunga hike.
It's around 10 km one way and the same 10k m back - mostly flat, but long distance hike.
According to online resources, the estimated hiking time is between 7 to 10 hours.
There was still a thin layer of ice covering ground when we started our hike early in the morning, and what supposed to be a 3-4 hours one way journey,
ended up being around 7 hours.
Weather conditions were not great, but more importantly, we were not dressed appropriately.. You know how they say that there is no bad weather, just wrong clothes?!
Slipping and sliding, holding on to rocks and branches, looking for any signs to make
sure we stay on the path.
The wind was very strong and cold, and the path not clear.
My brother (at that time 10 years old) had timberland boots which eventually were soaking wet, and when we tried to change his socks, we discovered that the boot-laces were frozen.. Wet feet, close to zero degrees, and countless more hours to go..
Exhaustion and fear, knowing there is no way out, and try to imagine yourself as a 10 year old..
There were some really scary moments – and looking back at it now - there was a real possibility of things not ending so well..
But when you are in the situation – there is no limits to your resilience.
I could (and maybe should) write an entirely separate story about that experience, but this story is about us being so much better prepared, two years later,
climbing the tallest mountain in Norway.
Our journey uphill wasn't as simple as we imagined it to be.
I shared my story of 'Journey is more important than the destination' read it here. That was our first attempt to climb Galdhøpiggen, and after relaxed yet tiring three hours, we discovered that we have been going in the wrong direction, so we had to walk back for those same three hours and clearly return the day after that…
The next morning we returned to Jotunheimen National Park.
We made sure we are warm, well dressed, with extra socks and proper hiking boots!
We didn’t want to make the same mistake that we did the last time, so we made sure
that we have enough layers.
The weather conditions promised sun all day long, but the temperature at the top was supposed to be around +6c..
So bundled extra warm, we finally started our journey, our second attempt to hike Galdhøpiggen, in the right direction Sunday morning, 6:30am!
My online research and Youtube videos all suggested the hike to be an estimate
of around 4-5 hors uphill and 2,5 hours down.
Little did we know how long it would take us to climb the tallest mountain In Norway!
We started slow, and we took way too many breaks.. We were in no rush, and unlike avid hikers, we were there to enjoy the nature, take some photos,
and most importantly- look around..
The sun started to come up and after the first hour of quite a steep climb up, we realized that we were definitely over-dressed! We started to take off some extra layers which made the backpack significantly heavier..
First group of people passed us by, soon after more people followed, all passing us by at such speed – getting so far ahead so quickly – making us look and feel like we are barely moving.. We knew we would not be the first ones to reach the top, but I started to question our pace, and will we really get to the top within the suggested 5 hours ?!
My brother, 12 years old, was very excited to climb the tallest mountain in Norway, but the ambition and stamina of a 12 year old, as I soon discovered, comes and goes in big waves..
Approximately once an hour he had a small break-down and we had to get him through it
so we could keep moving ahead.
Important note to anyone planning this hike:
There are a couple of ways/routes you can take to reach the top.
The trip begins from the bridge at Spiterstulen (this is the location where you leave your car), located between the two highest mountains in Norway: Galdhøpiggen and Glittertind. The bridge takes you into a small forest, where there is a clear path before
loose gravel and stones appear.
Throughout the hike, you will climb up both Svellnose (2,272 m.a.s.l) and Keilhaustopp (2355 m.a.s.l) before reaching the acclaimed Galdhøpiggen towering at an astonishing 2469 m.a.s.l.
There are alternative routes to reach the top: shorter, less challenging, but involve glacier crossing so they can only be done with a tour guide. More info here.
The hike from Spiterstulen is a much longer journey but you can do it on your own.
Please find more info on alternative route options here.
Whilst the ‘loose gravel’ is only briefly mentioned in the descriptions, I felt like it was
an incredibly long journey with no end in sight.
Each step required 100% focus and I often found myself lost, looking for the red marked signs amongst the rocks, in order to stay on the path.
There were some very steep climbs uphill, which seemed more like rock climbing, holding on to the rocks for dear life..
There were parts of this hike which were definitely adrenaline fueled!
Perhaps photos here give a better justice than my description.
After little over 5 hours of fighting our way up the hill, when it seemed like we have almost reached the top, I motivated my brother for one last push!
I could feel the breeze blowing over the mountain top.
Few more steps and we are almost here!
At least that’s what I thought..
We reached the top, a moment of glory, only to discover that we have to cross another mountain, climb the final ascent before reaching Galdhøpiggen.
Remember that “Throughout the hike, you will climb up both Svellnose (2,272 m.a.s.l) and Keilhaustopp (2355 m.a.s.l) before reaching the acclaimed Galdhøpiggen towering at an astonishing 2469 m.a.s.l.”
We had reached Svellnose!
We could see it – so close yet so far!
That was a moment of defeat – we had done more than 5 hours and we were looking to probably another 1,5 hour hike one way..
