Norway: Stavenger Pulpit Rock Hike - a review or a confession?

The following is the HAL shore excursion review for the Norway-Stavenger Pulpit Rock hike - they disclose up front it is "very strenuous" -- what the heck did that mean???? Whoowhee, I was about to find out.

(This is the rock platform, sheer cliff photo with endless fiord views one sees in every Norway tourism brochure.)

Review starts:

Every single step taken had to be negotiated. Date:June 11, 2016

Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes

May 2016: We are in our mid-70's and while daily 2-4 mile walkers, this was a very daunting hike steady uphill and then downhill climb. Many in our group dropped out early, but the younger ones made it all the way to the top in a very cheerful manner as they greeted us on their way back down as we were still struggling ever upwards.

I however did not make it to the final top due to time constraints, my own physical condition, not the best hiking shoes and the wet weather so I had to take it very, very slowly.

For me, using at least one hiking stick along with very secure, slip-proof hiking shoes were an absolute must. There is no way I could have made this as far as I did with without the three-point balance of the single walking stick. Two walking sticks may have been an interference, since there were only vary small areas between the rocks where one could make good contact. This was ultimately a scramble up and down very steep rock pile rubble, sheer rock surfaces, and high rock steps. Only very little even-terrain paths.

I hiked a lot in Switzerland, but this relentless steep trail was 10 times more rugged and demanding. The description of the trail sounds far better in their brochures than what we found, but one has to admire the Sherpas who were able to drill out some very steep rock steps on the trail. 2 foot high steps? They were a stretch for me, never an easy step height to manage.

Unfortunately as other out of shape hikers know, as much as it was a strain going up hill, it was even more daunting going down. My upper leg muscles were jelly by the time I got back to the bus and. I ached for days afterwards. This may or may not interfere with your next planned excursions - even going up the steps to get on the excursion bus hurt for days later. Plan accordingly.

However, with all these aging slacker true confessions made, I am glad I tried it. DH made it further than I did - 800 meters away from the goal, but also had to turn back due to the time plus reports the weather was so foggy there was no view to be seen anyway. I finally had to turn around at the final large rock face before the final uphill rock pile leading to the end of the hike. For us there was no break, since we ran out of time before we ran out of trail.

There were several of us laggards, so one most likely will not be alone in this precarious struggle if you find yourself on the tail end of this attempt. The younger ones in our group scampered up and down this same terrain that required we "more mature" passengers thread so carefully. But for me EVERY SINGLE STEP HAD TO BE INDIVIDUALLY NEGOTIATED.

If you are a similar out of shape "mature" passenger and the idea of taking the stairs from Deck A up to Deck 10 for two straight hours straight, then finding the doors to the CrowsNest windows fogged up when they finally unlock the door after those same two hours, and then immediately turning around and doing it again for two more hours sounds daunting, don't consider this hike.

But also don't not consider it either, because it is an experience in its own right no matter how far you make it, or don't make it. There are bragging rights even in almost making it. Lovely country, great tour leader.

Go and do what you can - but be in the best up-and-down stair case walking condition you can be in, if you have any reservations about your own ability to take on this task. And be sure to take the stairs two steps at a time.

Talk to the fitness guy and see if there are exercise machines to use to build up your upper leg muscles and stamina ahead of time. I think even a few days pre-conditioning would have helped.

Again, excellent hiking shoes and a walking stick would be highly recommended, unless you are sure of your own rock climbing/scrambling abilities.

Thanks for the review. I have hiked to the Tea Room at Lake Louise years ago, but broke my ankle last year so this excursion won't be doable next year for us.

In addition measure your abilities by watching on YouTube the Norwegian Air Force 330 Sqn. SAR unit remove climbers from Pulpit Rock. I don't think that counts as an "excursion helicopter ride." :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIILiwZJNKk

In addition measure your abilities by watching on YouTube the Norwegian Air Force 330 Sqn. SAR unit remove climbers from Pulpit Rock. I don't think that counts as an "excursion helicopter ride." :)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIILiwZJNKk

Far better to drive your BMW to the top of Pulpit Rock.

Thanks for your post! We were going to do Norway this summer on Koningsdam but decided instead on yet another AK cruise due to the unrest that seems to be exploding everywhere. This stop seemed interesting although from the photos I've seen I'm not sure that my wife would have agreed to the trek.

I enjoyed your review. Something tells me I would never make it in a short shore excursion. With short legs, it takes lots of determination to go UP (2 ft steps!!) and sometimes requires sliding down on my "determination" on the way back.

Did the Scramblers get to the top before the fog set in?

What a shame the weather was not like we had inNorway on the cruise leaving on 22nd May. Mind you, we had a lot of grey and drizzly weather elsewhere but we were so lucky with Norway.

My husband is 67 and fairly fit, walking round golf courses about three days a week, all year. He did the walk but did find it quite tough. However he had plenty of time up the top. I did the cruise with our friends and could look up where he was, but we could not see anyone even though they were there.

Thank you for taking the time to describe your excursion.

Definitely could not do that tour -- maybe 50 years ago we could have attempted it.

