ETR // Stage 14 // Ålesund - Geiranger

62°28'16.0"N 6°09'05.4"E
62.471115, 6.151491
Ålesund - Geiranger
VR EXPO - 60 Stages
ETR Map for Mobile
what3words.com
goo.gl/maps

Distance

Ålesund - Geiranger
Radius 100 km
108 km

Highlights

Middelaldermuseet Ålesund
Sunnmøre Museum
Byrampen Viewpoint
Storhaugen View
Jugendstilsenteret
Trollstigen
Stigfossen waterfall
Trollstigen Gjestegård
Trolltindene
Geirangerfjord
Ørnesvingen viewpoint
Dalsnibba

Trollstigen & Stigfossen waterfall

We arrived at Trollstigen on the way from Ålesund to Geiranger, travelling south along Norwegian National Road 63, which connects Soggeberget in Rauma, and Valldal in Norddal.

You can park the bike at the car park at the top and walk for about ten minutes to an iron viewing balcony which overlooks the road, and the Stigfossen waterfall, which falls 320 metres down the mountain side. Trollstigen has a steep incline of 9% and eleven hairpin bends up a steep mountain climb.

Trollstigen Gjestegård

We set up camp down in the valley near Trollstigen Gjestegård, in the shelter of the Trolltildane mountain range. As the sun set behind the massive stone wall, and the light disappeared from the valley, we could see distant headlights of cars and motorbikes, winding upwards and downwards along Trollstigen like some kind of Pagan ritual torchlight procession, celebrating the summer solstice.

After a day like that, with all the new impressions, we had a great night’s sleep, and got up early the next morning, so we could do Trollstigen a couple more times, before continuing south over the hills to Geirangerfjord.

Trollstigen is closed during the Autumn and Winter months

A very motorbike-friendly mountain road with many sharp hairpins and exhilarating scenery, Trollstigen is literally carved into the cliff face, dramatically crossing the Stigfossen waterfall, and elevating the traveller from the valley floor, into the dark and ominous clouds above.

After 8 years of construction, Trollstigen was opened on July 31, 1936 by King Haakon VII. The road up is narrow with many sharp hairpins, and although it has been widened in recent years, but vehicles over 12.4 metres long are still prohibited from driving the road. Trollstigen is closed during the Autumn and Winter months, and a normal opening season stretches from mid-May to October, which changes according to weather conditions. One look at this road, and you can understand why they close it...

Climbing the Troll Wall

Flanked on our left side by the Massif Trolltindene and Europe's steepest mountain, Trollveggen (Troll Wall), we stopped at the foot of Trollstigen, to get an idea of what we were about to experience. Within seconds, we could feel the wet mist from the waterfall, slowly covering us in a film of water, and as we followed the line of the road upwards, we could trace the contours of the rugged mountains surrounding us, first disappearing into the mist, and then into the clouds.

One thing that quickly caught our attention was the number of articulated trucks negotiating this remote and winding pass. Apparently, vehicles over 12 metres long are prohibited from driving the road, but that didn’t seem to deter the driver of one of the larger trucks we saw, carrying a JCB digger on the back, snaking upwards along the side of the mountain, passing tourist busses and camper vans at the hairpin turns. That must take concentration.

Eaten by trolls

Anyway, enough sightseeing, it was time to see if the remaining tread on my rear tyre would be enough to keep the motorbike on the road, or if I would become one of the many Trolls rumoured to reside beneath the waterfall. We didn’t actually see any Trolls this time, which, according to Norwegian folklore, change to stone when the morning sunlight hits them, only regaining their earthly form in the evening, as the sun goes down. We still had a few hours before then... (I wonder how many trolls are reading this? :)

As we crossed over the narrow bridge under the waterfall, the cold spray intensified, to the point where everything was suddenly wet... inside the visor, sunglasses, mirrors, hands, but after a chaotic fit of grappling, I managed to get the visor up, and drag the glasses down, so I could see over the top of them. Quite important on a road like this...

Riding into the jaws of death

Further up the mountain, lines of jagged stones resembling a row of shark’s teeth, lined the side of the road, as if to remind the motorcyclist not to get too close to the sheer 300-meter drop, only 2 meters to the side of their front wheel - a good deterrent. As the jagged teeth and sheer rock faces drifted by, and the road ahead disappeared into the clouds, you got the feeling you were leaving one world, and moving into another. Here, everything else fell away, and there was only one thing left to focus on, the next 10 meters ahead, because that was all that was visible.

Vertigo on the viewing balcony

When we got to the top, and had broken through the clouds, we parked the bikes at the newly-constructed visitor center and walked around the rim of the cliff face, then downwards, to a gravity-defying, iron viewing balcony, which leans precariously over the edge, overlooking the road, the valley, and the Stigfossen waterfall. Cascading 320 metres down the mountain side, and breaking on the rocks below, the waterfall whispers to you as you stand there, telling you not to fall into it, as it’s a rough ride downwards. A great place to conquer your fear of heights, if you have one, or a great place to get one, if you don’t.

Smoking Brakes

By the time we had eaten some food, and taken in the view, the traffic from earlier had cleared considerably, so we decided to take the road a couple of times in each direction. As we arrived at the base for the 4th time, and turned one of the bends, we were confronted by a local man in the middle of the road, arms flailing wildly, as if he were on fire... “Stop, Stop!” As we stopped the bikes, a small herd of wild-eyed mountain goats burst out from the undergrowth and ran across the road, displaying a blatant disregard for the ‘Green Cross Code’. Even though I was using the gears to brake on the way down, I was still hit by the pungent smell of the burning brakes. The brake disks were scorching to the touch, and steaming as the raindrops hit them.

Photos

Dave O'Byrne
European Touring Route AS

Partners

Geiranger - the jewel of Norway

On the route, you will experience the breathtaking Geiranger, the jewel in the crown of all Norwegian fjords. Geiranger is a fairytale landscape with its majestic, snow-covered mountain tops, wild and beautiful waterfalls, lush green vegetation, and the deep, blue fjord. On the way in and out of the fjord, you'll drive on fantastic mountain roads, that twist and turn through one hairpin bend after another, to Dalsnibba, Flydalsjuvet and Ørnesvingen. You have to stop at Ørnesvingen viewpoint on your way to or from Geiranger. From here, you can experience a fantastic panoramic view, of one of most beautiful tourist destinations in the world.

Geirangerfjord is inscribed on the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage List due to the fjord landscape and the unique climatic and geological conditions in the area, which make it one of the most beautiful and distinctive fjord areas on the planet.

Geiranger is Norway in a nutshell

Many would associate Geirangerfjord as a symbol for Norway, as the world's most well-known fjord nation. It is presumably due to the fact that the Norwegian word 'fjord' is in international use. Fjords are amongst the world's most dramatic and spectacular landscapes, and in the domain of natural science, the Geiranger Fjord is a classic example of this type of landscape.

The region is characterized by a multifaceted abundance of nature, with large variations in altitude, and short distances between the sea, and the high mountains. The natural geological processes, which have led to the formation and further development of fjords, are not influenced by humans or technical interventions. Man is the guest of nature in this World Heritage region.

Dalsnibba is one of Geiranger's main attractions, and is a very popular mountaintop, with most visitors to the area. From the Dalsnibba plateau, there is a breath-taking view across the most beautiful World Heritage Site, nestled in the surrounding mountain landscape, with Geirangerfjorden right in the middle. You can also sail out and enjoy a fjord sightseeing trip - and get into the middle of it all!