Slettmark Mesmog Massif

Scandinavian Mountains over 2000 metres - James Baxter

AreasSlettmark Mesmog Massif › Access

The mountains of the Slettmark-Mesmog Massif lie in the south of Jotunheimen and access is from Fondsbu or Torfinnsbu or Gjendebu lodges. Fondsbu lodge is accessible by road in the summer and the later two are accessible by an early morning boat or a good days walk.

There are two main roads to give access to this massif. In the south there is the Rikveg 16 and in the east there is the Riksveg 51 which is closed in the winter.

Fondsbu Lodge

The Riksveg 16 is always open and is the main Oslo Bergen road. There are regular buses between Oslo and Bergen and Tinkrysset. The timetable from Oslo to Tyinkrysset (and Tyin) and Bergen to Tyinkrysset can be found here www.nor-way.no There is an English link.

On this road is the junction of Tyinkrysset where the road Riksveg 53 to Øvre Årdal branches off. This road is also usually open all winter except in bad weather. Take the RV 53 and after 3 km take the good quality 23km gravel road, the RV 252, to Tyinholmen and Eidsbugården. JVB operate a twice daily bus in the summer from Tyinkrysset to Eidsbugården from early July to mid October. The timetable is here www.jvb.no/ruter

In the winter and spring, however, the road RV 252 is blocked by snow drifts and is impassable until early May. During mid February until late April when the road is covered in snow road there is a twice daily vintage snowmobile service also operated by JVB. The timetable is here www.jvb.no/beltebiler. The snowmobiles leave from Tyin 4 km north of Tyinkrysset on the road from Tyinkrysset over to Øvre Årdal, the RV 53.

It is also possible to get to Eidsbugården in the summer time by a boat twice daily from Bygdin at the east end of Lake Bygdin. This classic boat operates from late June to mid September. The timetable is here www.jvb.no/bitihorn

Gjendebu Lodge

The easiest route to Gjendebu lodge in the summer is to take the twice daily boat from Gjendesheim lodge on the road at the east end of the lake. This boat runs from mid June until mid September. The boat is operated by Gjendebåtene and they have a comprehensive website with an English link giving times, prices etc. The website address is www.gjende.no. When the boat is not running then the only alternative is to walk. The walk to Gjendesheim lodge is a long days walk and takes about 9 hours via Memurubu lodge. It is however only 5 hours to walk to Fondsbu lodge.

During the winter and spring season the lake freezes over making it easy to ski down the lake in about 2-4 hours depending on conditions.

Torfinnsbu Lodge

It is also possible to get to Torfinnsbu lodge in the summer time by a boat twice daily from Bygdin at the east end of Lake Bygdin, or Eidsbugården/Fondsbu lodges at the west end of Lake Bygdin. This classic boat operates from late June to mid September. The timetable is here www.jvb.no/bitihorn. If you don’t take the boat the only access in the summer is by foot from either Fondsbu, Gjendebu or Bygdin Fjellhotel lodges or Valdresflya Vandrerhjem hostel.

In the winter/spring access is by ski only from one of the 3 above lodges or hostel. See the walking routes pages for further information. Bygdin lodge is served by bus from Oslo and Bergen via the town of Fagernes.

Gjendesheim Lodge

To reach Gjendesheim lodge you can drive from Oslo or Bergen via Fagernes in the summer. During the winter (usually from late October to mid April) however, this road is closed at Beitostølen, just north of Fagernes. There is all year access to Gjendesheim from the north via the town of Otta passing through the village of Randsverk.
Buses go twice a day from Otta to Gjendesheim via Vågå during the Easter and Summer. During the summer these buses continue to Fagernes and even Gol. The service is operated by Fjord1 Nordfjord-Ottadalen. For details Tel: +47 6123 4455. More details are on their website which has an English link. It is at www.fjord1.no/nordfjord-ottadalen.

Fagernes and Vågå are served by long distance buses from Oslo and Bergen which sometimes connect with the bus above to Gjendesheim. Information on these long distance buses can be found here www.nor-way.no There is an English link.

Otta is on the Oslo-Trondheim line and Gol is on the Oslo-Bergen line. It is possible to connect with the Otta-Gol local bus mentioned above stopping at Gjendesheim. Details on these train times and prices can be found here www.nsb.no where there is and English link.

There is a summer boat which plies up and down Gjende lake from Gjendesheim to Memurubu to Gjendebu lodges and back again. The timetable for this boat is here www.gjende.no

Bygdin Fjellhotel Lodge

To reach Bygdin Fjellhotel lodge in the summer you can drive from Oslo or Bergen via Fagernes to the south or from Otta and Lom via Vågå to the north during the summer. There are buses in the summer from Otta and Vågå to the north to Fagenes and Gol in the south. This is the same bus which stops at Gjendesheim also. These buses connect with the long distance buses and trains mentioned in the Gjenjesheim access.

During the winter (usually from late October to mid April) however, this road is closed at Beitostølen north of Fagernes and at Gjendesheim. The only way to reach Bygdin Fjellhotel lodge is either on ski from Beitostølen or Gjendesheim which 15-20 km, or to take a weasel snow tractor from Beitostølen during the time the lodge is open.
It is also possible to get to Bygdin in the summer time by a boat twice daily from Eidsbugården at the west end of Lake Bygdin. This classic boat operates from late June to mid September. The timetable is here www.jvb.no/bitihorn

Valdresflya Vandrerhjem Hostel

To reach Valdresflya hostel in the summer you can drive from Oslo or Bergen via Fagernes to the south or from Otta and Lom via Vågå to the north during the summer. There are buses in the summer from Otta and Vågå to the north to Fagenes and Gol in the south. This is the same bus which stops at Gjendesheim also. These buses connect with the long distance buses and trains mentioned in the Gjendesheim access. It might be necessary to inform the bus company to stop here if you want to get on or off.

During the winter (usually from late October to mid April) however, this road is closed at Beitostølen north of Fagernes and at Gjendesheim. The only way to reach Valdres hostel is on ski.