My brother absolutely destroyed, I was just frustrated, and my dad, in the absolute unbeatable (and slightly reckless, if you ask me) mountain climber spirit, said we are pushing forward and there is no way we are going back after coming this close.
We would never forgive ourselves if we didn’t do it!
And he was right. Of course, we would be incredibly disappointed if we didn’t do it.
It was around 12pm which meant that we had plenty of time, we were well dressed and the weather was perfect. The only downside – we had to carry our fairly heavy backpacks filled with all those extra layers of clothes that were not needed, and we were running out of drinking water.. because of course we had only accounted for 8 hour hike.
It was obvious that it would be much more than that.
We started our way toward Galdhøpiggen, this time with a clear view in sight ahead of us.
We had to climb down very steep and narrow gravel and then uphill to the second peek.
At this point it’s safe to say we were all running on adrenaline, because some of the parts were literally ‘on the edge’ holding on to the rocks and looking at where to step next.
If somebody would just show me a photo and ask if I could do it – the answer would be absolutely no!
However, when you are up there, perhaps it’s the lack of oxygen, or your blinded ambition, but I don’t think anyone is able to form a realistic assessment of the situation..
Just keep pushing forward!
Everyone should be assessing their own capabilities and risks!
But you keep pushing forward :D
We were not looking at the time anymore, and taking only short breaks to catch a breath.
The end was in sight and we finally started seeing people, who passed us by earlier
in the morning, coming down!
Thrilling sensation, growing excitement, and tears started forming in my eyes as we were walking up the final slope uphill. I felt so incredibly emotional to have reached the top – together with my 12 year old brother and dad.
The tallest mountain in Norway, Scandinavia and Northern Europe,
at 2,469 m above sea level.
The view was incredible of course, but the satisfaction and the emotions I felt after such a challenging journey was something that no photo or video can justify.
Climbing mountains is honestly the biggest and best life lesson that teaches you
“the journey is so much more important, meaningful, emotional
than the destination”
Destination, if it comes easy, will not bring any pleasure..
It’s the challenging journey towards something that takes you inside your own head, on a journey of self-discovery. Fight in yourself, with yourself and the way you manage the conversation... What questions arise, and how you challenge beliefs about your own capabilities. It's such an emotional journey that can't be measure in distance or time!
You can’t sit at the top for too long before you have to start the journey back down, and that is another journey, possibly even more challenging, because the goal is behind you now.
How to motivate yourself to go ahead when you know you are moving
in the opposite direction ?!
We sat for about 20min barefoot, resting and taking in the view, before it was time to descent.
The tour guides promised 2-3 hours downhill, so my dad was incredibly optimistic about this and believed we would achieve it. As much as I hated to admit it, but I estimated that our journey downhill would be double that time. Just like our journey uphill till 7,5 hours instead of the 5 recommended..
Climbing up the loose gravel seemed like an incredibly long journey, but going down moving rocks of all different sizes was even more challenging!!
It seemed like there was no end in sight!
Some people really just jumped like mountain goats, but we felt like every step, if not assessed properply, could cause ankle injury.. You can’t just jump not knowing if the rocks will or will not move.
Honestly, the way the did it, is still a mystery for us today.
It was an incredibly painful journey downhill..
I was holding up very well, because someone had to.
My dad suffers with bad knees, so, as excepted, for him the journey downhill was much more painful than uphill. My brother, young and healthy, on the other hand, had absolutely no energy left in the tank. He couldn’t focus and he had no strength left in him!
What do you do if you break your ankle hours before you reach the base camp?
I will never forget the sight of my brother, when he heard the sound of running water somewhere beneath the rocks. In attempt to clench his thirst - he got on his knees, desperately moving the gravel to get to a little stream of water and putting his head
straight into it. Literally drinking from a puddle!!!
There were so many moments when it felt like ‘we are almost there’.
Especially hard was the last descent - after we slide down some snow patches, and could finally see the car park in the distance - my dad and brother sat down for a while talking about the incredibly painful journey down, as if they were already at the car park.
It seemed like maybe another 20-30 min, so the victory was so close, and the surface was changing, with more green grass patches, making the movement less challenging.
Again, little did we know..
More gravel and more pain!
It took us almost 2 more hours.. my dad now the weakest of us all, barely walking,
one step in front of the other.
We were one of the first ones to start the climb at 6:30 am and we ended up one of the last ones to finish it.
We finally reached the car park at 8:30 pm.
14 hours later.
Just in time for sunset..
Exhausted and overwhelmed we hugged and congratulated each other!
Looking back at it now, a month later, I think of how incredibly transformative the journey was, for all of us, in different ways..
When you are confident about the course you are taking in life – no hardships or challenges will stop you from moving in the right direction.
One step in front of the other.
And when you finally reach the top, you will immediately recognize that it’s the journey that is so much more important than reaching the destination.
The journey that brought you to your knees, and it made you so much stronger by doing so.
Isn't that what life is all about ??
Comentários