A visit to the glacier front and a hard bike trip
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 14.06.25 | Nigardsbreen | – | – | Luster, Norway | – | MAP |
| 14.06.25 | Vanndalen | 1050m | – | Luster, Norway | – | MAP |
Nigardsbreen, Jun 14 2025
Saturday: I arrived in Jostedalen on Friday evening, where Anne and her friends from the Jordan trip had established “basecamp”.
This was supposed to be a reunion for the girls, but as one of them had brought a spouse, it was OK for me to join the group.
On Saturday morning, we drove up lake Nigardsvatnet and waited for the boat.
The spirit was great. One of the girls had been on a glacier before, but for the others – this would be a brand-new experience.
After a short boat ride, we followed the path towards the glacier.
This time, the path was properly marked. No confusion about where to go.
Anne – being the field inspector for this national park, had a lot of information to share.
Next, a quick stop on the bridge for a group picture…
And finally – another group picture before they got ready for the glacier.
I helped a little bit but this was primarily Anne’s project and so I let her organize as she pleased.
And then they were off…
This year, the glacier front was quite gentle. This is perhaps the exception to the rule.
I watched them go for a little while, then I headed back down with Karma.
After a while, they were just “ants” on the glacier.
It would have been nice to come along, but it wasn’t a big loss. I actually more looked forward to a bike trip.
I had bought a return ticket and waited for the boat to come. The boat came, dropped off a bunch of clients for a guided trip, then just left. I didn’t bother to wait for the next boat and followed the path back to the parking area. I went down to the skipper and let him know that I wasn’t entirely happy about the service. He apologized and I said I want my next trip to free of charge.
I returned to the cabin where I decided to rest for a couple of hours before going on my planned bike trip.
Trip statistics: 5,2km, 300 vertical meters, 2h:18m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the hike:
Vanndalen bike-trip, Jun 14 2025
Saturday: After a good rest at the cabin in Jostedalen, I called Anne and asked how it was going. She told me that they had a very nice glacier hike, and that she also rigged a rope so that the others could get a feel for ice-climbing. They were now on their way back.
I told her that I would leave Karma in the cabin and take a bike trip up Vanndalen. I hadn’t bothered checking the map, so I didn’t know how many vertical meters there would be. I assumed around 5-600m.
I had a tension headache ever since early morning and I hoped that this bike trip would cure it. The biking was nice, but I started to wonder if this would be a much harder trip than I had anticipated.
It was a really hot day, well up in the 20’s (C) and I was sweating like crazy.
I had to take a pause and checked the map. The climb would be closed to 900 vertical meters! I’ve never biked 900 meters straight up before, so no wonder I had to stop to catch my breath a few times.
But finally – after 1,5 hours – I arrived at lake Vanndalsvatnet. My elevation was roughly 1060m and I realized that I could have skied Vangsen – if I had brought skis…
Tired as I was, the apparent bonus was almost 10km downhill! Talk about earning your turn…
When I got back to the cabin, the others had arrived. Everyone was super-happy about the glacier hike and were chillin’ before dinner.
We had dinner at the hotel, and to make it easier for the hotel, we all ordered meat balls. Or maybe because everyone wanted meat balls. I don’t remember. In any case, it was just as good as we had hoped for…
My headache didn’t let go and I knew that it would just get worse when lying in bed. Late in the evening, I said goodbye to the group and drove back to Anne’s place in Sogndal, where I spent the better part of the night in a chair.
Trip statistics: 19,6km on bike, 880 vertical meters, 1h:51m