Gaustatoppen — Local services in Tinn

Gaustatoppen (abbreviated as Gausta) is the highest mountain in southern Norway, from where it can be seen furthest in Norway. Since the Romantic era, poets and painters have described it as the most beautiful mountain in the country. The northern slopes of Gausta rise above Rjukan to a height of 1860 meters above sea level. Until the late summer Gausta shows off as a snowy mountain from far away. The slopes may be full of snow till late July. For Norwegians, Gausta is something like Sněžka for Czechs or Rysy for Poles. More than 30,000 people ascend to the top of the mountain every year, and it is the duty of every Norwegian to look at the top at least once in a lifetime. So the track to the top is quite busy on weekends and holidays. Ascent to the top of Gausta is considered one of the TOP trips in Norway. The circular view from the top is the largest view in Norway. From the top of Gausta you can see the entire sixth of Norway and in good visibility, you can see the sea and coast in the south and on the east you can see to Sweden. Near the top, there is the stone hut Gaustatoppen Turisthytta, where you can have some of the tastiest waffles in Norway (they are really delicious, with strawberry or blueberry jam). The chalet is supplied with a cable car inside the mountain (which you can also take to go to the summit, but I hope you are not lazy and you will climb it to the top :-D). On the top you can also find the highest public toilets in Norway. Access to the toilets is only via credit card, and if you do not have a credit card, you can't go there. The coins are useless to you. That is a little bit bizarre to me, but you can't stop the progress. And Norway is trying to be a very modern...

one of the memorable ski - top touring trips I have ever taken and paradise for freeriders. I advise - gotta be a very good skier to go down, the couloirs are more 40% steep and the recommended marked skier off-piste trail is more or less like steep black. Check the weather and possible avalanche info (yr.no and varsom.no) or just call the Gaustabannen (tramway inside of the mountain). Google it. It took me two hours to get to the top from Gaustabannen car park. You can fill waterbottle in turisthytte on top, but check if they are open or just eat the snow🤣😎! I found it neccesary to have a good food with me. It tired me out and I wanted to be all right before swishing down on skis. it's good to have extra layers or seat pad to sit on on top. Beware of the snow conditions, always check, (best is to call them a day ahead when you are planing to go) have spade, and I made a mistake to not take a ski crampons with me, as it was little skied near the top, therefore ice patches appeared. Also Gaustatoppen is exposed to wind, it is a stand-alone mountain! The price is definitely the view... o don't think it can be put in words....

The hike took us 4.5 hours but that's because we took it quite slow. It was a cold and windy day and it started to rain periodically. We started from the Starvso parking lot, which is the longer route, instead of next to the Gaustabanan. The route next to the Gaustabanan is shorter, but apparently steeper. However, the longer route has a few considerably steep parts too. Not too demanding, you just need to take it slow. The path is very clearly marked with red Ts, but the path is not a trail it's extremely rocky. This is probably where you need to take it slow to make sure you don't roll an ankle (if you're a bit unco-ordinated like me). When we finally reached the top, it was foggy and we had no view. So we decided to goto the restaurant nearthe top to get ourselves some piping fresh hot waffles only to realise we had left all of our money 6kms away back in the car. Maybe it's the feeling of 'you want what you' cant have', but that feeling of having hot waffles and jam after you've been freezing your butt off in the wind and rain would be just oh-so satisfying. So remember to...