Stavanger... DAMN SKIPPY!!!!!! Kjerag and Preikestolen

Just as Kim and I settled in from getting back from three weeks in the South, we got the opportunity to head down to Stavanger, Norway to visit some of the most famous and visited places over here; Preikestolen (The Pulpit Rock) and Kjerag (The Hanging Rock). If you're from Victoria, or have been over to Victoria, you'll probably recognize Kjerag from the billborad advertisement for Robinson's Outdoor Store as you leave the ferry coming from Vancouver. All I can say is WOW! There is definitely a reason people come and visit these places. And what's better about both is that you have to hike at least 1.5 hours one way to visit either one (Kjerag is more like 2.5 hours). So, it makes them both that extra bit special and you also have to climb 600 or 900 meters to reach them. I'll let the photos do the talking!

Start of hike to Kjerag from the end of Lysefjorden


I've been on a lot of windy roads in Norway and this one is right up there with the most turns. I believe there are 22 hairpins with over 1000 meters of climb right from sea level.

Moving up into the bedrock and snow dusted alpine

Uber windy. I'm talking over 20 meters/second kind of wind. If uncluched, our poles would go horizontal with the gusts of wind!

Lying down and getting a 1000 meter vertical drop view down to the fjord bottom below at Kjerag!

ON TOP OF KJERAGBOLTEN (THE HANGING ROCK)!!!

The barren but beautiful landscape of the Norwegien Alpine

Looking down at Lysebotn: A small village at the end of the fjord.

The hike to Preikestolen. Almost there!

A slightly wet and windy arrival at the Pulpit Rock!

Preikestolen - A ~650 meter high tower of rock with a flat top and overhangingly vertical walls that plummet to the fjord below!

A beautiful shot of Kim taking a look down with the restless but sublime Lysefjord in the background winding its way toward Kjerag.

Don't know what more to say!
Life is Beautiful

TNO