Slow TV takes a hike

Norway’s highest mountain gets the minute-by-minute treatment from NRK

Photo: Jojo / Wikimedia Commons
A sign along the route to Galdhøpiggen.

The Local

They’ve done a railway journey, a ferry trip, and the reindeer migration. They’ve burnt a fire and knitted a sweater in real time. Now NRK is giving the “slow TV” treatment to Norway’s highest mountain.

On Aug. 30, a team from the broadcaster’s Lillehammer office climbed the Galdhøpiggen mountain along with a group of volunteers, broadcasting every minute of the seven-hour journey in real time.

“There have been many minute-by-minute productions in recent years, and the tour with [adventurer Lars] Monsen came out just this summer,” said Ivar Arne Nordrum, the project leader for the project.

He said he had been inspired by last year’s program following a group walking the nearby Besseggen ridge.

Viewers in his Hedmark and Oppland district had, he said, a special relationship with Galdhøpiggen.

“Many have been there, and even more would like to get there,” he said. “Now you’ll have the possibility to follow the journey on your screen wherever you are in the world.”

Although the mountain is Norway’s highest at 2,469 meters (about 8,100 feet), the climb is not particularly long or difficult, and two groups of schoolchildren also took part.

NRK has pioneered the concept of slow TV since producers Rune Møklebust and Thomas Hellum in 2009 put cameras on a train traveling from Oslo and Bergen, broadcasting the entire journey in real time.

 
This article was originally published on The Local.

This article originally appeared in the September 7, 2018, issue of The Norwegian American. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.