Galdhøpiggen
— — the high point of mainland northern Europe.
Not only on a wall.
“Norway's highest peak, 2,469 metres above sea level, in the Jotunheimen massif east of the Sognefjord. The summit was first reached in 1850 by three farmers from Lom and now carries a small stone shelter. In summer, guided parties cross the Styggebreen glacier from Juvasshytta in three to four hours; in winter the peak belongs to the skiers and the snow.
Galdhøpiggen, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
Galdhøpiggen rises to 2,469 metres above sea level, the highest summit in Norway and on the European mainland north of the Alps. It stands inside Jotunheimen National Park, in Lom municipality of Innlandet county, between the Otta and Bøvra valleys. The summit was first reached in 1850 by Steinar Sulheim, Hans Sulheim and Jo Vigdal, three farmers from Lom, whose climb corrected an earlier mistaken belief that the rounder Glittertind was the higher peak. A small stone shelter at the top is open in summer for climbers waiting out weather.
The mountain is built of Precambrian gabbro and gneiss, an old, hard rock that weathers into the dark grey scree fanning out below the upper ridges. On the south side the glacier Styggebreen still covers the standard route from Juvasshytta, though it has retreated noticeably since the first detailed surveys in the 1950s. The lower slopes show smooth bedrock polished by retreating ice, and small new tarns where the snout used to sit. The summit cone itself is bare stone above the last permanent snow.
The standard summer route begins at Juvasshytta, reached by a toll road from Bøverdalen. Guided crossings of Styggebreen leave several times a day from late June through mid-September; the climb takes three to four hours up and the same back down. A longer non-glacier route runs from Spiterstulen over Svellnose and Keilhaus topp. Conditions can change quickly above 2,000 metres and the weather window is narrow. Outside the summer season, the mountain belongs to experienced ski-mountaineers and the guided service does not run.