Buer Valley

While I was in Odda, I had a free day before my planned hike on Sunday. So what better way to prepare for a hike than by going on another hike! Not far from where I was staying is the Buer Valley and at the top of that valley is one of the branches of the Folgefonna Glacier. I learnt that there was a trail that went up the valley and to the glacier and so I made it my mission to go to the glacier.

The weather forecast indicated that the morning would be clear with rain in the afternoon. So as much as I wanted to sleep in, I decided I should wake up early to hike in the morning before the rain arrived. I figured I could always take a nap in the afternoon once I returned.

Pictured here is the entrance to the Buer Valley, the lake here is the one that is right next to my accommodation. I didn't need to take a taxi or a bus as the starting point was close enough that I could just walk it.

The first part of the walk was along the lake to get to the valley entrance.

This looks like such a beautiful spot to have a picnic.

As I walked along the lake, the water stilled and provided a beautiful reflection of the soaring mountains on the other side.

This is the view I had as I approached the Buer Valley. A little further down I would turn right into the valley (before the big mountain seen above).

I was absolutely amazed when I entered the valley, it was so beautiful! The mountains soared high on either side with the valley floor slowly rising, all of it pointing to what seemed like a giant wall of white! I knew that above that wall was the Folgefonna glacier, situated on top of the mountains. The photo above doesn't nearly do it justice or show just how high above the mountains were. The place where the horizon met a tiny sliver of blue sky was still so much higher above me, and it looks lower than the mountains on the left and right only because it is further away. Standing here I could feel the soaring strength of these mountains, especially from those at the far end of the valley promising great beauty but also danger to the unprepared. I paused here a moment to just absorb the scene and marvel at this wonderful creation.

Here are a couple of close ups. You can see how the snow piled high up to the horizon. Somewhere there was the glacier I desired to look upon.

The next few kilometers was on the small country road that wound its way up the valley floor.

While walking, I heard a large crack, almost like thunder followed by a low rumble and sliding sound. I quickly scanned the slopes around me and spotted a little avalanche, high up on the mountain. It was so interesting to watch, the way the snow flowed down that cliff it was very similar to a waterfall. The avalanche lasted for a bit over a minute.

As I climbed higher there was more snow and I particularly loved how the evergreens were accented with that snow. It looked like they were dusted with flecks of white, that together outlined the shape of each individual tree, creating a beautiful highlight for the forest.

Where the road ends there is a restaurant that is only open during the summer season. Beyond this point is where the national park begins and the proper hiking trail starts.

Here is pictured the trail head for the hike. The snow was quite deep already at this point, certainly more so than I had been expecting. I found the footprints of other hikers but all were at least a day old. As best as I could tell, I was the first person to hike this trail today.

In Norway, many of the hiking trails are marked with a red T. You can see the marking on the rock, just above the snow. With the combination of these markings and footprints in the snow, I was able to mostly figure out where the path went. There were however points where I lost the trail briefly, especially in areas where the snow had melted.

At last I spotted the blue ice of the glacier. You can see it in the above image in the center at the point where the horizon meets the foggy sky.

I hiked further up and the trees began to fade giving me a clearer view of the glacier. The snow was also getting deeper here and there were fewer footprints the further I went. While the scenery was majestic, I started to get a little worried for my safety as I knew the mountains could be dangerous.

I was able to get a nice view looking back down the Buer Valley. In this image the building where the trail began looks absolutely tiny compared to the ginormous mountains. There was no way I could capture the entire scene in one image. It was truly such a great experience to just be there with the mountains all around me.

This is the closest point that I would get to the glacier. The trail did continue and, according to the map, actually goes all the way up to the glacier itself. I would have absolutely loved to have seen the glacier up close, but I did not feel confident going forward. I didn't have any proper snow hiking equipment (such as snow shoes or spikes), the trail was getting harder to follow, and clouds were rolling in signalling the coming rain. I did not want to get caught on this trail in the rain or snow, especially if the visibility lowered, I did not want to get lost. So I made the difficult decision to go no further.

I found a nice rock here where I could sit down and eat lunch. The above images shows snapshots of the view I had while I enjoyed lunch. On my left was the Buer valley, on the right and above me was the glacier, and in front of me was a huge mountain. It was a beautiful scene; gazing upon it I spent some time in worship and prayer.

I took so many close up pictures of the glacier and this is perhaps the best one. Because it is winter time much of the glacier is covered in snow, and so I could only see small portions of the glacial ice peeking through. I imagine that in summer time more of the glacier would be exposed, but I was still so happy to see it even with the limited view. I find glaciers absolutely fascinating and this view was enough for now but I will have to visit again one day.

This feature was really cool. I loved how the snow here looks almost like a blanket, carefully draped over these rocks.

There were many places where I could see the remains of avalanches. I spotted them as these regions of disturbed snow on the mountainside.

Just some more photos of the beautiful Norwegian mountains. Panoramas and landscapes struggle to adequately capture the mountains as they are just so tall and so close. I often tried taking pictures vertically in an attempt to capture the sheer vertical nature of the scenery around me. Yet in a way the panorama also helps to show the narrowness of the valley and the height of the mountains because of how much it fails to fully capture the mountain scene.

On the way down, I passed this tree branch covered in thick moss. It hung over the branch like a blanket, vibrant green in colour and beautifully textured, like a fuzzy rug.

I made it back to the restaurant and the neighbouring farm where a cow greeted me.

I returned down the Buer Valley by the same road, and returning the same way can be blessing as I saw things I had missed before. I passed these rocks that each seemed to have a perfect topping of green moss. I actually backtracked to take this picture to get the framing just right.

This final picture was taken after I exited the Buer Valley and I was walking back along the lake. That giant rock broken in two is apparently the biggest in Norway, and it is situated right next to my accommodation.

Thankfully I made it all the way back without any rain falling. By the time the rain did come, I was happily napping the afternoon away.

Thanks for reading – Edward

Written 22nd of April 2024