Trekking to Glitterheim: The Real Face of the Jotunheimen Mountains

On the second day of our trekking adventure in Jotunheimen National Park, we covered the route from Lake Bessvatnet to the Glitterheim mountain hut. For the first time, we had the chance to face the Norwegian chill, the true reality of the local trails, encounter Norwegian hospitality, and test our teamwork skills. So, fasten your seatbelts, as I take you on a journey through another fragment of the ancient Jotunheimen mountains!

The report from the first day of the expedition, during which we conquered Besseggen and Besshøe, among others, can be found here. If you are looking for a guide with general information about the Jotunheimen mountains, feel free to check out my previous posts!

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. Trekking along Bessvatnet
2. The Trail towards Russvatnet
3. Climbing the Unnamed Pass (1,720 m a.s.l.)
4. Descent to the Veodalen Valley
5. Glitterheim Mountain Hut
6. Camping in the Veodalen Valley

Trekking along Bessvatnet

The first adventure of today is the wake-up call itself. It’s incredible to just step out of the tent, drink your morning coffee, and eat porridge with a view of the beautiful Lake Bessvatnet. Moments like these help you understand that while the demands of modern civilization have tucked people away in concrete boxes, nature is (and will remain) our true home. No one is in a rush with the morning routine today, and we only set off on the trail around 11:00 AM. Why do we have the luxury of such a late start? Because of the late sunset, of course.

For most of yesterday, the sun was quite strong, allowing us to hike in just T-shirts. Today, conditions have changed: it is much cooler, requiring a more careful selection of appropriate layers. The beginning of today’s trail leads along the shores of the already familiar Bessvatnet. Like other lakes in Jotunheimen, this one was formed by the erosive activity of glaciers during the last ice age. Once, a river must have flowed here, forming a V-shaped valley. The glacier then pushed through this narrow valley, creating a massive, wide U-shaped valley and the basin where Lake Bessvatnet is located today. This basin is actually much deeper than it seems. Bessvatnet is 102 meters deep – for context, that’s nearly as deep as some of the deepest glacial lakes in Central Europe.

For me, the trip also started with some technological adventures. The cold and moisture took their toll, and my old phone started acting up. Experience suggested (correctly, as it turned out) that it would turn back on after a while, but a bit of stress remained. It would be a shame to be left without a phone for the entire trip. In a tight column, we walked through the wide valley. The trail on this section exists mostly only on the map. In reality, we mostly trudge through grassy and stony ground, only occasionally spotting traces of a trodden path. At one point, about half a kilometer before a planned left turn, the trail passes through a small marsh. Here we lost some time looking for the driest possible way to overcome the obstacle. In that area, we also encountered one of the local Norwegian curiosities: a special tank with salt licks intended for reindeer. I also took a liking to the small fishing huts that could occasionally be seen on the shore of Lake Bessvatnet.

The Trail towards Russvatnet

After walking about 4 kilometers, we reach the intersection with the trail running from Gjendesheim to Glitterheim. At this point, we also momentarily step outside the boundaries of Jotunheimen National Park. The trail on this section takes the form of a fairly wide, sand-and-stone path. The landscape around us has also changed. The terrain is still flat, but we are now surrounded on all sides by an endless, massive expanse. I must admit that this huge space makes an enormous impression on me, although there is also something… unsettling about it.

Meanwhile, the trail begins to descend noticeably. We go down from an altitude of 1,400 m a.s.l. to 1,200 m a.s.l. towards another of the local lakes – Russvatnet. We cross a small bridge over the Russa River and pass by a small beach. Around 1:15 PM, after walking 8 kilometers, we check in at a group of several wooden cabins, marked on the map as Russvassbue. We can only guess that these are buildings used by fishermen – Lake Russvatnet is known for being rich in salmon. Interestingly, according to Norwegian sources, this entire lake is private property. Buying a plot by a lake – I understand. But an entire lake at once? Well, someone really went all out. We take a short break at Russvassbue.

