The first mountain huts in Norway were opened a century ago. There are now several hundred of them in this nation of four million people, and one can safely say that there is no other country where hut mountaineering is more popular.
Nearly all of Norway is at least hilly, but in a number of places the hills build up to real mountains. The highest of these are concentrated in the Jotunheimen group, towards the top end of Norway's bulge. This is an area of peaks and glaciers of truly Alpine character, culminating in Galdhøpiggen (2469m). Because of the northerly latitude, the terrain at any particular altitude is roughly comparable to the terrain 1000m higher in the Alps, so a 2000m peak in this part of Norway can be equated with a 3000m peak in the Alps. (The spectacular peaks along the West coast, such as the famous Trolltindane, are all in fact below 2000m.) Not surprisingly, the hut network is particularly well developed in the Jotunheimen area. The group is neatly covered by one large 1:100,000 map.
Every Norwegian has to climb Galdhøpiggen, because it's the highest, and most of them also climb Glittertind, because it becomes the highest when its snowcap is especially thick. Apart from these two summits, the majority confine themselves to walking from hut to hut. The routes between huts are well marked by cairns and the letter T painted in red. In places there is a clear path - or two or three variants of one - while in others you are simply following the cairns across a mass of boulders. The map indicates times: under favourable conditions, I found that I could improve upon them by up to a quarter. Most of the main valleys are around 1000m above sea level, which is just about the level at which the forest peters out. The ground is largely covered by low bushes, particularly juniper and dwarf varieties of birch and willow. There are also masses of wild flowers and blueberry plants, though none of these seemed to have reached fruition by mid-August this year. Some of the streams would be formidable obstacles indeed without the bridges provided on official routes.
There is no need to record the details of my route here. Once in possession of the map and guide book (of which more later), anyone can devise their own route. Suffice it to say that by putting in some long days, I reached six major summits in a week. Another time, I would probably leave out the rather Cairngorm-like Glitterheim area in favour of the more abrupt peaks further to the west. It is convenient to arrive at Gjendesheim and start with Besseggen, Norway's answer to Striding Edge. This is a ridge separating two lakes of strikingly different colours, one light green, the other dark blue. It is a household name to all Norwegians, and is mentioned in Ibsen's Peer Gynt. It is actually quite a broad ridge, though sloping steeply, and it does indeed command an excellent view.
Apart from Galdhøpiggen and Glittertind, none of the peaks I climbed was visited by more than six people on the day, and on one it was clear that I was making the first ascent for several days. Most summit ascents involve a considerable stretch of snow (though not glaciers), and there are differing opinions about the need for an ice axe. Basically, most Norwegians don't carry them, while most foreigners with alpine experience do, if only out of habit. During my visit, I never in fact encountered snow that was hard enough to warrant using an ice axe. Two incidents that I witnessed on the same day illustrate the wide variation in different people's perception of what is needed. On Galdhøpiggen, three figures in shorts and running shoes suddenly appeared out of the mist, treating the ascent as a run. (I was wondering who could be so crazy when they turned out to be from my home town of Lancaster!) Then, on a slightly lower neighbouring peak, I met three people who regarded it as necessary to rope up. As one who also dabbles in fell running, my view is that the runners were pressing their luck a bit: if the snow had been just a little harder, their enterprise would have been distinctly dangerous.
Whether for summits or hut walks, early starts are not the rule. Some of the huts do not even start serving breakfast until 8 o'clock!
Norwegian huts are classified into staffed ones (meals provided), self-service ones (food for sale to cook for yourself) and unstaffed ones (bring your own provisions). The rough equivalent of the Alpenverein is Den Norske Turistforening (DNT), the Norwegian Tourist Association. Some of the huts belong to DNT, some to local associations with reciprocal rights, and some are private. Most of the huts in Jotunheimen are of the staffed variety, and rather more than half are private. Nearly all are in the valleys, not half way up the mountain as in the Alps. The larger one often consist of a whole complex of buildings, with accommodation blocks separate from the central unit.
