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Published: August 13th 2018
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High Above the Styggebreen Glacier
Glacier is more direct route from the north. Pic taken from standard east route. That would be Jotunheimen National Park, home of the highest peaks in Norway including Galdhøppigen at 2469m ASL (8,098') which I summited last Thursday under mercifully dry conditions but with extremely limited to absolutely zero visibility. This brought to a close 2018's Scandinavian Peak Bagging Trilogy which also included Sweden's highest mountain and Finland's highest point.
There was actually a bit of doubt whether or not I would be able to bag this trip's 3rd objective because the weather in Norway had been pretty lousy since I crossed the border from Finland 5 days prior. Plus I sort of boxed myself in to having only one day to try for the peak after I bought a non-refundable ticket on a Hurtigruten cruise from Ålesund to Bergen (more on that in the next blog).
The hike to the summit was straightforward albeit punishing on the descent due to the rocky nature of the "trail." I left Spiterstulen at 07:50, topped out 11:52, rested in the hut til 12:10, and got back to camp 15:12.
$US ≈ 8.3 Norweigian kroner (NOK)
Accommodation and Food Had planned to camp at the Spiterstulen tourist hut for 80 NOK but it was
raining buckets when I arrived. There was plenty of space in the 3 person dorms for 200 NOK and I had the room to myself for both nights. Can book the whole room if desired but I never asked the price. Finished off the last few dehydrated meals I brought from home but breakfast and dinner are available for 170 and 390 NOK, respectively.
Transport I took an overnight train from Bodø to Trondheim and changed there for Otta (269 NOK total price bought ~3 months in advance; last minute tix here crazy expensive, better to use a rail pass). Left Tuesday night ~21:20 and arrived Otta the next morning precisely on time at 11:26. At 11:55 a bus left the train station for Lom (118 NOK) taking about an hour where I had to wait 2 hours for the last leg of this interminable trip, one more bus to Spiterstulen (75 NOK), arriving there ~16:00. There is a direct bus from Otta to Spiterstulen departing at 06:55 but that would be hard to catch coming from anywhere else by public transport.
Leaving Spiterstulen for Ålesund was much easier but still a long trip. First bus outta there
Nearing Cloudy Summit
Easily ascended one snowfield below here but skirted this one on the right side. for Lom leaves at 09:00 and there is only a short wait for the connecting bus to Otta, arriving 11:20. While riding the bus to Spiterstulen 2 days earlier I bought the train ticket online from Otta to Åndalsnes for 299 NOK for the 2 hour trip. Had to wait in Otta for 2 hours before the train left at 13:28 then arrived in Åndalsnes 15:31 where there was a bus waiting to whisk passengers to Ålesund. Bus tix listed as 225 NOK although I was inexplicably charged 105 NOK. Got to Ålesund 17:45 in the middle of a torrential downpour.
There's another way to Ålesund from Lom, a series of 3 buses leaving at 15:50 meaning a nearly 6 hour wait in Lom. Arrival in Ålesund 20:45, 531 NOK. For Oslo a bus leaves Lom at 14:30 while for Bergen there is a bus at the wholly inconvenient hour of 04:00.
Tromsø
Nice town, lousy whether when I was there, great Polar Museum (60 NOK entry) painstakingly detailing early explorers' attempts to reach the North Pole.
Accommodation and Food Scored a great deal on booking.com for 2 nights at Thon Hotel for 522 NOK/night including an incredible
Summit Totally Socked In
Tourist hut in the background. Can buy drinks, snacks, and 350 NOK socks. Nice and warm inside too. breakfast buffet. This was
muy importante after the 6 day Halti death march where I only alloted myself a bit more than 2,400 calories/day. Nespresso machine in the lobby to use at guests' leisure. To supplement the breakfasts I hit a couple of all you can eat pizza buffets, Egon right across from the hotel was a bit better and cheaper (117 NOK) than Peppe's (129 NOK). Taco pizza seems to be the rage in Norway.
Transport Only transport of interest to me was the airport bus, takes ~30 min from the center. City buses cost 31 NOK and better to use the app or buy the ticket from a kiosk (more expensive from driver, normal in Scandinavia). There's another bus service dedicated for the airport that leaves from a few designated hotels, but all I remember is that it was way more expensive and less frequent than the city bus.
Bus to Bodø takes 12½ hours including a 2 hour wait in Narvik to transfer. Costs 431 NOK but I opted for a 45 min flight on SAS for $115 including a checked bag.
Bodø
Seems to exist solely as a transit point: either to or from
Firing Up the MSR Pocket Rocket 2
Making Backpacker's Pantry Pad Thai after summitting. While it's not going to conjure up images of Ko Samui, it was pretty, pretty good. the Lofoten Islands or south on the train as the town is the northern terminus of Norwegian Railways. Months before the trip, I bought the train ticket south from Bodø thinking I would be coming from Lofoten but things didn't work out as planned.
Accommodation and Food Only budget place to stay is the youth hostel super conveniently located at the train station. 375 NOK in a clean if cramped dorm, nice breakfast included, sheets and towels too which is kind of hit or miss at Scandinavian hostels as to whether linens need to be rented. Also free laundry but BYO detergent. Another guest left me some pasta to cook up so I didn't eat in town but I did notice yet another of the ubiquitous Peppe's Pizza buffets. Supermarkets had good salad bars, ~13 NOK/100g.
Transport The town is so small I walked from the airport to the hostel in ~20 min. Frequent ferries to Moskenes, less to other Lofoten destinations. No Hurtigruten office but G Travel Bodø can book tickets commission-free which they did for me.
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