Swiss John

Week 8 (Feb.20. – 26.) is too early to expect the DNT markings. Easter Sunday 2023 is on the 9. April. I usually start my tours about 3 weeks before Easter and I have always found the routes to have been “sticked” by then. If you start the tour in week 12 (March 20. – 26.) you will almost certainly find that the routes have been marked, but it would nonetheless be better to ask the DNT about the exact dates shortly before the end of this year. I wouldn’t worry too much about “proper winter conditions” – you can get some pretty nasty winter weather on the Hardangervidda in March and April (don’t ask me how I know!). However, even if you decide to start the tour later when the sticks have been placed, it is important to know that there is an interruption in the marking close to Haukeliseter. This is due to an ongoing discussion between the landowner and the DNT and is intended to limit the disturbance caused to the reindeer. You should avoid setting up your tents in this area and the dogs should certainly be kept on a leash. I have skied the route (from Finse to Haukeliseter) in 2011, 2018, 2019 and also this year. There was no interruption to the sticks in 2011 and 2018, but there was in 2019 and this year. The DNT sticks ended at the motorable track which passes to the west of Slirdokkhølen and they reappeared near the tiny lake (1120m) to the south-west of Loftsdokktjønn. If these names mean nothing to you, the locations can be found easily by entering their names in the search-field of the online Norgeskart: https://www.norgeskart.no/#!?project=norgeskart&layers=1002&zoom=3&lat=7157709.44&lon=519799.76&p=searchOptionsPanel You can also download the GPX-files of the winter routes from the UT.no website: Haukeliseter to Hellevassbu: https://ut.no/rutebeskrivelse/135956/fra-haukeliseter-fjellstue-til-hellevassbu Hellevassbu to Litlos: https://ut.no/rutebeskrivelse/137033/fra-hellevassbu-til-litlos Sandhaug to Litlos: https://ut.no/rutebeskrivelse/136237/fra-sandhaug-til-litlos Stigstuv to Sandhaug: https://ut.no/rutebeskrivelse/136236/fra-stigstuv-til-sandhaug Krækkja to Stigstuv: https://ut.no/rutebeskrivelse/135981/fra-krkkja-til-stigstuv From Finsehytta to Krækkja only the summer route is given. Coming from Finse, this is the same as the winter route till just to the west of Store Hansbunuten. The winter route then goes almost directly south to Brattefonnvatnet where it then turns south east and goes right across Midnutevatnet and rejoins the summer route just to the north of Finnsbergvatnet. From there onwards to Krækkja the summer and winter routes are almost the same: https://ut.no/rutebeskrivelse/136624/fra-finsehytta-til-krkkja For a ski-tour like this it is always a good idea to have a GPS receiver with you. Hope this information helps. Sorry for the reply in English – my Norwegian is not (yet) good enough (but I’m working on it!).