Scandinavian Mountains over 2000m - Introduction

Scandinavian Mountains over 2000 metres - James Baxter

Introduction

Scandinavia has a wealth of spectacular mountains. Though only half the height of the Alps and not quite on the same scale of grandeur, they can match the Alps in almost every other respect. In Romsdal in Norway is Trollvegen, the highest vertical wall in Europe at 1700m.

Between the largest fjords in the world on Norway's west coast are the largest glaciers in Europe. Sarek National Park in north Sweden is by far the greatest wilderness area of Europe. Indeed, the mountainous areas of Scandinavia are much larger than the Alps and Pyrenees put together.

Wildlife & Landscape

Scandinavia has a richer selection of wildlife than the Alps or Pyrenees. Due also to Scandinavia’s more northerly location, the seasonal variations are more extreme and interesting. For example, an area that is -30 celsius on a dark snowy January will be a lush meadow basking in +30 celsius under the midnight sun six months later.

this is a mountainThere is also a much more interesting variety of landscape including coast, fjord, forest, lake, alpine peak, glacier and tundra, most of which can be found in any given area.

Rich Heritage

While it is difficult to avoid the crowds in the Alps, Scandinavian mountains are by comparison almost deserted. The exploitation of and intrusion into Scandinavian mountain areas by tourism, industry and roads are negligible. In the more mountainous regions traditional farming and culture is still ensconced in Scandinavia and remain very idyllic.

The industrial revolution which alienated most lower European countries from rural life never had much impact in Scandinavia. While the Alps rush to develop further, Scandinavians proudly try to preserve their rich heritage.

This Website

Scandinavia therefore has much to commend it from landscape, wildlife and cultural aspects. This website looks at just one aspect of this fabulous land, namely the mountains over 2000m. Unfortunately, this omits other fantastic mountainous areas like the Sunnmøre Alps, Romsdal, Innerdal, the Lofoten Island and the Lyngen Alps, to name just a few, all of which contain superb mountain ranges that would be a Mecca if they existed in central Europe.