This year too, the majority of the population is holidaying domestically. According to NHO Reiseliv, 65 percent of those going on summer holiday plan to travel in Norway. Going to the cabin or going on an outdoor holiday is still high on the list. And for the third summer in a row, Sivert Bjørnsrud will work in the Besseggen patrol. Not only does the patrol increase safety for hikers: once or twice a week they also clean up after travel in the mountains. SUMMER IN THE MOUNTAINS: View towards Knutshøe in Jotunheimen. In the background is Besseggen. The trip to Knutshøe is becoming increasingly popular, according to Marius Haugaløkken, host at Gjendesheim tourist cabin. Photo: Sun Iren Bjørnås / news Nature should be just as beautiful. Norwegian outdoor activities is a joint organization for Norwegian outdoor organisations, which works to ensure the right of all. But they are also concerned with the duties we have when we use nature. – Experiencing Norwegian nature is one of the best things you can do on holiday. But as always, it is important to remember the duty to trackless traffic, says Bente Lier, secretary general of Norwegian Outdoor Activities. She thinks it’s about taking care of animals and plants, and not least of all other hikers. – We have to talk to the children, and also be careful that we leave behind nature at least as beautiful as it was when we arrived. ANNUAL CAMPAIGN: Bente Lier, secretary general of Norwegian Outdoor Activities, says the organization has annual campaigns about careful driving. – We especially see in press areas that have received an increase in visitors, so it is also an additional challenge that we leave a mark. Photo: Gard Eirik Arneberg Lier encourages you to plan before you go on a trip – not just the route, but also how you will handle waste and “drug visits”. It takes, for example, about two months for a banana peel or an apple core to disappear from nature: A LONG TIME: Even what goes in the food waste at home, can remain in nature for a long time before it disappears. Illustration: Strøk Design The Secretary-General believes that a lot of littering comes down to the fact that we don’t think about it. She firmly believes that increased awareness can contribute to people taking better care of nature. – We have several surveys that show that we Norwegians are very busy taking care of nature, she says. Tips for trackless travel in nature Carry an empty bag for rubbish – and use it. Food waste takes a long time to break down, and must therefore also be included. Remember the general bonfire ban from 15 April to 15 September. Always check the latest rules that apply where you are. A good idea on a trip is to walk far away from the path and any water sources. You take the toilet paper home with you in a bag. Clean up after yourself, take the rubbish home and remove traces of everything you’ve moved. Avoid harming nature. Leave animals and birds alone. If you are traveling in an agricultural landscape, close gates so that grazing animals cannot get out. Source: Norsk Friluftsliv Prepared for traffic Just at the foot of Besseggen lies Gjendesheim. With around 60,000 people crossing Besseggen every year, the popular cabin in Jotunheimen expects increasing visitors throughout the summer. – We believe and hope that it will be attractive to go to the mountains this summer. It looks promising, says Marius Haugaløkken, who hosts the cabin. POPULAR EGG: Besseggen is located in Jotunheimen National Park, and according to the Norwegian Tourist Association, is one of the most popular hiking destinations in Norway. The Besseggen patrol was started following a local initiative in 2017. Photo: Even Lusæter / news The tourist host explains that at Besseggen arrangements have been made to steer hikers away from vulnerable nature. But there are other great peaks in the area that tolerate less traffic. When the Besseggen patrol is out, they remove whatever litter they find and traces of “drug visits”. – When we go on Besseggen patrols, we have gas burners with us, and we burn up whatever paper and other things we find. Haugaløkken points to the fact that rubbish bins and toilets have been arranged on both sides of the egg. At the same time, he believes that the cleaning job is preventive. – If there is a bit of rubbish, it is much easier for more to come. So we try to keep it down and feel that we have very good control over it. HOST: Together with his wife Anne and children Erland, Aune and Olea, Marius Haugaløkken is the host at Gjendesheim tourist cabin in Jotunheimen. Close to the cabin is the popular hiking destination Besseggen. Photo: PRIVATE “Fjellkarma” Sivert Bjørnsrud has the impression that mountain people generally take care to bring rubbish back from their trips. At the same time, it is not unusual for small things to fall out of pockets or blow off the bag. And the mountain-dwelling 24-year-old believes that all you need to make it a little more pleasant for the next person is to have a small bag for rubbish on the outside of your rucksack or in your pocket. – The concept is that you pick up what you see, actually. Maybe you will get a little better conscience, and then the trip and maybe the chop will be better. CLEANING UP: Colleagues Amund Tessnes (left) and Sivert Bjørnsrud (right). Here they are pictured at the foot of the egg at the start of the season in 2023. Photo: Private On challenging tours that require belaying, slings and other means of belaying are often left in the mountain. In some mountain sports environments, one therefore says that “you must bring back down with you, more than what you left behind”. The moral is: When you take care of the mountain, you get good weather and a good trip as a reward. Towards the holiday season, Bjørnsrud encourages us to transfer this thinking to weekday trips and excursions that are suitable for most people. – This applies equally whether you are walking in the streets of Oslo, out in the forest, the park or in the high mountains. The same applies wherever you go.
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Summer and sun bring traffic in the mountains – Norwegian Outdoor Activities encourages trackless traffic – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
