Jotunheimen · Norway

THE JOURNEY IN DETAIL

Home of the giants, roof of Norway.

Jotunheimen means home of the giants, and it is the only place in Scandinavia with more than two hundred summits above two thousand metres. The week is built around two classic lines: the Besseggen ridge between green Gjende and blue Bessvatnet, and the ascent of Galdhopiggen at 2,469 m, the highest point in northern Europe. We stay in DNT huts, where the old key-and-trust system still works.

• The Besseggen ridge between two differently coloured lakes
• Galdhopiggen, 2,469 m, the roof of northern Europe
• DNT huts and the Norwegian packed-lunch table
• The boat across glacier-green Lake Gjende

1. 01
   DAY 1 · A 300 km transfer and a 4 km walk

   Oslo to Gjendesheim

   We meet in Oslo and drive four and a half hours through the Valdres valley to Gjendesheim at 995 m. A short evening walk on the plateau and a talk through tomorrow’s Besseggen.

   Overnight: Gjendesheim hut, 995 m
2. 02
   DAY 2 · 14 km, 1,100 m of climbing

   Besseggen: the classic ridge

   The boat takes us to Memurubu and we walk back along the ridge: 14 kilometres, 1,100 metres of ascent, six or seven hours. The crux is the rocky step of Besseggen, with green Gjende and blue Bessvatnet on either side, nearly four hundred metres apart in height.

   Overnight: Gjendesheim hut, 995 m
3. 03
   DAY 3 · 13 km, 700 m of climbing

   Memurubu to Gjendebu

   The boat to Memurubu again, then a traverse along the north shore of Gjende to Gjendebu. The path climbs to terraces and drops back to the water several times, with chains above the lake on the last stretch.

   Overnight: Gjendebu hut, 990 m
4. 04
   DAY 4 · 16 km, 900 m of ascent

   Over the Leirungsdalen to Leirvassbu

   We leave the Gjende valley northwards over a pass at about 1,600 m into the wilder half of the massif. Leirvassbu sits at 1,400 m by a lake, ringed by the spires of Kyrkja.

   Overnight: Leirvassbu hut, 1,400 m
5. 05
   DAY 5 · 14 km, 500 m of climbing

   Visdalen to Spiterstulen

   A stony valley crossing with Store Skagastolstind, 2,405 m, the most technical peak in Norway, on the skyline. Spiterstulen at 1,100 m is the base for tomorrow’s Galdhopiggen.

   Overnight: Spiterstulen hut, 1,100 m
6. 06
   DAY 6 · 12 km, 1,400 m of ascent

   Galdhopiggen, 2,469 m

   The direct route from Spiterstulen: 1,400 metres of ascent over rock and snow, six or seven hours round trip. A stone hut stands on the summit, and below lies the Styggebreen glacier crossed by the other, more popular path.

   Overnight: Spiterstulen hut, 1,100 m
7. 07
   DAY 7 · 6 km and a 350 km transfer

   Lom, the stave church and the road to Oslo

   Down to Lom at 380 m and into its twelfth-century stave church, one of the largest surviving timber churches in Norway. In the afternoon, the drive to Oslo over the Valdresflya plateau.

   Overnight: —