Hardangerjøkulen – The Hardanger glacier

We are now on our way into the Finse tunnel, travelling over part of the Hardanger glacier, which is Norway’s seventh largest glacier. It is around 300 metres thick in places and covers an area greater than Manhattan in New York. The name “jøkulen” comes from jøkul which means icicle or glacier. With its azure ice, its beauty becomes more apparent the closer you get to the glacier, especially in the summer when the ice glistens in the sunlight. A walk across the glacier is an experience that will leave you with lifelong memories, but it has to be done in the company of an experienced glacier walking guide. The ice is constantly moving and hidden cracks make it unsafe for visitors to roam free. There are over 1500 glaciers in Norway which cover around 1% of the country. Since the beginning of the 21st century many of the glaciers in Norway have been melting, mainly as a result of warmer summers. The earth is getting warmer and if climate forecasts are correct, according to Norwegian research there will only be 28 glaciers left in Norway in 100 years’ time. Do you dream of going on an expedition to one of the earth’s poles? The English pole explorer Ernest Shackleton called this area a miniature Antarctica. Together with Roald Admundsen and Fridtjof Nansen he is one of the world famous explorers who used Finse, Vidda and Hardangerjøkulen as a training ground for their expeditions.