The next part of the trek follows a comfortable, clearly visible path running along the northern shore of Lake Russvatnet. Since we lost some altitude compared to the start of the trip, the vegetation around us momentarily became a bit more lush. By “a bit more lush,” I mean that the grasses and shrubs reach a height of a dozen centimeters, and occasionally a single tree appears.

2.5 kilometers from Russvassbue, the trail stops clinging to the shores of the lake and turns sharply to the right. We finally start ascending! Maybe it’s for the better? The Norwegian cold is already taking a toll on me, and on an ascent, there is always a chance to warm up a bit. At an altitude of about 1,300 m a.s.l., we cross a small bridge over the Tjonnholae stream. Although the structure is a bit shaky, in the end, each of us crosses it without any major problems.

Climbing the Unnamed Pass (1,720 m a.s.l.)

The sky above us no longer leaves any illusions that yesterday’s perfect weather is now just a beautiful memory. After another short break, we move on. We have a section of ascent ahead of us: a 400-meter difference in altitude over the next 4.5 kilometers. Sounds simple, right? Well, in Jotunheimen conditions, it was anything but simple. In fact, I have the impression that this section was the most difficult part of our entire expedition (perhaps except for the downpour on the last day, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves…).

For some time after leaving the bridge, we still walk through grassy areas. At an altitude of roughly 1,450 m a.s.l., the rocky ground begins to dominate over the vegetation. By 1,600 m a.s.l., the route is strewn exclusively with stones. The terrain requires constant concentration with every step; no wonder we move forward very slowly. At one point, I feel like stones are literally surrounding me from every side, and the end of the ascent isn’t getting any closer. Add to that fatigue, a cloudy sky, low temperature, and a heavy backpack, and voilà! we get exceptionally low morale. Am I complaining too much? Perhaps. But at the same time, I realize that a few kilometers traveled on such a trail toughens the character much more than hundreds of kilometers on paths within our safe comfort zone.

Around 5:00 PM, we reach Lake Tjønnholtjønne. We don’t stop; there’s no point, we push on. We start playing a word game to pass the time. By guessing more or less irrational words, we finally roll onto the highest point of the day – an unnamed pass lying at an altitude of approximately 1,720 m a.s.l.

When we reach the pass, it’s slowly approaching 6:00 PM. And as for how hard the toil was, let a small statistic from Strava bear witness. It turns out that we covered the last kilometer of the ascent to the pass in a staggering 31 minutes, despite gaining only about 120 meters of altitude.

Descent to the Veodalen Valley

On the other side of the pass, the ground is equally rocky and unpleasant, but at least now we are heading downhill. The views also change for the better: within sight are dozens of 2,000-meter peaks covered in glaciers. Above all, we can admire the nearby peak of Glittertind (2,452 m a.s.l.) in all its glory—the second-highest point in Jotunheimen. We slowly descend into the wide Veodalen valley, where the Glitterheim mountain hut is located and where we plan to spend the night.

By the way, we originally assumed we would cover the planned route much faster, and our group would manage to summit Glittertind that same day. Indeed, considering that the sun sets in Jotunheimen in July at 11:00 PM, we might have pulled it off if we were hiking light. However, the increasingly cloudy sky, the forecast for heavy rain at night, and simple human fatigue made us collectively decide to drop that plan. And it was a good call! As it turned out, we had the chance to summit Glittertind two days later, but in perfect conditions.

From the pass to the Glitterheim hut, we still have 5 kilometers of walking left. The descent is very gentle—we only lose about 350 meters of altitude on this section. About four kilometers after leaving the pass, we cross a shaky bridge over the Veo River. Then, we just have to trudge through the last, exceptionally muddy and boggy kilometer, and we are finally in Glitterheim! The time is 7:40 PM.

Glitterheim Mountain Hut

Glitterheim is a mountain hut operated by the Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT). A gravel road leads to the facility. A large number of bike racks in front of the building suggests that on sunny days, this place is particularly popular with cyclists. Inside, there is a small shop (or rather a reception), a guest room, a dining area, and a bathroom. As in other Norwegian huts, the custom here is to remove your boots and leave them in the porch area.

