Greetings from Norway

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Northern Lights are very active at the moment and can be seen quite far south,
'Here is an article from NRK today: (in Norwegian)

Nordlys i Norge: Solstorm kan gi spektakulært skue i kveld

Keep your eyes open for the northern lights tonight

On Saturday evening, several people enjoyed seeing the Northern Lights. Tonight, conditions could once again be very good for hunting the green light.

The Meteorological Institute has reported a KP index of 5 on Monday night.
Photo: Bernt Olsen / NRK

– Keep your eyes open.

The Meteorological Institute has reported a KP index of 5. This means that the northern lights can be seen as far south as Oslo.

There is also an article about the best Northern light picture from last year:

Kåret til ett av verdens fineste nordlysbilder

LOFOTEN: Giulio Cobianchi says that you can see the Andromeda Galaxy in the middle of the two arcs. – A shooting star acts as the cherry on top.
Photo: Giulio Cobianchi

Among the 25 photos that were selected, there were many landscapes from Northern Norway on the list:

“Auroraverse” by Tor-Ivar Næss taken in Nordreisa

“An Explosion of Color” by Vincent Beudez taken in Senja

“Northern Lights over Dramatic Lofoten Peaks” by David Haring taken in Lofoten

“Reflections on the Ice” by Lena Pettersen taken in Tromsø

“The Fjord Guardian” is the name of the photo taken by Filip Hrebenda in Lofoten.

[AKBJR]

Way back when I was doing the Valdez run, I was amazed by the variations among the different types of auroras. Spears of light shooting overhead etc.

[jdcavo]

Best part of 12x4 on that run (50+ trips as 2nd Mate)

[Hogsnort]

Another thing we have in common with Norway besides Fiords and salmon. There used to be a great seafood restaurant at the end of the beach.

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From smp.no today 09:51 Line Helgesen:

Opens today

From Mount Geiranger in 2020: Milling of the last stage from Geiranger to Langvatn on 15 June 2020. There was a lot of snow in the mountain then. Photo: Veidekke AS

The Valldal-Trollstigplatået and Geirangerfjellet sections on county road 63 will both open today, Friday, reports Møre og Romsdal County Council: Valldal – Trollstigplatået at 12:00, while Geirangerfjellet will open at 15:00.
Both have been closed for the winter.
This is record time, according to the county council.
– Geirangerfjellet has not been opened this early since the 1990s. It has been relatively little snow this winter on both sections. At the same time, it has not been long since we had avalanche activity in both places, so we made the right assessment by not opening earlier. Since the road sections open so early in the season, there may be a risk that the road may be closed at short notice in the event of challenging weather and snow, says Torgeir Bye, section manager for road operations in Møre og Romsdal County Municipality.
Source: Opnar i dag - smp.no

PS> The actual Trollstigen Road from Åndalsnes is still closed due to ongoing work to clear loose rocks on the mountainside and repair the road/improve safety:

• From Åndalsnes: The closed section of the road, which is scheduled to reopen July 14th, starts at the barrier at the bottom of the Isterdalen valley in Rauma/Åndalsnes.
• For opening hours for the Trollstigen Gjestegård, find information at www.trollstigen.no.
• The road between Valldal and the Trollstigen plateau is approx. a 40-minute drive.
• Please respect the signs in the construction area. It is dangerous to travel in the closed part of Trollstigen.
• The National Scenic Route Trollstigen-Geiranger is closed in winter, and is normally open from mid-May until the first snow falls in the autumn.
  Source: New status on Trollstigen reopening

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Now for an almost true Norwegian maritime story:
Oh those rude English.. Lol

Source: Redirecting...

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It may be spring in Southern Norway, but it is still full winter in the Northern part:

'People crash into trees and get broken bones'

One of the most popular walking routes in Tromsø -Sherpatrappa - (Sherpa stairs) is about 1,1 kilometers long, 700 meters of which consists of 1,200 steps. Those steps are ice- and snow-covered in winter.

Sherpatrappa route seen from Tromsø city centre.

Photo: Elizaveta Vereykina

Located in the city, it’s easily accessible and offers a seemingly simple hike up the local hill, Fløya, for a beautiful view of the city with its iconic Arctic Cathedral.

