Norway Mountains, 3 epic days!

2

July 13, 2015 by abaconyoung

What an amazing 3 days I’ve just had! I left Sweden Thursday night by Ferry to Norway with a backpack and my bike.

 At the other end I was met by a good friend, Fred Arthur we headed down to Arendal on the south east coast of Norway. Here I got to catch up with my Norwegian family over a quick meal, we managed 4hrs sleep before Fred Arthur, Jonathan and I headed out on our adventure. 

First stop was an ice cold swim of the TriQuart course in Kristiansand, I wish I could be there for that race as the course looks amazing.



It was amazing watching the scenery change, mostly up until here Norway and Sweden are very similar but now as we headed North on the West coast and into the mountains it was completely different. 





Everywhere you look it could be a post card, the wilderness here is amazing. Our next stop was a hike to Kjeragbolten, the hike was mor of a run, and the terrain very difficult but as I learnt this would be a standard over the next few days. The estimated hike time was 2.5-3hrs we got up had a 20 minute break for photos and back down in 1hr 50min. So cool, to be able to visit this amazing place.



From here it was back into the car a 2hr drive with a few stops onto our next hike/run. Now we were headed for Preikestolen, another hike we went top to bottom with 40mins on top in less than half the recommended time. The view up here was amazing with 600m straight down over the fjord. 

Two solid runs now on day one we finished with a quick swim in the lake to wash of the sweat, and we head toward our next stop. We found some beds in a little caravan park and got a good nights rest. 



Day 2 we started slow and continuedthe drive toward our 3rd hike/run Trolltunga, this was going to be tough as the legs were already tired from the day before, and the estimated hike time was 8-10hrs. The first km took 16mins, straight up. We picked up our speed from here as the terrain was more forgiving although there was a lot of snow coverage. We managed to make it to the top in 1hr 40 mins and had an hour or so taking photos. Fred Arthur’s friend a rescue helicopter pilot came to say hi (see photos of him, that’s Fred and Jonathan on the rock)

And here is a proposal, lucky she said yes.haha

From here it was back down the mountain and in the car to Eidfjord the start line for Norseman Extreme Ironman in 3 weeks. A few cool stops along the way 





Day 3 gave me a chance to check out the Norseman course, it was a real wake up of how tough this race is going to be. And just getting to the finish line was going to take everything I have. The bike course was super tough, and for me the hardest parts are going to be the descents they are steep, the roads are rough and the corners are sharp. 



I learnt a lot which is good, but I am also now very nervous for what lies ahead. We drove the first 90km and then met up with some friends in Kristian, Kari and Eric. 

Here I jumped on bike for the last 90km down to T2 with Kristian and Eric, was nice to have the support of Jonathan, Fred and Kari along the way.



 From here we jumped back in the cars and drove the first 25km of the run, which is actually pretty flat (surprisingly) at 25km Kari and I jumped out of the car and headed up the famous Zombi Hill a set of swithch backs, this is steep and slow. You feel like you’re not moving, I can’t imagine how it will feel in 3 weeks time.



After 8-9kms the hill backs of a little and I use this lightly as it’s still very much uphill for 3-4kms. Here I said goodbye to Kari and Kristian before Fred Arthur and I headed up the last 5kms on the trail to the mtn top. It is very rock so once again to was a run where you could and walk/climb fast everywhere else. About 100m before the summit the fog rolled in so no enjoying the view 



After a quick waffle it was the 5km descent back to the car. On the way down all I could think of was dinner, we had booked into a cabin less than 100m from the local pizza shop at the base of the mountain. Quick shower and them Pizza and Icecream to finish another awesome day in the Norwegian mountains. 

Back to Sweden on the ferry Monday. Can’t explain how great this trip was and cannot wait to come back to do some hiking and camping here soon. Fred Arthur and Jonathan thank you so much for an epic trip, I’ll never be able to repay you.