At first glance, the place seems very cozy, so we are all happy to rest here after a day in the cold, eat properly, and calmly think about our sleeping arrangements. However, it quickly turns out that the Norwegian understanding of a mountain hut is quite different from what we are used to in other European mountains. Specifically, the hut staff forbade us from eating our own food inside the facility (even though we had used the shop and most of us had purchased at least one treat). We were only allowed to prepare a proper meal on the cold porch, and (heaven forbid!) without using a gas stove. So, for the next half hour, we sat on the stone floor in the boot vestibule, eating freeze-dried meals made with hot water from the bathroom. That’s the kind of all-inclusive we like. On the plus side—at Glitterheim, my phone suddenly came back to life as if nothing had happened. Well done, my old Xiaomi; I knew it wasn’t your time yet.

The issue of accommodation is also a problem. The forecasts for tonight and tomorrow are clear: it’s going to pour, and pour hard (40mm of rainfall is expected). Our information is confirmed by a printout from the yr.no portal for Glitterheim, posted on one of the hut’s walls. We begin to wonder if, in these conditions, sleeping under a roof would be more sensible than a tent. A tool shed attached to the outside of the hut catches our attention. Although it’s a bit embarrassing to admit now, our initial plan was to sleep right there.

Camping in the Veodalen Valley

But sleeping was out of the question just yet! We had been at the hut for a long time, and there was still no sign of the remaining three members of our expedition. To clarify, our trip was designed so that those who felt up to it took a “tougher” route, while the others took a lighter one at their own pace. Since our group of six originally thought about summiting Glittertind, we had pushed ahead. The other three were supposed to meet us later at Glitterheim. However, when 9:00 PM passed and they still hadn’t arrived, we started to get slightly nervous.

We couldn’t contact them because there is no mobile signal in the Veodalen valley. Jaromir turned on the walkie-talkie we had brought for this purpose, but it also failed to help us locate our three companions. A decision was made quickly: Jaromir, Izka, and I left our backpacks at Glitterheim and headed back up towards the pass to search for the rest of the crew. We were rested and moving light, so the ascent went very smoothly. We reached them a few minutes before 10:00 PM at an altitude of about 1,600 m a.s.l. We took the backpacks from our exhausted companions and, together, headed back towards the hut.

About a kilometer before Glitterheim, we heard a whistle. It was Natalia! It turned out that Martyna, Natalia, and Marta, who were waiting at the hut with our backpacks, had been kicked out because, according to the staff, they had been sitting there too long and should have paid for a room long ago. Okay, I understand that Norwegian mountain standards are different, but can you imagine being thrown out of a mountain shelter in the middle of nowhere while waiting for the rest of your party? I always thought such facilities weren’t just for making money but also had a certain social mission. In that situation, it was obvious that the plan to sleep in the tool shed was too risky, as the staff was clearly hostile toward budget tourists.

Nevertheless, the girls who were kicked out did an amazing job! Each of them transported two backpacks a kilometer away from the hut. Why exactly a kilometer? Because Glitterheim has the exclusive right to organize overnight stays within a one-kilometer radius of the building. If we had pitched our tents right next to the hut, we would have been charged according to their price list. The girls not only handled the heavy load but had already pitched the tents. So, just before 11:00 PM, still in daylight, we all met at the ready campsite. It wasn’t an easy day, but in 그 moment—well, I felt that we were truly one team.

Date of trip: July 21, 2024

Trip statistics: 22 km, 675 meters of elevation gain

And what happened with Glittertind? More on that in the next post! Thank you for taking the time to read my report! If you want to stay up to date with new content, I invite you to follow me on Facebook and Instagram! I will be grateful for every like, comment, and share. If you find my content valuable and want to support me, I invite you to buy me a virtual coffee at buycoffee.to.

Map of the trip