The Romsdalen Gondola opened in May 2021, but the idea is much older than that. The first company was set up to build a cable car here back in 1964. A second attempt in the 1990s also failed. It took until 2019 for the municipal council to finally approve it: and it was not a smooth process.
The debate split the community. Outdoor enthusiasts argued that the gondola would industrialise the mountain and turn Åndalsnes into a cruise-and-gondola destination instead of an adventure tourism base. The project leader for Rauma's Sustainable Destination programme actually resigned in protest. She said the business plan, which relied on every fourth visitor coming from cruise ships, contradicted the principles of sustainable tourism. The original plans even included a spa and hotel at the top, but that was dropped after fierce opposition. The mayor herself was against it. It still passed, 22 votes to 5.
And because of the gondola, Romsdalseggen, one of Norway's most famous ridge hikes, did not receive official status as a National Tourist Trail.
The gondola itself runs 1,676 metres from Åndalsnes town centre to the top of Nesaksla at 708 metres. It takes five minutes. The whole project cost 283 million kroner. There is a restaurant at the top. There is no road: everything, including construction materials, had to be flown up by helicopter. Water, electricity and sewage run through a 30-centimetre pilot hole drilled from the fjord to the summit.
The debate split the community. Outdoor enthusiasts argued that the gondola would industrialise the mountain and turn Åndalsnes into a cruise-and-gondola destination instead of an adventure tourism base. The project leader for Rauma's Sustainable Destination programme actually resigned in protest. She said the business plan, which relied on every fourth visitor coming from cruise ships, contradicted the principles of sustainable tourism. The original plans even included a spa and hotel at the top, but that was dropped after fierce opposition. The mayor herself was against it. It still passed, 22 votes to 5.
And because of the gondola, Romsdalseggen, one of Norway's most famous ridge hikes, did not receive official status as a National Tourist Trail.
The gondola itself runs 1,676 metres from Åndalsnes town centre to the top of Nesaksla at 708 metres. It takes five minutes. The whole project cost 283 million kroner. There is a restaurant at the top. There is no road: everything, including construction materials, had to be flown up by helicopter. Water, electricity and sewage run through a 30-centimetre pilot hole drilled from the fjord to the summit.