Now for a warning: a visit to Norway can seriously damage your finances! At the prevailing exchange rate, prices in the huts are between two and three times as much as those in Austria. One solution, of course, is tp bring your own tent and camp near the huts, at the cost of carrying the tent all the time and enduring some pretty cold nights. Assuming, however, that you have committed yourself to the huts, there are a number of ways of keeping the damage within bounds. You join DNT, thereby obtaining reduced rates at DNT huts. Some private huts also give reductions to DNT members: in Jotunheimen, Spiterstulen does (and also has an inexpensive cafetaria), while Memurubu does not. You ask to be accommodated in a large dormitory rather than a room for four or six people, for which the charges are substantially higher. You take some food of your own, as well as a thermos and tea, coffee and instant soup: for a modest charge, you can get the thermos filled with hot water. You may indulge in the hut breakfast (even at £4) if it is on the excellent Scandinavian self-service principle, whereby you can take as much as you like, including some for the middle of the day. But you most certainly abstain from beer, which can cost £2.50 for a small bottle! By adopting all these measures, I found that I could usually stay inside £15 per day.
What you get for all this is an appreciably higher standard of comfort than in most alpine huts. Every hut I stayed in had electricity, hot water, showers and an excellent drying room - a facility that can be rather important in the Norwegian climate! They were also far more spacious, and had separate sitting rooms for smokers and non-smokers.
Nearly all Norwegians speak at least some English, and are keen to do so. However, a small amount of homework on the language is very worthwhile. Norwegian is both simple and closely related to English. If nothing else, visitors should at least take the trouble to find out how to pronounce the names: this is a great deal easier than, for example, in Scotland!
To come back to the matter of guide books: DNT members receive a copy of the Norwegian book Til fots i fjellet, which covers the whole country but is largely confined to hut-to-hut routes. There is a rough English equivalent called Mountain Touring Holidays in Norway. Until very recently, guide books (even in Norwegian) describing summit ascents only existed for a few special areas. The situation has been transformed with the appearance in 1987 of Peter Lennon's Scandinavian Mountains (published by West Col), which describes selected summit ascents from all over Norway and Sweden. The book will find a ready market in Norway itself, as well as among British visitors. Many of the mountain areas of Norway were first explored by British pioneers, and Peter Lennon's book is a welcome revival of this tradition.
Peter Lennon also handles membership of DNT for Great Britain, as well as stocking maps and organising skiing trips. His address is: Mountain and Wildlife Ventures, Brow Foot, High Wray, Ambleside, Cumbria LA22 0JE. Tel. 0966 33285.
Finally, getting there. I flew APEX to Oslo for £144. Leaving Oslo early in the morning, you can reach one of the starting points for Jotunheimen (Gjendesheim to the east, Røysheim to the north, Øvre Årdal to the south west) by 3 or 4 p.m. You take a train or bus to either Fagernes or Otta, followed by a connecting bus. This runs exactly once a day, so you don't take chances with the timing! The relevant timetables are all nicely set out in one pamphlet from the Norwegian State Railways Travel Bureau, 21 Cockspur Street, London SW1Y 5DA. The best way to spend a night in Oslo is unquestionably to have a friend who lives there (thanks again, Richard and Karen!). Failing this, there is the YMCA (alias KFUM, Grubbegaten) or the Youth Hostel. Most other alternatives will make the London Hilton seem like a cheap bargain.
Don't be put off by any of these little difficulties. Norway is magnificent. Try it for a change and have a god tur!
Update, 2002
Needless to say, information is now available on the web, as follows:
DNT: www.turistforeningen.no
Norwegian State Railways: www.nsb.no
Both give information in English, and you can join DNT online. Membership is no longer handled by Peter Lennon, but he still organises trips from the address above. Another guide book, Norway South has been produced by the German company Rother (in English).