After a couple of days back in Oslo, Federico departed for the U.S. and I hopped on a train to the southwestern coast and Norway's 4th largest city, Stavanger. I explored Stavanger for a few days before taking a ferry down the Lysefjord to the town of Flørli - the starting point for my next hytte-to-hytte trek. Upon disembarking from the boat, I was immediately (and unexpectedly) greeted by the Flørli 4444, the world's longest wooden staircase. Yes, it's 4444 steps, and it goes straight up the side of the mountain for a total elevation gain of 2,460 feet.
 |
| the Flørli 4444 with the Lysefjord below |
 |
| only 1444 to go... |
It. Was. Grueling.
Especially with my backpacking pack on. From start to finish, the climb took about three hours. Afterwards I was pretty exhausted, so I decided to end the day early and camp in my tent. The following morning, after an enjoyable hike through rocky rolling hills, I arrived at
Skåpet.
Skåpet
Skåpet was designed by KOKO Architects, an Estonian firm, and constructed in 2016. Like Snøhetta's Fuglemyrhytta (see previous post), Skåpet is part of a new wave of hytte architecture featuring nontraditional geometries and large panoramic windows. Another thing that sets Skåpet apart from other hytter is the organization of its various components. It consists of a main communal cabin with shared living room and kitchen and six separate cabins for lodging - each with five beds. The main cabin also has a couple of bunks for walk-up hikers (where I slept), while the separate cabins must be booked in advance (as an entire unit, rather than by bed).
 |
| Skåpet Site Plan |
 |
| Skåpet communal cabin plan |
All of the other hytter I have stayed in thus far have combined communal spaces - kitchen, dining, etc - with lodging all under one roof. In my opinion, it's a nice arrangement because it encourages social interactions; people cook together, clean together, and talk about their journeys. At Skåpet, separating out the primary lodging makes things function a little differently - some people kept more to themselves in their private cabins (This setup is popular in the United States - independent sleeping quarters grouped around some sort of communal amenity building). Also, at Skåpet there were more small children around (infants to ~6 years) compared to what I had experienced in similar sized hytter. I think the increased privacy makes it easier to bring children along - for instance, a crying baby won't wake up everyone in the hytte. There are definitely tradeoffs to the two strategies...
Skåpet also differs considerably from other hytter in terms of its construction and materiality. While the interiors consist of familiar wood finishes, the exterior of each building is clad with rolled zinc. Zinc is very weather resistant; it doesn't rust or corrode like steel and thus can go without maintenance for decades - a smart choice for a remote mountain cabin.
 |
| rolled zinc cladding |
The walls of traditional hytter usually meet the ground in one of two ways. Either stones are stacked to create linear foundation walls which the wooden walls are built up from, or wooden posts are placed at various location to support the walls and floor. These posts either come to rest on large stones, or if in rocky terrain, may come all the way down to the ground. The primary concern is to keep the wooden part of the construction off of the wet ground. Additionally, creating an air gap between the ground and the interior space of the hytte helps to insulate the space in cold weather. The whole thing is very earthen - dirt transitions to rock, to wood - and as a result, the hytte feels very much like a wilderness architecture. Skåpet meets the ground in a very different way; the walls/floors of the buildings are propped up on steel posts. Due to steel's high strength, only one rather slender column is needed at each corner. This strategy has a very different visual effect. While traditional hytter are "of the Earth" / heavy mounds anchored firmly to the ground, Skåpet almost appears to be floating. The overall effect of the zinc cladding and minimal ground support makes Skåpet feel foreign and temporary - a collection of lunar landers that have touched down in the remote mountains. While Fuglemyrhytta felt like an evolution of traditional hytte design, Skåpet feels like something different all together.
