The mountain in itself isn't technical difficult, but you should expect the weather to be bad with a possibility of loads of snow. In this area the temperature could go below -30 C during winter, but December isn't always that cold.

Check out the page by Corax about the area:
http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/151317/glittertind.html

My experience is that you'll have enough light to navigate between 9 and 17.

On second thought, better say you'll have more than enough light between 10 and 15.30. Here it will be more or less complete day-light. One hour before and after you'll have twilight, enough to see the most important terrain features. These pics were taken near Gausta 200-300 km SW around Christmas last year. So plenty of sun during day time - But it can get bloody cold up there!

http://www.summitpost.org/image/457821/ ... austa.html

http://www.summitpost.org/view_object.p ... _id=457820

Most likely it will not be colder than -20. Check statistics for Lillehammer here:
http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Oppland/L ... stics.html

Weather pattern near Glittertind I guess is similar, but you should subtract some degrees to take the height difference into account.

On 10+ skiing vacations in Norway I have only one time had -20 degrees. But then add wind and moisture and it feels bloody cold.

More on weather statisics http://www.yr.no/sted/Norge/Oppland/Lom ... stikk.html . The place mentioned is Glitterheimen right beneath Glittertind. According to the DNT-website the cabin itself will be closed in december. Enjoy the trip. In winter it is much better than in summer.

Cheers

Chris

chris.mueller wrote:More on weather statisics http://www.yr.no/sted/Norge/Oppland/Lom ... stikk.html . The place mentioned is Glitterheimen right beneath Glittertind. According to the DNT-website the cabin itself will be closed in december. Enjoy the trip. In winter it is much better than in summer.

Cheers

Chris

Glitterheim is closed this time of year and the road up to Spiterstulen will most proably not be cleared of snow, the best access will therefore be according to my judgement through the Veodalen. I have taken this trip a couple of times (actually early in December two or three years ago) and you will need three full days for this. The advantage with Veodalen and Glitterheim is the security aspect: its a valley with small possibilities to go wrong, you just follow the valley in, and follow it out again. Down to Bøverdalen you can encounter high cliffs, and if you dont know the area and its dark, the combination could be fatal. Further, not only are the days short but it never really gets light, it will be kind of gloomy all day, and prepare for little snow. I live up here part of the year and will be around in some of December this year as well, if you have any questions just PM me or post it here.

Some low-quality pictures from a trip in December, Glitterheim-Veodalen-Spiterstulen:

Towards Glitterheim with Glittertind up to the right:


Between Glitterheim and Spiterstulen:


Down to Spiterstulen and Bøverdalen:

December 21st, Øvre Årdal

Dawn: 08:40
Sunrise: 09:45
Sunset: 15:09
Dusk: 16:14


Average Temperature (620m ASL) -7.7°C

Extrapolated using SALR gives me a figure of around -21°C at 2500 metres. This could be read as -25°C for an overnight low with -17°C for a high.
Average windspeed extrapolated to the summit would come up to around 12-14 metres per second, giving an average windchill of around -35°C.
During storms, temperature might rise as high as -10°C for a while, but 50m/s wind speeds aren't uncommon, still producing wind chills of -35°C, with the additional hazard of white-out conditions. As long as you make sure you're packed for -50°C, and you have knowledge of Arctic survival, most importantly, being experienced in how to make a snow shelter, as well as food for three times the time you're planning to stay out, you should be fine.

The forecast says snow and low temperatures the coming week so i will most probably go up there then, not Glittertind but a neighbouring peak. Will come back with a report.

Back from a short trip, short because of the limited amount of snow. The cold has settled, what is needed is some more snow, for skiing. Regarding snowshoes, i`m not familiar with these and can`t really judge the conditions.
It is more snow than previous years tho and it will be good condition for skiing first half of December i believe. Further West however the season has already started.