Trolltunga is one of the most photographed places in Norway. This dramatic piece of granite jutting out 300 metres above a glacial lagoon is the stuff of Instagram dreams. During summer you’ll find throngs of people looking for ‘that shot’. Winter is a very different and much more solace experience. This guide will cover everything you need to know about the Trolltunga Hike in Winter and the shoulder seasons.
Details
- Distance – 24KM
- Days required – 1 Day
- Total Incline – 800M
- Total Decline – 1800
- Highest Point – 1,149M
- Difficulty – Good weather 5, bad weather 7. (See my experience below for context)
- Permits – N/A
- Guide – I would highly suggest this. See below.
- Accommodation – There’s a few options, see below.
- Uncomfortable Factor – 7/10
How high is the Trolltunga hike?
Trolltunga itself is at an altitude of 1,100 metres. To get there you’ll climb from 450 metres to about 1,200 metres at the highest part.
How to Get There
Car – Most people will hire a car and drive. Tyssedal (the town at the bottom of the hill) is 3 hours drive from Bergen and 6 hours drive from Oslo. We did a van trip and was a great way to see the country and have a place to stay.
Bus – A bus can be caught from either Oslo or Bergen however will take some time and is pretty complicated. Oslo 8-9 hours and Bergen 5 hours.
Shuttle – You can also catch a shuttle bus from Oddna or Tyssedal to save driving up the mountain itself.
Gear Required for the Trolltunga Hike in Winter
- Quality waterproof hiking boots
- Thick socks
- Bottom Base Layer
- Hard-shell pants (I did it in softshell and no base layer but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this)
- Top base layer
- Fleece mid layer
- Lightweight puffer jacket
- Hard-shell windproof jacket
- Mittens
- Beanie
- Eye protection / wrap around sunglasses. (In Australia we call them speed dealers)
- Snow shoes and hiking poles will be given to you if you do the guided tour.
Costs
- Guiding fee – 1600 NOK / £100 / $80 USD / $180 AUD
- If you don’t bring the right gear, you’ll end up buying at Trolltunga at a very inflated price. (like we did)
Itinerary
- Arrive at Trolltunga basecamp approx. 7:30am
- Step off at 8:30am
- At first hut by 11am
- At dam traverse approx. 1pm
- At Trolltunga approx. 3pm
- Back to first hut by 5pm
- Back at Trolltunga basecamp by 7pm
Be prepared that this can turn into a 12-hour day very quickly given the ability of the team and the weather conditions.
Accommodation
Van / Camping is available at various roadside location with Norway’s right to roam passage. (See by post on a van trip for this to be covered more).
Vans can also be parked in Trolltunga P3 for a large fee of £40 / $50 USD or P2 for a smaller fee.
Hotels are available at Tyssedal (the town at the bottom of the hill) and the most local town of decent size, Oddna for around £80 / $100 USD / $140 AUD
Insurance
Your basic travel insurance with an adventure / snowsports pack should will cover hiking Trolltunga in winter. However make sure to check it does!
Booking a guide to hike Trolltunga
Trolltunga Active runs daily tours dependant on weather for 1600 NOK / £120 / $160USD
We never planned to use a guiding service. However, after landing in Norway, seeing the conditions and knowing we were under equipped we made the decision to join a group. Sure, it’s possible by yourself, but unless you’re well versed in arctic expedition Ing, don’t be a statistic.
My experience completing the Trolltunga Hike in winter
Now just to clear it up, my trip was in the start of April in spring. However, we were met with -15 degrees Celsius and 100 knot winds that consistently sent our group scattering like bowling pins. Conditions were very similar to a Trolltunga hike in winter, the only major difference being the light. We had 14 hours of daylight whereas January has 4.
We arrived in Norway thinking it was spring and we’d be hiking green grassy fields. How wrong we were. We were met with arctic winds and metres of snow. I’ve been to some very cold places (see my climbing guides for examples) and this was right up there with some of my chilliest adventures.
On our 5-day van trip of Norway we’d planned to slot this in as a self-guided experience. On arriving to Norway and seeing the conditions, we very quickly realised how un-equipped we were we instantly booked into our guided tour.
“Do we need gloves?”… Come Prepared!!
We arrived to start our Trolltunga hike at Trolltunga active at 7am to ask some very amateur questions. “Do we need gloves?” “It’s -14 today… yes.” £120 pounds on kit we already own but didn’t bring hurt so make sure you COME PREPARED!!
Quickly kitting up, grabbing the snowshoes and poles that were provided to us we were hustled onto a skimobile to be delivered to the higher parking lot (P3).
Our hike started with a march through the higher cabin area of Trolltunga for about 2 km’s. The air was a crisp but and we were amongst metres of snow but the valley area was quite well protected from the wind.
We were stopped by the guides to tell us to prepare for some incline mixed with wind. They weren’t wrong.
We started out short climb and were immediately hit with icy blasts. Travelling in single file we trudged away into a gale of 100 mile an hour wind. Erin and I were laughing mostly, this was the sort of type 2 fun we live for.
Time to strap in
Reaching the top of our short incline we huddled as a group to don snow shoes before continuing on. We were now about 4 kilometres in and this started a slow slog into the wind. Tip: BRING EYEWARE. We did not pack appropriately and were struggling with the onslaught of dagger like wind ripping into our eyeballs.
We stopped around 7km’s in for a lunch break in a small rescue cabin. Cramming 14 people into a very small space was quite squishy and as soon as we stopped the col really set in. Most of us started shivering while we consumed as many calories as we could.
Erin and I being ourselves brought 1 sandwich between the two of us… TIP: BRING EXTRA FOOD.
Pristine glacial views
Abandoning the cabin to continue the slog we rounded a buttress to be presented with stunning views down the glacial valley. Our adventure was starting to reap some rewards.
The solemn and quiet, single file caterpillar continued around a few twists and turns, through more summer stargazing cabins, underneath a dam wall and up a narrow path which some people had minor struggles with before ending at the final stretch.
From here the still windy path follow a set of power lines to finally reach famous rock. We arrived around the 13 km mark after 1000m of elevation.
Trolltunga Hike – The Reward
The arrival at the most instagram-able location Norway has to offer was a little underwhelming. Surprise surprise, it was covered in Ice and snow. Winds had created a snow cornice around the rock so even approaching it is a risky endeavour. However, knowing many people won’t experience this was a prize in itself.
Snaps and couple shots ensued for half an hour before the guides nudged us on to get ready for the return. I will say it was incredibly unique to be in such a globally popular and well-known location, yet be the only ones there. I felt quite privileged to experience this.
Some some energy for the return
The return journey took far longer than expected. Earlier footprints had now covered over from the still pelting wind and it turned into just one foot after the other. We arrived at the hut we earlier had lunch in to disappointingly find out we still had 3 hours to go.
As we finished the last of the high plateau the wind reached its maximum, sending our little party flying like bowling pins. Approaching the original steep incline was a laughter inducing phenomenon. Three quarters of our group couldn’t stay on their feet, Erin included, to which brought us all much delight.
As the day was getting long, we pinned it back as a group, through the higher cabin area to reach the road. The earlier ski mobile trip in was now a 2 kilometre walk back down a winding road.
One sandwich isn’t enough for a 12 hour day
We arrived back at Trolltunga active around 7pm to complete our 12 hour and 24-kilometre day. Ditching our gear and thanking our guides we were back on the road pretty quickly to continue our trip and find a camp spot for the night.
Winter hiking in Trolltunga was a very unexpected yet extremely adventurous experience into the high glacial land of Norway. Despite being a long day but very achievable by everyone.
Uncomfortable factor – 6/10.