 |
| Skåpet is propped off of the ground by steel posts |
 |
| lunar landers that have touched down in the remote mountains of Norway |
Despite Skåpet's architectural differences, many of the traditional hytte concepts remain. There is no running water; it must be collected from a nearby stream. Heating is accomplished via wood stove, and there is only limited electricity (provided by solar panels) to be used in emergencies only. When I first arrived, the hyttevakt (volunteer that looks after the hytte; literally translates to "hytte guard") was there and she explained to me that each of the individual cabins has an assigned chore to help maintain the hytte. While staying in a walk-in bed in the communal cabin does not come with any chores, she requested that I wash the big panoramic windows. Imagine paying to stay in a cabin in the U.S. and someone asking you to wash the windows! Regardless, I have really come to appreciate the shared ownership that Norwegians feel over hytter so I was happy to contribute. It's a great attitude - if everyone does their part, the space will stay nice forever.
 |
| beautiful smudge-free view brought to you by moi |
Just to give an idea of the attention to detail and standard of upkeep common in hytter:
before the hyttevakt left, she went through the cup of colored pencils that's set aside for children and sharpened every single one. I couldn't help but smile : )
Another feature of Skåpet that's unique (and particularly amazing) - it has a sauna! The sauna is housed in a separate building and is heated by a wood stove. A water tank is incorporated into the wood stove so that as you heat the sauna you also heat up water. That water can then be transferred to a bucket in the adjacent room that feeds into a shower. At most hytter there is no shower at all, much less a hot shower! The shower itself is in a beautiful space. It's sheltered but outdoors - the shower head sticks off the side of the building - and when showering you stand in a mountain stream. The design elevates showering to an almost spiritual experience. (Note: the pictured curtains were not there when I showered. Would have been nice...)
 |
| Photo Credit: www.archdaily.com |
 |
| the sauna has a view out to the mountains |
Prior to my experience at Skåpet, I had never been in a sauna. It was fun to be able to heat the space up myself for my first time. Once the sauna was good and hot, I went back to the communal cabin to tell the others it was ready. I made more Norwegian friends by warming up the sauna than at any other point on my trip thus far. Good conversations were had for the rest of the afternoon.
Below are some more photos to provide a better understanding of Skåpet:
 |
| entry elevation of three of the private lodging cabins |
 |
| the communal cabin; limited electricity is provided by solar panels |
 |
| view from one of the private lodging cabins |
 |
| dining area in the communal cabin |
 |
| highly-designed coat rack |
...and my favorite hyttebook entry (a little tough to read):
The following day I hiked a long "unmarked trail" to the next hytte,
Blåfjellenden. I thought "unmarked" would mean no signs or trail markers, but apparently something was lost in translation, because it actually meant no trail at all. It was a rough day. Lots of route finding made for slow-going. After 12 hours of hiking, I was rewarded by Blåfjellenden - a hytte perched on a rock outcropping overlooking a valley with dramatic mountains on either side.
 |
| Blåfjellenden sits on a bluff overlooking a valley |
 |
| Blåfjellenden at sunset (around midnight...) |
For more information on Blåfjellenden, click on the link in the hytte credits at the end of this post. It is similar to the next hytte which will be explained in more detail.
After what had already been a tough series of hikes, the next day would prove to be the hardest yet. The weather took a turn for the worst and I got caught at high elevation in heavy wind and relentless horizontal rain. Visibility was poor and the "waterproofness" of my clothes was tested (with mixed results). I was admittedly a little battered - what was supposed to be a three hour hike was going on hour five - when I descended over a crest and, finally,
Sandvatn came into view.
 |
| the scene right before the weather took a turn for the worse |
An aside: to this point all of my hytte-to-hytte hikes have been in fairly good weather. It's summer time and even at high elevations it has been relatively warm. However, many people snowshoe or cross country ski to hytter in the winter when the weather can be extremely harsh and unpredictable. I have talked about hytter as places of "recovery" and "refuge," but I hadn't really experienced that feeling until Sandvatn. Boy was I happy to get inside that cabin! A few people were already there and had fired up the wood stove. It was toasty and dry. The weather changes surprisingly quick in the mountains and, this was not the case for me, but a good shelter can be the difference between life and death. Hytter really are safe havens in the wilderness, and arriving at Sandvatn, for the first time I truly understood that.
Alright, enough drama. Back to describing the hytte...
