I'm considering participating in a summertime DNT guided tour. I've gone over the DNT website in detail and have been in contact with the DNT staff, but am looking for anyone willing to share some tourist boots-on-the-ground experiences so that I can get some tips for what works and what doesn't, e.g. size of pack, things you were glad/sad you brought, difficulty of trails, etc. Thanks.
Posted by
Medford, OR, USA
5837 posts
DNT guided tours are more than a economical way of touring the Norwegian mountains. The DNT tours are a cultural experience and the English speaking guide tours tend to be international in participation, including Norwegian participants. And of course the tour guides are Norwegian.
I've done two DNT week long tours. The first crossed the Jotunheimen National Park West to East and the second crossed the Hardangervidda from North to South. I should say that both were late winter pre-Easter tours. (Hytte tend to close shortly after Easter Week). We were lodged in staffed hytte for both of the tours but some hytte are self-serve (no staff) on some routes.
[I did a two week Troll Loypa tour from Rondane to Lillihammer that used DNT hytte guided by a Canadia Norwegain, but was not a DNT tour. This tour used a combination of private mountain lodges and self-service DNT hytte.]
My DNT tours were full board and included bedding (we only needed sleep sacks). We skied hytte til hytte. from point to point. Tour price included transportation to and from Oslo. The Jotunheimen tour did not have layover days while the Hardangervidda tour had one layover day with an optional peak bagging day. Our group was fairly large, about 15 or 16 but we had two guides, both English speaking. Guides are DNT member volunteers and I understand that they pay for their meals but get complementary lodging. I understand that the DNT guide go through a week long training program.
A 50 Liter pack was adequate to carry what was needed for the winter tour. As noted, we did not need to carry sleeping bags as the hytte provided duvets. The DNT winter packing list was a good start. I would imagine that the DNT summer list without the tenting gear is also good. I should add - Bring a camera. Keep your pack light if you want to keep up with the Norwegians.
Food was good. As noted, full board - breakfast, self prepared packet lunches, dinners. The staff even filled our insulated bottles with hot drinks of our choice - coffee, tea, hot juice (saft) etc. The DNT priced lunches for 4 slices of bread but we Americans would use 2 slices per sandwich while the Norwegians made 4 open faced sandwiches with their bread allowance.
The staffed hytte were really mountain lodges and while meals were included, beer (øl) is available on your own. Our lodges had hot showers but hot water was coin operated. Hytte have drying rooms so that you can rinse out your base layers and dry them overnight. Toilets were composting toilets.
Keep in mind that Norwegians do a lot of walking/skiing and are fit. Don't under estimate tour grading. A Moderate/Intermediate trip to a Norwegian can be strenuous when skiing/hiking at mountain elevations.