Hjellefossen

Hjellefossen is found near Øvre Årdal en route to the Vetti trail in Utladalen. Take Route 53 to Øvre Årdal, then turn north onto Route 301, following signs pointing to Vettisfossen. Hjellefossen is encountered about 7km up the road. A large parking area is found just before the bridge below the falls, which serves as overflow parking for hikers heading up the valley. The best view of the falls is from the bridge.Hjellefossen is the first of several major waterfall one encounters when visiting the Utladalen protected area just outside of Jotunheimen National Park. The falls are located at the end of the road used to access the valley, and can be seen cascading approximately 385 meters (1,265 feet) immediately adjacent to the parking area(s) for hikers wishing to travel further up the valley. The falls cascade down in a significantly less-than-vertical fashion, with an overall pitch of less than 45 degrees but taking the pauses and pools between each step of the falls into account the actual "falling" part of the cascade chain is more like 65 degrees. While there are several distinct pauses as the falls drop to the valley floor, because it is so difficult to accurately discern where these steps might be, we opted to classify Hjellefossen as a singlular Steep Cascade classified waterfall rather than a multi-stepped fall. Because the falls cascade at a less-than-vertical angle, and twist somewhat through a narrow gorge near the top of the formation, only about two-thirds of the entire drop can be seen from the base of the falls. Hjelledøla is a moderate to large volume stream, originating in numerous lakes as well as a small glacier high up on the peaks of Jotunheimen. The large drainage area ensures ample flow in the falls throughout the year, and can result in the falls swelling to a quite impressive volume during periods of flooding. When surveyed in June of 2011 the falls were so full that the cloud of mist ejected from its base effectively blocked half of the waterfall from view and made photographing the falls from the bridge immediately below absolutely impossible.