Mountain Barn

Alpine Mountain Barn -

This mountain sheepherder's barn sits just off Highway 63 in central Norway. This highway is very popular with tourists in the summertime due to its access route to Trollstigen, and the "Trolls Ladder", a scenic mountain pass viewpoint overlooking the Isterdalen Valley. This is the location where CBS News 60 Minutes did a documentary several years ago featuring Birdmen who "flew" down mountain side cliffs while wearing flying squirrel suits. See the blog link from April 2014 for a video of these flying Birdmen. It should be pointed out that several of the Birdmen shown in that video have since perished in tragic "flying" accidents. http://www.capistranobeachphotography.com/blog/2014/4/birdmen-of-trollstigen

These barns and other sheds are used by sheepherders during the summer months to store supplies and tools necessary for herding of their mountain flocks of sheep and goats. Flocks are led to the mountains to graze freely for the summer months. In the older traditional days of sheep herding there were many varying breeds of sheep. These breeds had learned to naturally protect themselves from predators by forming rings of protection, similar to what wagon trains used to do in the American west. Today, dogs are also used to herd the sheep to and from grazing pastures. These barns look very humbling when dwarfed by the Norwegian granite cliffs and mountains towering some 5000 feet above sea level. The rust stains of the metal roofs are a stark contrast to the lavishly green meadows, birch and aspens of these mountain pastures. Traditionally, foundations of these sheds were merely stacked stones gathered from where they could be found. Wood siding was usually rough sawn timber from local tree stands at lower elevations and left to weather. In the winter months, these sheds and barns are nearly covered in snow and ice. In this area of Highway 63, average snowfall amounts to about 5 meters or roughly 16 feet.