Scenes from a roadtrip from Røros to Oldedalen - Part 2

CROSSING STRYNEFJELLET

After Grimsdalen, the road began to clim towards Strynefjellet - a mountain passage with a story etched into the landscape.

Strynefjellet has always been a place of passage. Long story before modern roads and tunnels, people crossed here on foot and by horse, moving between the inland valleys and the fjords to the west. The old mountain road, Gamle Strynefjellsvegen, completed in 1894, still follows those original lines. It winds roughly 27 kilometers over the mountain, rising to just over 1,100 meters above sea level, marked by handmade stone walls and rows of old guard stones placed there to guide travelers in poor visibility.

This stretch isn’t just a route — it’s a cultural heritage road, now designated a National Tourist Route and preserved almost as it was, with sharp bends that follow the old packhorse paths and panoramic views that unfold as you rise. Along the way you can feel the tension between the gentle, glacier-carved shapes in the east and the raw, alpine forms toward the fjords.

Driving over Strynefjellet in late autumn reminded me that some passages aren’t just about distance — they’re about history, effort, and timing.

Another road.

Another shift in character.

The journey west continued, one season closer to winter.