Royal touch

The Trollstigen road connects Valldal in Sunnmøre to Åndalsnes and Romsdalen. It was opened by King Haakon VII in 1936, but it has served as a passage over the mountains in the furthest parts of Isterdalen as far back as the 16th century. The story tells that «Olaf II Haraldsson (later St. Olaf), Olaf the Holy» himself walked this path in 1028. Large parts of the original «Kløvstigen» path through Isterdalen can be followed by foot.

The landscape resembles that of a Norwegian folktale with goblins and trolls. On each side of the valley the mighty alpine mountains soar. The three most characteristic mountains are to the west and carry the following names: Bispen (1462 masl.), Kongen (1614 masl.) og Dronninga (1544 masl.).

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Footage

We got the footage from Trollstigen in the can at the tail end of the season. It was aclose call, only a few day after leaving Trollstigen the first snow fell. Needless to say that it turned out to be a somewhat cold experience for the riders on a few occations. In addition to the low temperatures, the riders were also challenged by powerfull gusts of wind towards the summit.

We were fortunate to have a great team with us who faced the weather and the numerous climbs up Trollstigen head on. It’s quite a challenge to repeatedly climb 800 altitude meters, including intervals.

The combination of tough intervals and repeated stops due to change of camera batteries, optic alternatives etc. puts the thigh muscles and the heart to the test. It is well known that filming is more often than not synonymous with waiting. Providing good care for the cyclists with hot coffee and warm clothing is essential.

A big thank you to riders and crew for an amazing effort!

Photo: Rune Haugen