Day 19 - Grønligrotta and Svartisen

It's an early start again, we have a lot planned for today. A cave exploration and a hike to the Svartisen Glacier. The practical thing is that both natural wonders are located on the same route and can be nicely combined.

The Grønligrotta is a well-known and easily accessible limestone cave, whose existence and shape, like so many scenic wonders of Scandinavia, can be attributed to the glaciers of the last ice age. There is another cave nearby to visit, but guided tours require a bit more athletic ambition as they involve climbing and narrow passages.

During the tour, we enter the cave, with illuminated sections that have been artificially lit. The first section follows an underground stream, which later flows over a beautifully lit waterfall. There is also a feature called a "glacier mill", a funnel-shaped excavation in the rock that has been eroded by stones moved by the force of glacial meltwater. The cave is very labyrinthine, with dark passages branching off to the left and right, some of which are narrow and tight. Further down, we reach the "cathedral", a low hall in the rock with a striking rock column. This column exists because a vein of harder rock than the surrounding rock runs through the mountain massif, and over the millennia, the water could only erode the surrounding softer limestone. At the end of the "cathedral" is a dark passage that must be traversed while lying down. Our guide tells us that at the end of this passage system, we would encounter a very deep abyss. Scary!

In another branch deeper in the cave, the ceilings of the passages glitter as if covered with hundreds of crystals. Upon closer inspection, these "gems" turn out to be droplets of water. Still, it's a fascinating sight.

In the end, I am relieved to be back in daylight. Caves are absolutely fascinating places, with silence only disturbed by the sound of dripping water. At the same time, they convey a oppressive, almost threatening feeling, as if humans should not be there.

We continue to Svartisen via a narrow road full of potholes and nasty bumps. It ends at Svartisvatnet, a lake fed by glacial water, hence its murky, milky color. At the other end of the lake, you can already see the mighty torrent of melted glacier water crashing down from the higher glacier.

A small boat, which departs hourly, takes us to the other end. It's 1 PM and the last boat returns at 5 PM. With a hike of about one and a quarter hours, we unfortunately don't have much time to admire the glacier.

During the not very difficult ascent, we occasionally catch a strong predator scent. We suspect it's wolverines. It could of course also be bears, we don't know. It certainly makes the hike more exciting. To the left, the melting water rushes down. After half an hour of ascent, we find ourselves in front of a black hole in the rock wall, from which the glacial water shoots out. Unexpected - I thought it would come directly from the lake at the foot of Svartisen. A little intimidating, but impressive.

After that, the terrain becomes more difficult, steeper and rockier. Arriving at the glacier lake, you can already see the upper part of the glacier tongue. It looks like the path is not far anymore. But that's deceiving, there are still a good 1.5 kilometers to go over difficult terrain. The entire path to the tongue consists of cascading rock slabs, with edges that occasionally reach up to five meters high. So we can't reach the glacier directly, but have to zigzag our way up, always searching for the easiest climbable spots.

Finally, at the foot of the glacier tongue, the effort pays off. The ice towers meters high in front of us, glowing in a beautiful blue shade in the sun. With the knowledge that larger pieces occasionally break off, I don't stay too long in direct proximity. It's a shame that time is pressing. I would have liked to spend more time in this incredibly fascinating place, which will probably not survive for much longer due to climate change. A large part of the arduous approach was still covered with ice not too many decades ago...

The descent is fortunately not as difficult as feared, I have learned to deal with my handicap. We are back at the boat landing well in time.

Today is definitely the highlight of our trip for me so far. Simply having seen the still mighty Svartisen is priceless and unforgettable.