I was happy and tired after hiking the Besseggen Ridge and my next plan was to hike to the top of Galdhøpiggen the following day.  I had checked options for the hike and I had 2 choices. One was to start at Juvasshytta and do the hiking crossing the Styggebreen glacier or I could start the hike at Spiterstulen lodge in Visdalen. My original plan was to stay at Juvasshytta but it was fully booked, but I still decided to start the hike from here as It was shorter and I had to drive back to Oslo the same day. So I had to be at Juvasshytta in good time before the first guided tour over the glacier that was 10am in the morning.

I was driving to my hotel and made a stop in Lom on the way. I needed a coffee and wanted to make a visit to Lom Stave Church to see it from inside as last time I passed by here It was closed and I could only see the outside.

View from outside the Church.

Lom is a municipality in Oppland county in Norway and is considered as the gateway to the Jotunheimen Mountains and the Jotunheim National Park. The municipality contains the two highest peaks in Norway, Galdhøpiggen at 2,469 metres (8,100 ft) and Glittertind at 2,464 metres (8,084 ft), which lie within the park.

 

 

Lom Stave Church, which is located at Lom center, is believed to have been built in 1158. It was extended in 1634, with further addition of two naves in 1667. A few Runic inscriptions can still be seen in the church. The church also contains numerous paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries with religious motifs. Many of the paintings were made by local artist Eggert Munch, a distant relation of the famous Edvard Munch. The church also contains numerous examples of local woodcarving, as seen in the elaborate acanthus scrolls adorning the pulpit. Carved dragon figures on the roof are old symbols of protection against evil. It is still in use as the local church.

 

After a long day of hiking and a visit to the local Church I was happy to reach the hotel. I had booked a room at Elveseter Culture and Art Hotel that is an old farm situated in Bøverdalen valley just outside of Lom. Elveseter’s history is linked to a family of gifted craftsmen of Norwegian folk art and pioneers in the hotel and leisure industry. They dared to think differently and succeeded.

 

One of the characteristics of Elveseter, is the use of names and symbols from the ancient Norse Mythology. Names such as Midgard, Utgard, Tor and Odin, makes history come alive at the hotel and creates a bridge to modern times.

 
I spent the evening having dinner and drinks in the hotel restaurant and a visit to the hotel bar before i headed to my Viking room for a good night sleep.

I woke up early so I had time to enjoy my breakfast before I had to drive to Juvasshytta for my day of hiking to Norway’s highest peak. I bought my ticket for the Glacier hiking and went outside to wait. But as the day before It was rain in the air and foggy and at this elevation with some wind as well, I could feel the cold. I was prepared for the rain but not the cold as it was in June, so I did not bring any gloves. Who need gloves in June, well I realized I would be very cold if i did not have it so I rushed in to the small store as I earlier saw they was selling some clothes. Looking at the watch I had to hurry and tried to get contact with the girl behind the counter to serve me before the others and get the right size of gloves. She came with different type as well, so I just took a pair that was made of wool and was fitting, paid and went out. I arrived outside and everyone was lining up listening to the guide. We needed to walk for some kilometers to arrive at the glacier so they handed out the equipment needed and some had to help out carry the ropes. Arriving at the start of the glacier we had to wait for the guides to organize the ropes and the groups so this took some time. The best decision I had made today was to buy my gloves. As we where all ready the wind got more heavy and it started snowing. The first group went off and we had to wait until they where on a distance before we could go.  The wind got heavier and same with the snow. Galdhøpiggen was surrounded by a white cloud.

 

We crossed the glacier and left the ropes ready for the return. Then it was to hike up to the top. It is not a very challenging hike but still some snow so some parts took a lot of the energy. Reaching the top there is a small hut where they sell some snack, coffee and some souvenirs. They also sell stamps that can only be bought up here for the ones who wish to send some postcard home. The weather did not change as i hoped and still with a cold wind, it was quite comfortable to sit inside to eat my lunch.

 

So here I was on the top of Norway. Event with the fog, the rain and the snow it felt fantastic and I was happy I got the weekend free to be out exploring this fantastic nature.

 

Now it was back in the car and a long drive back to Oslo.

At Juvasshytta there is an alpine ski resort with lift on a glacier, with top on 2200 m.a.sl, the highest in Scandinavia. It is called Galdhøpiggen summer ski center and is open from June and all the summer, when the road is open.

Some additional information about hiking to Galdhøpiggen:

Galdhøpiggen (English: Galdhø Peak) is the highest mountain in Norway, Scandinavia and Northern Europe, at 2,469 m (8,100 ft) above sea level.

“Galdhøpiggen” means “the peak/spike (piggen) of the mountain “Galdhø”. The first registered ascent was done In 1850 by three local men from Lom, the guide Steinar Sulheim, the local teacher L. Arnesen and the church warden S. Flaatten.

Access to the top of Galdhøpiggen is not especially hard: from Juvasshytta (1850 metres above sea level, 5 km from the summit) it takes about three hours up (including about 45 minute to prepare for crossing the Styggebreen glacier), an hour at the top and about two hours back. Some days in the summer, a few hundred people reach the summit each day. Guides are needed to cross the glacier, but are available every summer morning.

Galdhøpiggen can also be hiked from the Spiterstulen lodge in Visdalen, with a technically very easy, but still somewhat strenuous climb of 1300 m — nearly 4000 ft. It takes four hours walk up, two hours down. From Spiterstulen, hikers do not have to cross the Styggebreen glacier, and hence a guide is not required. Ardent peak-baggers may count three summits on the route from Spiterstulen: Svellnose, Keilhaus topp and the summit itself.