An Epic Proposal in Norway: Hiking and Proposing on Trolltunga

Credit to another wonderful hiker who happened to capture this moment and sent this photo to us, thank you Anna Weger

This blog post is very near and dear to me, and the reason why?

It’s how my boyfriend of seven years finally asked me to marry him.

While we aren’t high school sweethearts, we got together literally right after our high school graduation, and while we fell in love very quickly, we got a lot of “you’re too young to get married” and “wait until you are finished university” etc, so we waited.

Well, seven years and numerous hints later, I finally have a wedding of my own to plan.

 The Proposal 

Like many others, our travel plans in 2020 were disrupted due to the ‘vid, so when things were finally open, we made the decision to brave the crazy airports and the constantly changing restrictions and finally take the trip of a lifetime to Norway.

One highlight of our itinerary was the infamous Trolltunga, a massive rock that juts out over the canyon, sturdy and stable enough to walk out on and even swing your feet out over the edge. It was the one hike that we absolutely HAD to do.

After spending our first evening in Norway in Bergen, the next morning we drove off, set to start exploring the beautiful Norwegian landscape. After about 3 hours of driving and our first car ferry ride, we started the ascent for the Trolltunga on the very narrow, very curvy road. If you have a fear of heights, or just driving in general, Norwegian roads are not for you!

When we make it to Parking Lot 2, we find a stall and pay our parking fee, and proceed to start packing our bags and ensure that we are all ready for the 27 km overnight hike. Austin went in to the souvenir shop to find a pair of sunglasses as it was the only thing that we forgot to bring. Needless to say he now owns a pair of Aviators.

It was one of the hottest days on our entire trip, and shortly after starting up the 3.5km of switchbacks, we were sweating. The entire amount of elevation gain on the Trolltunga hike comes within the first 8km with little reprieve, and we were definitely feeling the last few days of the laziness that came with being in planes and airports!

After the first 3.5 km we made it to the third parking lot, where we could have parked if we had wanted to pay the higher toll and book ahead. So in hindsight… park in the 3rd parking lot.

But that was when the views started to open up. Beautiful lakes, glacier capped mountains… it was pristine and beautiful. We managed to get lucky and all of the day hikers were on their way down as we were climbing up, so in many places we had the trail all to ourselves.

By the time we finished 90% of the elevation gain, we were starting to slow down, but we had a deadline to reach the tongue, as we didn’t want to miss sunset. I was the slowpoke between us, and Austin kept gently coaxing to keep moving, and I didn’t catch on to the reason why he wanted to make it for sunset so badly. I just figured in typical good boyfriend fashion he didn’t want me to miss out on the photo opportunities.

There was so many beautiful lookouts on the trail. From the first glimpse into Lake Ringedalsvatnet to the numerous waterfalls trickling down along the edge of the trail, everywhere we turned I wanted to stop for photos. Typical photographer, I know!

My feet were dying from my half broken in new hiking boots when Austin finally coaxed me through the last bend in the trail, and we crawled up the side of the cliff to the full view of Trolltunga.

As I sat to take a break and enjoy the view, we sat and watched a tour group of fifteenish people take their turns out on the rock, all cheering for each other as they stood on the perilous cliff. We determined we would set up camp first and come back to take our turn once the tour group was gone.

We chose a beautiful spot with full views of the lake to set up the tent, and the whole time I did not catch on to Austin’s insistence on getting out onto the rock sooner than later. So once the tent was set up, we grabbed the camera, the GoPro, and walked into the now much diminished line.

We barely had to wait at all, and I asked another couple in line if they could take some photos of us so we could go out together. Austin scrambled to set up the tripod, and we climbed down the ladder and walked out.

The walk was short but exhilarating. Knowing that you were only a slab of rock away from a 700 metre plunge to your death is something you try hard not to think about too much; and so I walked with my partner out the edge and stood overlooking the lake.

We did the couple quick poses, stand at the edge, stand with arms up, and then sit with legs dangling off. And since I knew there was still a couple of people in line behind us, I stood up and went to rush off, when Austin reached for me to wait, turned to the lady who had my camera, and signalled “One more”.

It was then that it hit me what he was going to do, and I couldn’t believe it when he looked at me. The astounded word of “No” jumped out of my mouth, and he just smiled and laughed and said “Yes” as he reached into his pocket.

I couldn’t believe it, the moment was so amazing. We both think he was trying to say something sweet as he tried to fish the ring box out of his coat pocket, but neither of us remember what it was. I may or may not have been crying a bunch of tears of joy, and when he finally took to one knee, I stepped back in shock which caused him to panic and reach for me. He did not want me to fall off the cliff! When I finally comprehended and heard him ask me to marry him, of course I said yes!

We heard the cheers coming from the onlookers, but we could hardly pay attention. 7 years later I get the most amazing proposal I could have ever asked for, and the most amazing man.

 Oh yeah, and the ring is pretty good too! Haha. He actually tricked me into helping him pick it out. I was getting my other ring fixed at Independent Jeweller’s in Edmonton, and it was ready for pickup when we doing errands one day so I brought him with me to pick it up. Well, he had planned it all along, so when I went to leave, he made the joke of “Wow, you’re not going to make me look at engagement rings?” Well, that did it, so of course I drug him over to the ring counter to look at them. He played very nonchalant, I pointed out one or two that I liked and he asked if I liked a couple (which he had previously picked out). I ended up telling him yes, but I liked one very similar that I had found best. When someone came over to ask if we needed help, she coaxed me into figuring out my ring size, much to Austin’s aid. So thank you Independent Jeweller’s sales, for helping Austin get the right size, and remember which ring I liked best!

The Moral of the Story

If your partner is trying to get you to the top of a hike for sunset, he probably wants to propose! It doesn’t matter how much you thought there was no way he could have smuggled a ring across the world, he might’ve found a way to do it for you.

 It was an epic proposal, and while we got some amazing photos just from some random hikers I handed my camera too, it would have been amazing to have some professional photos, so if you are planning an epic proposal in the mountains, I would love to join you and make sure you have these moments captured for you!