At the End of the Fjord 

     We had a great time going down the Romsdalsfjorden to the town of Andalsnes. Our goal was to see the Troll Wall, or Trollveggen, the largest vertical cliff in Europe - a Mecca for climbers and BASE jumpers. Well, it was the Mecca for BASE jumpers until too many killed themselves, and it is now banned. The wall is 3,600 vertical feet, and there are jagged rocks on top that look like troll silhouettes. The fjord leading down to Andalsnes is surrounded by impressive mountains. I had a crick in my neck from staring upwards. We even passed a couple having sex in the sun as we passed a small lighthouse, giving the voyage a little spice. We tied up at the town dock and went to a great climbing museum right there on the waterfront. Nico made reservations to do a Via Ferrata climb the next day, and I planned a trip up the gondola and a hike along the ridge. 

An early morning start down the fjord

The town dock in Andelsnes with the climbing museum and the gondola up the mountain in the background.

It was an unusually hot, sunny day, and the whole town, old and young, was down swimming off the dock. There were happy teenage squeals until midnight. We have had three weeks of this weather and everyone was making the most of it.

The Troll Cliff is just on the other side of the left-hand mountain.

The view from the top of the gondola

The restaurant at the top. There are goats wearing bells munching around the building.

The view up the valley by the Troll Wall. Englishmen came here for the salmon fishing in the river during the 1800s.

The end of the fjord. The water was a lovely turquoise from the runoff from the snowfields. Good farming in the fertile valleys at the head of the many fjords, but I hardly saw any animals, just hay fields.

The windsock for the paragliders.

I hiked the ridge until I got to this knife-edge. It is a whole lot steeper and narrower than this photo depicts. While I was having my lunch there, several people started across but froze in terror and turned back. That being said, an eight or nine-year-old boy bounced across with his dad.

The way down with Far and Away looking far and away.

We did some food shopping but I passed on the whale meat.

Nico had his hands full while doing the via ferrata (a climb using established bolts, cables, and ladders), but he did take a short video.

He loved the ancient equipment in the climbing museum.

From the first ascent of the Troll Wall by a Polish team.

This was an interesting story, and so typical of that time.

The original entry in the summit logbook.

The actual flag