Half Dome vs. Trolltunga

by | Jul 11, 2022 | Mindset, Travels and Adventures

Trolltunga vs. Half Dome

I had the privilege of hiking Trolltunga in Norway last week. With all of the fjords, Trolltunga is magnificent and breathtaking. It’s probably one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever done.

The last great hike I did was Half Dome at Yosemite almost a year ago. While I was prepping and researching Trolltunga, to my surprise, I couldn’t find any articles or blogs that compare the difficulty and experience of these two great peaks. So, below is my personal analysis of these two great mountains.

The Mountain Comparison

The Half Dome: we took the Mist Trail up and John Muir Trail down.

  • Length: 15.5 miles (round trip)
  • Trail head elevation: 4,800 ft.
  • Half Dome peak elevation: 8,800 ft.
  • Elevation gain: 4,800 ft.
  • Duration: It took us around 13 hours to finish this hike.

Trolltunga Hike from P3 Magelitopp as the starting point:

  • Length: 12.5 miles (round trip)
  • Trailhead elevation: 2,625 ft.
  • Elevation at the famous overhanging cliff rock: 4,000 ft.
  • Elevation gain: 1,500 ft.
  • Duration: It took us around 8.5 hours to finish.

The Prep

The Half Dome

  • Looking back, physically speaking, I wasn’t as prepared for Half Dome as I was for Trolltunga. On average, I would walk about 2 miles per day and do some weight training for my legs. On top of that, I had gone on four 5-mile hikes in preparation.

Trolltunga

  • Lesson learned from Half Dome. I went on eight hikes to prep for Trolltunga. This included two 8.5-mile hikes that had a similar elevation gain and I carried a full packed load (15 lbs.) just like I would for Trolltunga. In between the hikes, I walked about 1.5 miles per day and I used my condo building’s 14 flights of stairs doing ten “laps” (about 1820 steps of stairs) with 20 lbs. of weight on my back at least once a week for four weeks straight. On top of that, to protect my knees, during my rest days, I would go on 5-mile bike rides to strengthen other leg muscles.

The Ascent

The Half Dome

  • An unfortunate incident hit us at the beginning of the hike. I packed a total of 5 liters of water (which wasn’t quite enough to start off with). My hydration bladder held 2 liters of water and it had a leak, meaning it was only able to hold half a liter of water. Even though there was a drinking water station less than a mile from the trailhead, my water supply dwindled down to 3.5 liters. And 3.5 liters was definitely not enough H20 for the 7 miles of the incline in 80-degree weather.
  • We took the Mist Trail on the way up. Those seven miles, a 4,800 ft. elevation gain, were brutal because 80% of it was steep steps of rocky stairs. Once we reach about 7,000 ft. in elevation, there was not much shade cover from trees and we were exposed to high-elevation sunbeams.
  • The famous Half Dome Cables climb is literally a sheer 500 ft. vertical cliff. People ascend the cliff by holding onto the metal cables with their hands while stabilizing their body/legs with 2x4s that are about ten feet apart from each other. For me, climbing the cables was actually the funnest part and I loved it.
  • Even before reaching the Cables, I could feel the elevation difference and I started having difficulty breathing.

Trolltunga

  • As you can tell from the mountain comparison, the Trolltunga P3 hike is easier than Half Dome in terms of elevation gain and distance. Originally, we were planning to hike from P2 Skjeggedal which would have been 17 miles roundtrip with a 2,600 ft. elevation gain. We made a last-minute change because the shuttle to P2 broke down halfway there and we had to hitchhike our way to P2, so we lost some time and momentum. And the trail from P2 to P3 was closed down because it’s considered too hard and risky for tourist hikers. The only way up from P2 to P3 was to “hike” up the paved road, so we decided it wasn’t worth it or enjoyable walking on the street.
  • Overall, the 6-mile hike up was doable for me. From P3, there was only one steep uphill incline that I considered as challenging, and it’s about 1.7 miles long with a 1,150 ft. elevation gain. So, compared to Half Dome, this steep incline was much shorter and easier.
  • As a Coloradan, I had the elevation advantage when hiking Trolltunga in terms of oxygen intake and the ability to breathe. Denver itself is 5,280 ft. above sea level and Trolltunga is at 4,000 ft.
  • The main hardship was the weather. It was raining off and on with the temperature hovering around 45-to-50-degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Lesson learned from Half Dome: My old camelback has 16 liters volume. This time, I upgraded my camelback to a 28 liters volume and I packed in almost 8 liters of water for the hike. The new camelback has larger and better waist support that definitely helped my shoulders and upper back. It made a huge difference.

