UKH

Anyone know what stove fuels are available in the Tromso - Stetind - Lofoton areas? Not keen on Trangia/Meths solution.

In reply to gilliesp: Gas, petrol? What do you want?

In reply to wbo:

Jetboil fuel cans ideally. Butane/propane mix, Coleman etc. Self seal cartridges.

In reply to gilliesp:

Quite a few of the sport-shops have primus/MSR/jetboil compatible cartridges. They will be spendy though.

In reply to gilliesp:
You can get gas cylinders easily enough in sport shops. White gas not so much. Meths is sold as "rodsprit" and sold in petrol stations.

Assuming you are flying to Tromso there is a big supermarket/dept store by the airport that has a sporting goods department & should be good for just about everything.

Last time I went I took a trangia with gas and meths burner so I had a backup. Turned out not to be necessary.

In reply to HeMa:

That is good to know in advance. Yeah! Most prices seem steep over there but hopefully it will be worth it. Many thanks.

In reply to davidbeynon:

Many thanks to you for advice.

In reply to gilliesp:



Easy.


Nothing there, 'cept for a parkin' spot, a few picnic tables and a toilet... stock on gas elswhere.


Again bigger town with sports shops will have what ya need (eg. Svolvaer).

In reply to HeMa:

Very good head's up. Ta again.

In reply to HeMa:


If you carry on down the road from Stetind there is a reasonable sized town Kjøpsvik - it's 15 kms. Pretty certain we drove past a sports shop there, but definitely supermarkets etc.

In reply to davidbeynon:

Agreed - as you have to drive past Jekta (the shopping centre) to get off the island, it would be mad not to stop there for a look.
You can buy anything from a hunting rifle to to a pair of skis, I even saw a pair of Asolo 8000m mountaineering boots in one of the outdoor shops.

There's an email address for 'G Max' on this page, they'd be able to tell you for sure what they have; http://www.jekta.no/index.php?p=butikker

There is also a shop in town that's a dedicated mountaineering shop, but it would be a bit more awkward to get parked.

In reply to TobyA and TOS:

Great information. We are going to wild camp mainly but do you mind me expanding my original question to take in appointed camp sites. Are there many in area and reasonably priced for wee tents?

In reply to gilliesp:

Never used camp sites up there although there are some around. You can legally camp anywhere that isn't a garden or field (so, most places up there). Just do all the decent things you would expect from civilised people: don't leave any litter - people do which is disgusting, pick up litter you find - and if you can't hold your no.2 until you are somewhere with a loo (on the ferries for instance, or any cafe or petrol station) bury it properly! I've seen all too much evidence of people - probably climbers - who think leaving turds near where they camp is acceptable.

Stetind parking lot is where loads of climbers park and there are some basic facilities - a fire place and lean to, some slightly wiffy but otherwise fine compost loos that seem to be regularly cleaned by the local authority. Water from the river.

In reply to TOS:

Yep - very good selection of gear, very Norwegian prices! It's close to the tourist information and the Tromsø art gallery which is well worth a visit if you have a rainy rest day - its free. The Polar Museum is also superb, but you have to pay for that - not outrageous though.

Just one surprising further point of historical interest in Tromsø that quite shocked me is near the Amundsen statue there is a plaque for the Jewish population of Tromsø who were rounded up and deported to the death camps during the Nazi occupation. I was surprised that Tromsø even had a Jewish community pre-war but the fact that almost all of them died is horrific. You feel a world away up there, but fascism needed to be fought (and was by the Norwegian army and resistance) even on those far fringes of Europe.

In reply to TobyA:

The history bit is fascinating as is Rjukan for its heavy water story. Norway was occupied and stories of heroism - and treachery, abound. Cheers.

In reply to gilliesp:

It's worth paying a visit to the polar museum if you have a couple of hours to kill before flying back. It's quite an experience, so long as you aren't an animal lover.

Essentially a museum devoted to rugged manly norwegians heading into the middle of nowhere to kill the wildlife.