Cycling with skis: Glittertind

2008-06-05: Veofjellet - Glitterheim (18 km cycling)

I wake up at six and start cycling at seven. There is ice on small pools of water, but already warm in the air. The sun is only below the horizon for a couple of hours each night. The road gets worse and the ride takes longer than expected. It's hard work to get through the soft wet gravel just after the winter. It will get better in a few weeks when motor vehicles has made the road surface firm. I arrive at Glitterheim mountain station around noon, and the average speed was only 8 km/h according to the bicycle computer. The place is closed and there is no one there. I haven't seen another person since Randsverk.


The road to Glitterheim.

I unpack my gear and start sorting through every thing. One pile for stuff that stays at Glitterheim, and one pile for stuff that is needed for the next part of the expedition - the ascent and descent of Mt. Glittertind, the second highest mountain in Norway. Bicycle related gear stays, and also everything related to camping and cooking. I will bring some needed clothes, snacks, drinks and skiing equipment. I'm ready to start around 12:30. There is a large snowfield that goes all the way down to the main building at Glitterheim, so I can put the skis on right away. 200 meters higher there is only large fields of rocks with a few small snowfields. I have to carry the skis along the trail for a couple of hundred meters of altitude.


Skiing up the snow fields of Glittertind.

Higher up there is snow all the way to the summit. The snow is wet and soft but compact, and not rotten - great for skiing both up and down. I get good grip with some old ski wax.


Skiing on the higher snow fields of Glittertind (2464 m). The summit is on the left. The photo is taken with tripod and timer.

Just under the summit i leave the skis to walk the last 50 meters. The weather is clear and the views are stunning. Hurrungane's razor sharp peaks are easy to recognize to the west and Galhøpiggen, five meters higher than Glittertind, is just across the Visdalen valley. It looks busy with several well trodden trails from Spiterstulen and Juvashytta. On Glittertind there are no other people, and no tracks other than my own. It's a great feeling to have this beautiful nature all to myself, but I wouldn't mind to meet at least one person coming up to the summit from the other side. It doesn't happen.


Just below the summit of Glittertind (2464 m).

I stay on the summit for about one hour. Then it's time for some telemark skiing.


Great views of Jotunheimen National Park from the summit of Glittertind.



My ski tracks on the lower snow fields on Glittertind.

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Cycling with skis: Down and up again

2008-06-03: Grøndalen - Friisvegen (97 km)

The landscape changes as I ride down toward the first larger valley in Norway. It's more dramatic, with steeper slopes, deeper river valleys and higher mountains. Even the roads are steeper and narrower. It does not feel entirely safe to go fast with the extra equipment strapped to the bike. The breaks get overheated and I need to stop for a while to cool them down. In Koppang I buy some groceries and ask about the mountain roads ahead. The first one is called Vinjevegen/Vinjeveien and is a steep winding dirt road that climbs high above the treeline, and ends at the second mountain road for the day - Friisvegen/Friisveien. Getting up above the treeline take several hours, but after that it gets easier. I pass little villages and hamlets. Some houses are old traditional summer huts where livestock was brought to graze. Others are small but modern cabins where Norwegians go during weekends and holidays.


Small hamlet along Vinjevegen - an unpaved mountain road between Koppang and Friisvegen.


Me at the tree line on Vinjevegen. A Dutch/Norveigian woman took the photo. She's driving north through Norway to see the country.

Friisvegen is paved but is closed with a gate further up the mountain. It's easy to push the bike past the gate on the side, but I wounder what the reason for having it locked is. I cook some pasta next to a large snow field higher up, and camp with beautiful views of the Rondane Mountains in Rondane National Park.


Friisvegen/Friisveien - A mountain road between Atna and Ringebu.

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Cycling with skis: To Dalarna on a non-existing road

2008-05-28: Lake Mälaren - Rosshyttan (109 km)

Before Enköping I decide to go on smaller roads. The highways 55 and 70 are too busy and there is even a stretch of proper motorway where cycling is prohibited. Finding good alternatives is not easy. I end up riding quite a few kilometers extra on winding small roads, sometimes without asphalt. After crossing the last bridge across lake Mälaren, I ride past the villages of Teda, Björksta, Kärsta, Tortuna, and Sevalla before I cook lunch on a small meadow next to the road.

The plan for the day is to get to the road through Sätra brunn and Salbohed and camp before Avesta where I will look for a new Goretex jacket at the Haglofs Factory Outlet.

There is a tiny road on my old map that would get me up on highway 56, and on to the Sätra road. I go through Vad where the road should be and end up at a farm. Two guys are building something there and they're not sure if there is a road anymore. They show me on to a small track that leads to the nearby forest. They suggest I give it a try. The path slowly disappears, but I don't want to turn around and cycle a long detour. I end up pushing my bike through a small forest area, a forest clearing and a small bog before I get up on the national highway.



I camp near highway 70 before Avesta.

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Cycling with skis

A few weeks ago I read a discussion on how to carry skis on a bicycle. That got me triggered, and I started planning a bike trip with full camping gear and skiing equipment. The plan included cycling from Sweden to one of Norway's highest mountains, and then ascend and descend it on skis and return to Sweden by bike.

In the next few blog posts I will write about the preparations and the adventure itself, and include some photos.

The preparations: I start the planning process by checking snow conditions in the Norwegian mountains. The western mountains are known for good summer skiing so, there shouldn't be a problem to find snow. Senorge.no is great for detailed information on snow and weather in general. I found that large areas in Jotunheimen (and further west) had four meters of snow or more.

Next issue is about fixing the skis to the bike. I'm already used to carrying four panniers on my bike, but I never tried to put skis on the bike. I also needed a way to carry boots and ski poles. This is how it turned out in the end:


The trick is to fix the skis to the frame so that you can turn the handle bars. This may be difficult on a small frame. The skis are Nordic style touring skis with edges. They are not ideal for going down very steep slopes or at high speeds, but light and easy to ascend with (with skins or ski wax). Front panniers or break wires may get in the way. I keep boots and poles in the backpack on the rear rack. The rest is my normal equipment (camping and cooking gear, clothes, camera equipment, food, ...).

Next (Day 1)