Trekking A Christmas Tree To Trolltunga

Have you ever had a crazy vision that just seemed perhaps too funny to actually do, or you never get round to doing it?

Covering the house in Christmas lights? Hiking a mountain in a onesie? How about trekking a Christmas tree 13km into the Norwegian mountains for a photo that you have envisioned.

Well, Falke did just that.

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A Yearly Tradition

Falke’s tradition starts with a popular hike: Kjeragbolten. He managed to trek his way there through the snow and ice for his first Christmas Tree photoshoot. His want for adventure and doing something new and not seen before comes from within his passion for photography.

Falke had even planned to do the mighty Preikestolen, but someone managed to get there before him in 2018. Since then, he has always been one step ahead – and last year he managed to get the Christmas Tree to Trolltunga! This year? Well, you’ll have to follow him on Facebook or Instagram to find out!

Heading Into The Storm

Falke details the kit you need to bring for this. Trolltunga is a fantastic hike. You can read more about this for a normal setting here. I wrote an article for Travel With Cooky all about Taking On Trolltunga (includes the YouTube video!).

For this, however, things were a little different. During the hiking season and autumn you can do this in a day. For Falke, this was a multi-day expedition; 2 days out, and then waiting to set the tree up (scroll down to see video of high winds!).

Trolltunga is on the edge of the Hardangervidda. In an incredible way, it essentially creates its own wind. Trolltunga sits down hill from the plateau, which means it can build to some huge intensity. Watching the footage make me realise just how lucky I was with my conditions for the hike.

In true expedition format, Falke conducted some great research: check weather forecasts, chatting to local mountain rescue who know the terrain. He needed the snow to pull the tree on the sled. It’s a different expedition altogether if he had to carry all of his kit on his back.

Heading out to Odda and up to Skjeggedal the snow looked great… but the weather was taking a turn for the worse (remember that video I said to scroll to?).

After getting a snowmobile ride to the top of the first hairpins, Falke and his friend got ready, and set out to Trolltunga.

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Så var det den tiden av året igjen 🎄🎁 Jeg vil ønsker dere alle sammen en riktig god jul. Håper det blir en fin tid men kjente å kjære 🥰 I år som i fjor ringte jeg Tor Inge å spurte om han ville bli med å dra på et lite førjulseventyr. Planen var å dra med seg et juletre til trolltunga. Vi hadde et vindu på 4 dager, men være så virkelig ikke lovende ut. Det var meldt kraftig vind og snøvær ❄️ Vi valgte allikevel å legge ut på tur for å gi det en sjans. I uvisshet om snømengden ned mot Skjeggedal hadde vi fått ordnet transport opp anleggsveien. Heldigvis, for de neste timene tilbrakte vi i den første motbakken ved gryteskard. Det hadde falt store mengder med løs snø i høyden, og for hvert skritt vi tok skled vi 2 tilbake 😅 Med to tunge pulker, to store sekker og et juletre på toppen, havnet vi langt bak tidsskjema allerede fra starten. Utslitte men letta var vi endelig oppe og i godt mot for neste utfordring. På neste etappe lå det et lag med skare ned mot Ringedalsvatnet. Å gå me tung pulk i skrått isete terreng er ingen koselig sak. Pulken sklir ned på siden av deg, og det er bare å håpe at du har trykket stålkanten godt nok ned i isen så du ikke blir med ned. Det ble fort klart at vi ikke kom fram den dagen, så fort mørket begynte å senke seg slo vi leir for å få litt hvile for det som ventet videre. ⛺️ Etter en god natts søvn og masse god mat pakket vi campen å satte i marsj. All snøen fra platået hadde blåst avgårde og lagt seg i et bratt skard. Etter flere timer med spaing hadde vi laget oss et sikksakk spord vi kunne dra pulkene opp gjennom. De neste kilometerene gikk tålig greit på tross av sterk vind. Idet vi kom frem var det bare å pakke opp hodelykten å finne ly for natten. Den neste dagen gikk med på litt restitusjon, litt klargjøring og masse spising. Vi hadde fenalår, pinnekjøtt og gløgg 😍 Det blåste nemlig altfor kraftig til å ta med juletreet ut på trolltunga. For at treet skulle stå fast laget vi en juletrefot av planker, snø og stein som vi frøs fast med vann. Neste dag hadde vinden løyet en del, men det var fremdeles overskyet og snø. Vi fikk ingen soloppgang denne gangen men vi fikk definitivt en opplevelse vi sent kommer til å glemme.

A post shared by Falke Omdal (@eklaf) on

Click next picture for some epic storm winds!

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A rather amateur vlog I made for the hike!

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Between The Mountains delivers researched, in-depth interviews, captivating expeditions, and expert advice for must-do adventures in the world of Adventure Travel!

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