Melkevollfossen

Take Route 60 south from Stryn to the small town of Olden and make a left onto Route 724 immediately before crossing the river (note, a new road was being built when we visited, so expect directions to change in the future), watching for signs pointing to Briksdalsbreen and Oldevatnet. Drive for 20.5km to where the falls will be visible on the right side of the road. There is a lesser road branching to the right which allows for enough room to park and view the falls.Melkevollfossen is a smaller waterfall by volume than most of the others in Oldedalen, however based on the criteria of total height it is among the tallest waterfalls in the area, with a cumulative fall of approximately 555 meters (1,820 feet) over a linear run of about 620 meters. The stream originates in a small lake in a basin perched on a part of the valley wall where most water drains into the neighboring basins. As a result the volume of water flowing down Melkevollfossen is substantially less than its neighboring waterfalls. When we surveyed the falls in June 2011, low clouds prevented a proper survey of the entire waterfall, and only the final 125-150 meters of the falls were unobstructed by the weather. Norway’s mapping agency Statkart denotes two waterfalls along the stream that produces this waterfall; Blåfossen and Melkevollfossen, the former being associated with a near free falling leap of about 120 meters near the top of the formation, and the latter typically associated with the final 240 meters of falls as it reaches the valley floor. After examining topographic data, aerial imagery, and photographs of the stream, it has been determined that these two waterfalls should in fact be considered parts of the same collective series of falls rather than individual waterfalls. As Blåfossen is less frequently denoted on maps, we are listing this entry under the name Melkevollfossen.Blåfossen is the name applied specifically to the uppermost tier of this waterfall, but we feel it should be considered to be part of Melkevollfossen (or perhaps the other way around). Both tiers are in close proximity to one another, there is no distinct separation or break in the slope of the stream at which a natural segregation of the two falls could be made, and both drops are products of the same system of cliffs which line the valley wall, and therefore there is no apparent case to be made, based on our guidelines, that they be considered separate falls.