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Our 2017 Norway Hike Rankings

We wanted to rank our hikes by scenery, challenge, length duration, elevation gain so others can gain from our experience.

Scenery:

1. Romsdalseggen Ridge -Amazing, beautiful city view of Åndalsnes, & super green rivers!
2. Mount Skala – Nice transition from forest, trees, streams, waterfalls, rocky terrain, and pure mountain bliss.
3. Besseggen Ridge – Awesome progressive climb to the the mountain wall, then you transition to a scramble.
4. Aurlandsdalen Valley (lower route) – Very historical hike where you can see old farms that were renovated back to original state!
5. Middagsfjellet Oyenibba – Weather hindered this hike and it was very foggy, but the locals call this hike amazing.
6. Trolltunga – Early morning conditions hindered this hike as well, but at the end it was amazing. From an overall hike experience perspective, I would rank the others higher.

Difficulty:

1. Mount Skala – extreme punishment on the body!
2. Trolltunga – length of hike made this brutal!
3. Romsdalseggen Ridge – tough climb up the mtn and ridgeline
4. Besseggen Ridge – challenging but not bad
5. Aurlandsdalen Valley (lower route) – relatively mild hike
6. Middagsfjellet Oyenibba

Length of Hike:

1. Trolltunga – 17.29 miles
2. Aurlandsdalen Valley (lower route) – 11.11 miles
3. Mount Skala – 10.89 miles
4. Besseggen Ridge – 9.77 miles
5. Romsdalseggen Ridge – 7.74 miles
6. Middagsfjellet Oyenibba – only completed partial up to 3 miles round trip

Time to complete hike:

1. Mount Skala – 8.5 hours
2. Trolltunga – 9.5 hours – 1.25 hrs waiting for photo = 8.25 hours
3. Romsdalseggen Ridge – 6.25 hours
4. Besseggen Ridge – 5 hours 49 minutes
5. Aurlandsdalen Valley (lower route) – 6 hours
6. Middagsfjellet Oyenibba – 2.75 hours

Elevation Gain:

1. Mount Skala – 6,562 feet
2. Trolltunga – 4,679 feet
3. Besseggen Ridge – 3,905 feet
4. Romsdalseggen Ridge – 3,182 feet
5. Aurlandsdalen Valley (lower route) – 2,967 feet
6. Middagsfjellet Oyenibba – 1,651 feet

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SWE/NOR Hiking Aurlandsdalen Valley (Vassbygdi to Osterbo) August 2017 (WD6)

Aurlandsdalen Valley Hike 8/26/17:

Started our day at 6 AM so we could catch a shuttle bus. Drove about an hour to the Vassbygdi bus station (see detail below). The lot was almost full by the time the bus arrived and we were getting worried there would be enough room for us. Fortunately a second bus showed up. The bus picked us up at 8:45 and drove us 30 min to Osterbo Inn. The trailhead was right off the parking area from this inn. The hike started out relatively flat. After a few miles the trail splits into two trails which meet up later on. We took the lower trail (left path) which went by a lake and river. It was a beautiful view from the bottom of the Aurlandsdalen Valley. There were several waterfalls along the way and hikers were drinking water from cups they filed at the falls. The trail became a lot more rocky with ascents and descents the further we hiked. There was an old farm with buildings that many hikers were exploring. Further down the trail there was another very old building sheltered by a big rock. The trail became more steep as it was descending towards Vassbygdi (starting location). We were feeling our hike from yesterday as our legs became fatigued. Hiking poles for the descent is a must as it is said to reduce strain on joints by 20%. Once we reached the car we threw on our sandals and immediately started driving. Mt Skala is next!

Logistics:
Hike Distances per GPS: From Inn (osterbo)-> Bus Stop (vassbygdi) = 11.11 miles and took us 6.25 hrs averaging around 1.8 miles per hour. I would say 6-8 hrs is a good range.
Get to Vassbygdi before 8:00 (parking spots are limited and they fill very quickly!)
Cost to park = zero
Wait for bus, bus cost is 100kr for two.
They will have two buses (during busy season) so do not stress out about room when you see a mob of people waiting around.
Enter bus and relax 8)