Sandvatn
 |
| Sandvatn consists of two primary cabins, each with lodging / kitchen / sitting space, and a smaller cabin with a WC and storage |
Sandvatn is an interesting hytte in that its design lies somewhere between traditional and more contemporary hytter. I'm not sure when it was constructed, but I assume it was some time in the last 10 years.
One thing I noticed right away were the ribbon windows that allowed for an uninterrupted view of the adjacent lake. More often than not, a long window in a wall like that is a sign that the wall isn't load-bearing. This is a departure from the load-bearing stacked lumber walls characteristic of many older hytter (think "Lincoln Logs").
 |
| the dining area in Sandvatn |
 |
| ribbon windows face out towards the lake |
Instead, Sandvatn was constructed through utilizing a grid of columns and beams. This was apparent from the columns that dropped down in the middle of the communal area, which allowed the space to be more expansive and open than would be possible with load-bearing walls. This system is by no means "innovative" - it exists in nearly all modern buildings - but for a fairly traditional hytte, it was something I had not yet seen.
 |
| notice the column-and-beam construction |
Notice how the wood stove in the photo above is located in a brick alcove. This serves two functions. First, it's a good idea not to surround an object that exists to burn wood with the wood structure of your cabin... Second, brick has a decently high thermal mass which allows it to store heat and release it over a long period of time. This brick core extends up to the second floor / attic space of the cabin where quite a few beds are arranged around it. I slept in one of those beds and can attest to the effectiveness; I was comfortably warm all night.
Despite the ribbon windows and different method of construction, Sandvatn was a fairly traditional hytte. It featured a very regular geometry and typical organization of bedrooms versus communal spaces.
Sandvatn was the first hytte I had been in that had an emergency telephone system. It was a radio-based system that called out to a nearby town. It served as another reminder of the potentially harsh conditions in the mountains.
 |
| emergency phone in Sandvatn |
Translation:
Emergency Telephone
Alarm Button
Press the button once
Wait until the alarm panel answers
Speech Button
Pressed while talking
Is released when listening
I couldn't figure out all of the logistics such as who were you calling, and how often was the other side of the radio actually manned...
Below are some more photos to better describe Sandvatn:
 |
| Sandvatn entryway |
 |
| red wood, green trim |
 |
| the bathroom / storage cabin |
 |
| Sandvatn comes with a boat that's free for anyone to use; the lake is quite big and apparently has lots of fish! |
 |
| the mud room right inside the entryway - complete with extra wood and skis |
 |
| the kitchen at Sandvatn; pales for drinking water collected from the lake |
 |
| the sitting/living area at Sandvatn; notice all the moveable stools under the window - you could have a real party here! |
 |
| bunk beds and extra mattresses in the attic - where I slept! |
 |
| Norwegian humor? |
 |
| entry elevation; a radio antennae extends above the roof; the white bar to the left of the windows folds out into a ladder and is the emergency exit from the second floor in case of fire |
Sandvatn's had a particularly interesting hyttebook that featured many accounts of trials and tribulations as well as some rather silly stories. A sampling of those:
*An attempt at a translation of the first pictured hyttebook entry:
Out for a hike - never angry. This year's last mountain trip - at least for me, but it is delicious! It was raining during the evening yesterday, and I woke up to a fantastic sight - the sun rising over the peaks and the ground covered in snow and ice. I have good food and drink with me (and knitting). Have taken some pictures - betting they will be good.
Quiet and calm up here
no sheep
Thanks for now!
*Note on the last pictured hyttebook entry:
In the speech bubble it says "Børge Ousland - dustemikker!"
Børge Ousland is a Norwegian polar explorer, the first person to a do a solo crossing of the Antarctic.
"Dustemikker" means dumbass.
After spending the night at Sandvatn and getting some much needed rest, I set out the following morning for the next hytte - a trek that would take me higher up into the mountains. After about a mile it started raining hard again. With conditions worsening, I decided to turn around and head back to the hytte. Once there, a Norwegian mother and daughter said I could join them on their hike down to the valley and offered to give me a ride to the nearest train station. I happily obliged.
Continue Reading horse dildo,cheap sex toys,cheap sex toys,horse dildo,dildos,horse dildo,dildos,horse dildo,sex chair try this site
ReplyDelete