“At first, we just wanted to visit the Arctic Cathedral. But then we saw someone going in the direction of Sherpatrappa. And we thought we could give it our best shot,” Joonell from Malaysia told the Barents Observer after their descent. But Joonell and her partner Wilson didn’t make it to the top and had to turn back halfway through their spontaneous hike:
“It was too slippery. We didn’t want to risk going up. We’re tourists, we didn’t want to cause any trouble,” said Wilson.

Joonell and her partner Wilson at the Sherptrappa.
Photo: Elizaveta Vereykina

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Another mountain crossing from East to West v.v. also opened early this year:

Scenic Route Sognefjellet, the highest mountain pass in northern Europe, opened for the season today. However, it´s closed between 8 pm and 8 am the first couple of weeks. Winter tyres is recommended. Please check https://www.vegvesen.no/trafikk/kart… before you go.
Source: Redirecting...

Opening of Sognefjellet 2025

Summit hikes in Jotunheimen are for many the highlight of a season. On Wednesday, April 25, the Sognefjellsvegen road opened from Lom to Turtagrø. The road may still be closed in bad weather. Check the Norwegian Road Administration for status.
Starting in Krossbu, it is possible to hike to Store Bjørn (2222m) and Sokse (2189m) .

Source: Åpning av Sognefjellet 2025 - Topptursentralen

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From mountain road opening to a sandy beach waiting for summer:

Vetvika beach, Bremanger
© frittfallfoto_no

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Northern Lights and Midnight Sun is main attraction drawing tourists to Northern Norway both summer and winter.
Maybe another attraction can draw visitors to less visited places, like the inland areas in South East Norway?:

Want to attract tourists to Norway with the starry sky

Tourism in Norway is looking to the sky. The starry sky could become the next big tourist magnet, according to an astronomer.

STARRY SKY: Seeing a clear starry sky is unusual for many, it can attract more tourists to Norway. Here from Espedalen in the Inland region in 2021.
Photo: Andreas Lekang / NRK

In summary:

• Astrotourism, also known as star tourism, is predicted to become among the most popular tourism activities internationally in the near future.
• Astronomer Vegard Rekaa is currently training some of the country’s first certified astroguides and believes astrotourism could become an important part of Norwegian tourism in the future.
• According to a survey from Booking.com, 2 out of 3 people considered traveling to a “darker sky destination” to experience things like stargazing this year.
• Light pollution makes it difficult to see the night sky, and more than 80 percent of the world’s population lives in light-polluted areas.
• Several places in Norway have little light pollution and are well suited for astrotourism.
• Norway, with its epic landscapes and long periods of darkness, has great potential to establish itself as one of the most attractive countries in the world for this type of tourism, believes Innovation Norway.
• A new report shows that value creation from outdoor experiences has more than doubled in the last ten years, from NOK 1.5 billion in 2012 to NOK 3.8 bi]llion in 2022. So here is an opportunity for destination development, according to NHO

Few see the starry sky

One of those who is at Dovrefjell to become an astroguide is Odd Morten Taagvold.
Dovrefjell has little light pollution and is very suitable for astrotourism, he believes.
– It turns out that this area, and many other places in Norway, are very dark compared to the rest of the world, says Taagvold.
Because there are fewer and fewer places in the world where you can experience complete darkness.
More than 80 percent of the world’s population lives in light-polluted areas.
In Europe and the United States, the figure is as high as 99 percent.

A third of the world’s population lives in places with so much light pollution that they cannot see the Milky Way. This is what the Milky Way might look like in Jotunheim. Here from 2018. PHOTO: Morten Berg

• Even though it is dark at Dovrefjell, it is not approved as a so-called “Dark Sky Park”. There is only one place in Norway that is, for now .

– Norway, with its epic landscapes and long periods of darkness, has great potential to establish itself as one of the most attractive countries in the world for this type of tourism, especially in combination with the opportunities to see the Northern Lights.
– We see that experience tourism is becoming increasingly popular. Star tourism is an example of this, says Dagny Øren, industry manager for experiences at NHO Reiseliv.

Source: Vil lokke turistar til Noreg med stjernehimmelen – NRK Innlandet – Lokale nyheter, TV og radio

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Helgelandstrappa i Mosjøen (the Helgeland stairs in Mosjøen):

Look how beautiful the staircase is with candlelight.

Big thanks to the team for giving us such a beautiful experience.

The Sherpa “artists” who complete the Helgeland stairsPhoto by Simon Almås

5.5K views · 239 reactions | I løpet av de neste dagene blir Helgelandstrappa...

Source: Helgelandstrappa