Strupenfossen

Strupenfossen can be found near the small town of Myklebust in the municipality of Gloppen. Take the E39 to the town of Byrkjelo and turn east (uphill) onto Route 60 (watch for signs for Innvik). In under a kilometer, turn right onto Route 693, signed for Sanddal and Myklebust. Follow the narrow Route 693 for 9km, contouring along Sanddalsvatnet and eventually winding between several farms in the valley above the lake. The falls will come into view near a prominent farm after the road has changed from pavement to dirt. Half a kilometer further where the road crosses the stream, a road or trail appears to follow the stream all the way to the base of the falls (which we did not have time to investigate).Strupenfossen is the major waterfall along the Strupen, one of the largest meltwater streams originating in the Myklebust Icefield. Flowing west from a broad depressed lobe of the glacier, a large volume of water is funneled down a chiseled, step-shaped valley, forming one of the more significant waterfalls in both height and volume in western Norway. The majority of the water emerges from the central toe of the glacier and runs through a braided channel before splitting into three channels and falling side-by-side over the first of three large steps. As the streams collect, they merge into one and fall over the second drop, a clean free-fall, followed shortly by a narrow gorge with a series of smaller falls which terminate in two more plunges situated back-to-back. The total drop of this section of the falls approximately 505 meters (1,655 feet), with the largest individual step falling about 140 meters (460 feet). Recently a hydroelectric development has been constructed at the base of Strupenfossen. Fortunately the waterfall has been (thus far) unaffected, and the development has provided an easy path to access the very bottom of the falls. It's not clear whether parts of the waterfall may be affected in the future, but since the top of the falls are protected within Jostedalsbreen National Park, it seems unlikely that the falls will be regulated in any meaningful way.