The Troll Wall

While looking into all things troll I found a place that looks both beautiful and amazingly dangerous. The Troll Wall, or Trollveggen in Norwegian, is the highest point in a mountain range called the Troll Peaks in Norway. Found in Reinheimen National Park and standing at 3,600 ft tall it is Europe’s tallest vertical peak, and so, of course, that means people must attempt various kinds of sports upon it of the extreme kind, like climbing, BASE jumping (Which was made illegal due to the mortality rate, although thrill seekers still attempt it), and skiing.

When combined with the fact that there is a lot of loose rock and rockfall (pretty much what it sounds like when parts of rock may sheer off in true free Willy fashion and bounce on down the mountain) is a usual occurrence, this beautiful location also has the capability of turning a day of fun into anything from vague annoyance to true terror, in appropriate trolly fashion. For this reason I think I can include it in the #loveyourtrolls post series as in a way it’s sort of a place where nature trolls humankind. I also can’t wait to learn more about the folklore behind this and many other Norwegian landmarks with Troll names, so stay turned for that!

It seems that there is a legend of Trolls specifically tied to Norway and this area, and it is said these nasty peaks were once trolls that had been petrified for either doing wrong or not making it home before the sunrise. Each peak has a name to identify it and some of these are Trollkjerringa (Troll’s Wife) and Trolldom (Troll Magic – ok that name is cool!), there are also some interesting non-troll-centric names in there such as Raspberry Dream (where suddenly a good name for either an ice cream or a donut seems a bit nefarious) and Death to All/Pretty Blonde Vikings (and well, um, I guess this one is kind of self explanatory and equally violent now making Troll’s Wife seem kind of quaint).

If you want to see these beauties, you can live vicariously through this YouTube clip from Salomon TV where Kilian Jornet actually skis down the Troll Wall! Enjoy! And if you had ever been there, I’d love to hear about it.

~ Liv