Gaustatoppen is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

in the county of

Telemark Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The tall mountain is located on the south side of the town of

Rjukan Rjukan () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Tinn Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The town is also the administrative centre of Tinn Municipality. The town is located in the Vestfjorddalen valley, between the lakes Møsvatn ...

and is the highest mountain in

. The summit lies in

Tinn Municipality Tinn is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional districts of Aust-Telemark and Upper Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Rjukan. Some of the villages in Tinn include Atr� ...

, but there is a lower plateau that crosses the municipal border into

Hjartdal Municipality Hjartdal is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Upper Telemark and Aust-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sauland. Other villages in the municipality ...

. The view from the

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

is impressive, as one can see an area of approximately , nearly one-sixth of Norway's mainland. The mountain is popular for downhill skiing in the winter, and competitions have been held on its slopes. These competitions include the " Norseman triathlon", billed as "the world's most brutal iron-distance triathlon". It starts in

Eidfjord Eidfjord is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Hardanger. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of E ...

and finishes at the top of Gaustatoppen. The summit is accessible on foot in the summer, on a rocky pathway of medium difficulty, although the southwestern side of the mountain is very dangerous and inaccessible. The wreckage of an airplane crash still lies on that side of the mountain since it is too difficult to remove it.

Name

The first element is ''Gausta'', the name of the whole mountain, the last element is the finite form of which means "top" or "

". The name ''Gausta'' is probably a shortened form for ''Gaustafjell'' which means "Gausta mountain", because Gausta originally was the name of a farm beneath the mountain. (For the same development see

Dovre Dovre is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Dovre (villag ...

.) The

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

form of the name was maybe ''Gautstǫð'', the name is then a compound of ''gaut'' which means "flooded place", and which means "stead" or "landing place for boat". (The farm lies along the

river.)

Railway

There is a

funicular railway A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite ends ...

that was built inside the mountain for military purposes. This ascends from the base of the mountain almost to the summit. A short railway takes the passengers from the mountain base horizontally to the lower station deep inside the mountain. It was built to access the

military radio Military communications or military signals involve all aspects of communications, or conveyance of information, by armed forces. Examples from ''Jane's Military Communications'' include text, audio, facsimile, Tactical communications, tactical ...

relay station built on (and inside) the mountain top. The installation is now a tourist attraction. It was financed mainly by American military grants, and cost one million US dollars to build from 1954 to 1959.

Gausta skicenter

The Gausta skicenter is a

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

centre on the mountain. It was created when two smaller alpine ski areas (Gaustatoppen Skisenter and Gaustablikk Skisenter) were merged and then a further expansion of slopes. As of 2019, it had of slopes and height difference. The skiing centre is located about by road from

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

and it aims to be one of the major ski areas in Norway.

Media gallery

File:Rjukan Gaustatoppen.jpg, Gaustatoppen and

File:Peder Balke-Gaustatoppen.jpg, Gaustatoppen painted by Peder Balke around 1858 File:Gaustatoppen.jpg File:At the summit of Gaustatoppen.jpg, Summit installation File:Gaustatoppen, Telemark 2012.jpg, Gaustatoppen 2012 File:Gaustatoppen Outdoor.jpg, Gaustatoppen view File:Gaustatoppen, Telemark, 360grader.jpg, Gaustatoppen 360 degree photo File:Gaustatoppen (2012.10.06).jpg, Gaustatoppen

References

External links