The trip to Trolltunga, a famous rock formation in Hardanger, went badly for a young Eastern European tourist.
It was not until half past ten on Thursday evening that the man returned safely to the plains. So the rescue operation had, second Bergens Tidendetook almost half a day.
– It took so long, because there were difficult conditions, Leiv Varberg, director of operations of the Red Cross in Tyssedal, tells Dagbladet.
– Danger of avalanches
Unlike Rogaland’s Pulpit, the journey to Trolltunga is long and demanding, especially in winter.
The area is alpine and is located at an altitude of over 1,100 metres. According to Varberg, it’s more challenging now, something rescue teams experienced yesterday.
– Now is the worst time, because the snow hasn’t deposited properly, Varberg tells Dagbladet.
– Is there a risk of avalanches?
– Yes, there was an imminent danger that we had to take into account in the dark. In several places we could hear snow bursting, says Varberg.
DRAMATIC: – In several places we heard snow bursting, says Leiv Varberg of Thursday’s rescue operation. Here it is late at night, after the action is over. Photo: Tyssedal Red Cross
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For inexperienced people, would strongly recommend hiring a guide, if they want to go to Trolltunga in winter.
«Emergency Arch 2»
The tourist rescued on Thursday, however, went alone.
– He defied warnings from both the Red Cross and a guide, says Varberg.
He says the man was accompanied by three others, but that they returned when snow conditions turned difficult Wednesday.
Then it happened.
Eventually the man saw no other way out than to go to bed at what Varberg calls “Nødbu 2”, about three kilometers from Trolltunga.
VÆRHARDT: Here is the group of the Trolltunga Active guide company who yesterday – unlike a tourist who tried to make the trip alone – managed to get to Trolltunga. Photo: Trolltunga active
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There he spent the night until Thursday undercover. On Thursday morning she called the 911 number and the Red Cross launched a rescue operation, coordinated by the police.
The snow made everything more challenging than expected and the Red Cross had to give up on reaching Nødbu 2.
– I don’t have much left
The rescue
Luckily, the Trolltunga Active guide company had gone to Trolltunga with a group on Thursday morning.
– If they hadn’t been there, we would have struggled. So he probably should have stayed in the emergency room for another night, Varberg says.
Jostein Soldal, general manager of Trolltunga Active, confirms the story.
– As we entered, we received a message from the Red Cross that there was a man in a lifeboat, he tells Dagbladet. One of Soldal’s colleagues detoured to the cabin and picked up the man.
– He was cold and had been lying there since the night before. I spoke to him on the way back. He said next time he’ll take a tour, Soldal says.
TOUGH CONDITIONS: There were tough conditions in the mountain areas at Trolltunga on Thursday night. Photo: Tyssedal Red Cross
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Dagbladet has tried to get in touch with the man, including through the police, but has so far been unsuccessful.
Memorable
– It’s a very tough journey, for which we have a very strict routine, says Jostein Soldal about the trip to Trolltunga.
There were 23 players registered for Thursday’s away match, but Soldal says there were only 15, because some withdrew due to the weather conditions.
GOAL REACHED: Despite the difficult conditions, the Trolltunga Active team had a successful trip to Trolltunga on Thursday. The Trolltunga tourist attraction can be seen to the left of the image. Photo: Trolltunga active
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– We went out at half past eight in the morning and returned at half past nine in the evening, says Soldal.
The photos he gave Dagbladet, however, indicate a memorable journey for those who were with him in Trolltunga.
Even the tourist who ended up in an emergency shelter had a journey he is unlikely to forget, even if, unlike Soldal’s entourage, he never reached Trolltunga.
Soldal says he had neither skis nor snowshoes.
– With the loose snow that there is now, it’s useless, says Jostein Soldal.
– Eternal concern
In retrospect, the police also warn against entering Trolltunga without a guide in winter, unless you have solid experience and equipment.
– It is an eternal concern during the winter months, that people who are not prepared for the weather travel to Trolltunga in particular, Øystein Torsnes, head of the Hardanger police station, tells Dagbladet.
He estimates that there are one to three rescue operations every year, after people who have gone on the trip to Trolltunga, without being sufficiently prepared.
– If people want to take that trip in winter, they should contact a guide company, urges Torsnes to Dagbladet.
Leiv Varberg of the Red Cross agrees with this call.
– I can not understand why he was entering there, in such terrible snowy weather. Why can’t you see anything, she tells Dagbladet.