Thanks for the great review. This is something I hope to do next year! Do you happen to remember the cost per person? It is not listed on the Holland America site. TIA

Thanks for the great review. This is something I hope to do next year! Do you happen to remember the cost per person? It is not listed on the Holland America site. TIA

It was a hundred something dollars - box lunch included. You will never know what the weather will be, but we proved you can do this in the rain and fog and not even get to the top and still think it was a grand adventure. (Now, she says!)

Had it been a 6 hour turn-around time instead of the 4-hour turnaround time, I would have made it. But we had to meet ferry schedules and ship departures, with little wiggle room. So one needs to go into this knowing it is the journey, not the destination that ultimately counts on this hike.

Google maps has a wild online feature that can take up on the trail to see what it looks like (on a sunny day), though it flattens out a lot in two-demensions. I see where I finally had to give up and really how close the end was ...just around the promised corner .... but it was still a ways to go.

But what we did not see due to the fog on our day was the sheer drop off at the edge of those (wide) rock trails as shown on this google map feature. Maybe it was better it was all fogged-in after all. :eek:

We are doing this in a couple weeks. And now I am even more scared! Yikes! Do you remember what was in the box lunch? We are vegetarian. Curious if we should contact them to make accommodations or bring an extra snack with us.

We are doing this in a couple weeks. And now I am even more scared! Yikes! Do you remember what was in the box lunch? We are vegetarian. Curious if we should contact them to make accommodations or bring an extra snack with us.

Box lunch was water, a cheese sandwich, a piece of fruit, a snack bar and a "meat" sandwich. Don't be scared. It is not a scary hike, just a very strenuous one and you can turn back at any point. You get bragging rights for even trying - I hand these out myself. :cool:

But if you question your own hiking condition I would "pre-condition" at the gym or the stairs for a few days ahead of time. Had the weather been better, we could have made it and I was probably the worst possible candidate to give this hike a try.

Box lunch was water, a cheese sandwich, a piece of fruit, a snack bar and a "meat" sandwich. Don't be scared. It is not a scary hike, just a very strenuous one and you can turn back at any point. You get bragging rights for even trying - I hand these out myself. :cool:

 

But if you question your own hiking condition I would "pre-condition" at the gym or the stairs for a few days ahead of time. Had the weather been better, we could have made it and I was probably the worst possible candidate to give this hike a try.

Thanks! DH and I will be 35 and 36. We walk frequently, and I run ..not so frequently. I will report back in a few weeks assuming I'm still alive! :-P :-P

Thanks! DH and I will be 35 and 36. We walk frequently, and I run ..not so frequently. I will report back in a few weeks assuming I'm still alive! :-P :-P

Ahhhh to be 35 again. You will easily be part of the EverReady Bunny pack going up and down this trail with relative ease. Don't forget I was hauling out of shape 73 year old bones up this craggy path. Just don't be disappointed if you get "typical Norwegian" weather - it is still worth doing.

We will be in Stavanger on the Koningsdam on August 31. I am reluctant to book the ship's hike at $149 pp if the weather turns out to be bad. Did the tour sell out? I am wondering if we could book the day before if the weather is looking good.

We will be in Stavanger on the Koningsdam on August 31. I am reluctant to book the ship's hike at $149 pp if the weather turns out to be bad. Did the tour sell out? I am wondering if we could book the day before if the weather is looking good.

We had a fairly full bus - and the weather in Norway changes by the hour. So it is hard to know answers both questions: will the tour fill up ahead of time, and can you get on at the last minute if the weather looks good. (Along with all the other good weather hold outs.)

We had one bus - which has to coordinate with the ferry schedules and the availability guide who wants to take on this task - him or her self - hauling our merry band up and down this trail with one eye on the clock and one hand on the speed dial for the emergency rescue team she might need to bail some of us out.

I think those who got up to the top earlier than we did had some views and a dry climb up, but we ran into rain while we were still working our way up, and then total fog at the top. Rain was not heavy and only for a short while so I am glad we kept plugging away, because the rain cleared, but not the views at the top for us. Though when the rain started is when some of the others in our group may have dropped out and went back to the bus. Our original group got pretty strung out on the trail once we started hitting the rugged stone steps and steep boulder scrambles, so we lost track of who was either before or after us.

Looking at photos of others taking this hike on other websites makes me think Sept/October might increase your chances of clearer weather - mid summer August may be far more predictable about the weather than our hike in late spring May hike.

As they say in Scandinavia, there is no bad weather. Only bad clothing. We wore normal layered hiking clothes, an LLBean all-weather parka with hood and fleece lining. I carried and umbrella along with one hiking stick.

I stuffed most things in my pockets rather than use a pack. We ate the lunch on the bus when we got back. The trip starts early so you are starting the hike at mid-morning for a four hour planned turn-around. Which is a time certain since the departure has to coordinate with both ferry and ship departure schedules.

Guide had no wiggle room for those of us who almost made it to the top. We had to turn around regardless. But again, we were the very slow group. Other went up and back well within the allotted time. And had some time on top to wait out the weather to see if there were changes that might open the view up more.

I'll say it again - I'd do it no matter what the weather (reasonable chances of showers - but not heavy steady rain). You most likely will not get another chance so as they say, Just Do It.