The Descent

The Half Dome

  • We took the longer route down on the John Muir Trail to avoid the steep steps. JMT offers other views of the Yosemite Valley that make the descent enjoyable. That being said, once you’ve hiked up the Cables to the top of Half Dome and seen the 360-degree view of the whole amazing Yosemite Valley, the views on the way down become less impressive. It’s like once you’ve eaten that amazing slice of Neapolitan pizza and try to go back and eat the cold appetizer, the appetizer doesn’t taste that good anymore.
  • By midafternoon, the temperature was in the mid-80s. Due to lack of water and dehydration, my legs and calves were cramping up.
  • My heels and Achilles area were also all cramped up and hurting really bad. Throughout my life of hiking, including four 14-ners in Colorado, I never had Achilles heel pain. It took me a while to figure out why. Due to a minor toe injury that I had the year prior, I totally forgot to do the Calf Raise workout for almost a year. And, the result was this stabbing pain that I had to endure for hours.
  • We were very fortunate that we encountered a young couple that had over-packed their water supply and didn’t want to carry the extra weight down. So, they gave us 3 liters of water. The moment I drank more water, the calves, heels, and Achilles pain eased up a bit.

Trolltunga

  • Even with the shorter distance and less elevation loss, the descent was challenging and took about the same time as the ascent. The primary reason was it rained most of the time on the way down and the temperature dropped to 40 degrees with heavy fog and icy rain. The trail consists of a granite surface and it became very slippery, so we had to be extra careful and take our time. Also, with the colder temperature, my old bones and joints froze up a bit and my legs were aching pretty badly. With the icy cold and wet weather, we didn’t stop much to rest to avoid getting cold.
  • You see different views while hiking down a trail. Since it was foggy and rained on and off the whole way up, during the descent, I felt like I was hiking a whole new trail with brand new views.

The Comparison:

Hands down, Half Dome was more difficult. Even if we had started hiking from P2 at Trolltunga, Half Dome still would be more challenging.

Which mountain has better views? Yosemite and Half Dome are magical places with stunning views. The hike up to Half Dome is mostly through the valley and boxed canyon. Once you reach the Half Dome, then you see the whole Yosemite Valley and beyond. As for Trolltunga, due to the amazing natural landscape of Norway and the majestic fjords with massive bodies of water that coincide with steep cliffs, the views are simply beyond breathtaking. On the Trolltunga hike, you get to see the endless fjords with high cliffs consistently. Yosemite is like the little brother of Trolltunga. So, if I had to pick one, I would go with Trolltunga.

Mindset

 

First of all, despite some hiccups, I was extremely grateful that everything went smoothly and we were able to complete the Trolltunga hike on foreign soil. We only had a one or two-day window to make this happen. With this tight timeframe, so many things could have gone wrong like getting sick from COVID or food poisoning, injuring myself at some point, or our flights/train/bus rides could have been canceled or long delayed. I am just amazed that everything worked out each step of the way. The feeling I had right after the hike was a sense of relief with a great fondness and appreciation for everything that I have in my life.

Another insight I had after the hike was that I am enjoying more of these destination hikes. These hikes are definitely more challenging, but at the same time they have improved my overall personal and professional lifestyle, boosted my productivity, and enhanced my workout routines which are improving both my physical and mental health.

Going on these destination hikes has inspired my Tim Ferris mindset. Whenever Ferris comes back from an international trip, he plans another trip right away that’s six or nine months out. I started planned the Trolltunga hike five months out after I came back from Panama. The purpose was that oftentimes I get the blues after coming back from a great trip, like going to Spain, and if I plan something that’s five months or even a year from now, at least I have something to look forward to. It can be a great booster for my mental health.

Also, if I hit roadblocks in my personal and professional life and I’m feeling down, I have something tangible to remind me that I am fortunate, I have a good life and a great trip planned in the future. So, it’s another easy and accessible inner tool for me to stay motivated and focused.

Along the same lines, these advanced planned trips become “time landmarks” that I use to set up my goals for both personal and professional achievement. Having these “time landmarks” helps to structure and organize my life in a more congruent way.

Once I paid for a flight like hiking Trolltunga, the shit just got real and I could no longer have any excuse not to prepare for it. So, this enhanced my workout routine. Also, to avoid getting sick before the hike, I ate healthier, drank more responsibly, and got a consistent good night’s sleep to sustain my immune system.

Financial speaking, yes, it can be costly to book flights and travel internationally. Once I have invested in a trip, I notice that I am more conscious and careful with my spending knowing that I have a big trip coming up. In a way, it is making me more financially aware and responsible, not wasting money on things that I don’t really care for.

So, if you can and haven’t done so already, I highly recommend you all go hike either Half Dome or Trolltunga or both. It is going to be a life-changing experience.