Jotunheimen is home to Norway’s highest mountains and therefore many glaciers. Unsurprisingly, the name Jotunheimen means ‘home of the giants’.
Most glaciers in Norway emanate from ice caps. But in Jotunheimen, glaciers start in cirques. These are bowl-shaped depression where snow accumulates, often as a result of avalanches. If glaciers grow big enough they become valley glaciers, as is often the case in Jotunheimen.
Climate in Jotunheimen changes from maritime in the west (wet year-round, mild winters) to continental in the east (more dry, colder winters). Because snowfall is more frequent in the west and summers a bit cooler, most glaciers are located in this part of Jotunheimen. Although mountains in the eastern part are just as high, hardly any glacier can grow over there.
A number of valleys cut into Jotunheimen. While no roads run into these valleys, there are mountain huts every ten or twenty kilometer. This makes the area perfect for multi-day hikes. Moreover, most peaks can be topped without having to do any climbing whatsoever, including Norway’s two highest summits: Galdhøpiggen and Glittertinden. Both are losing their glaciers very rapidly, like all over Jotunheimen.
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