Re: Briksdalen Glacier
This message is from: Michael Bickman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Patty Jo Walter wrote: I would encourage anyone to go there, it was beautiful and a neat ride up the glacier and across the water fall, it was s loud and you got a little wet. I'll second that. We visited Norway in the summer of 1999 and hiked the trail to the Briksdalen glacier. We saw the Fjord horses and their carts all around the area and spent some time with them. This was our first up close experience with Fjord horses, and ultimately led to our buying some land, building a horse farm and acquiring 3 Fjords. So, I guess it was the most expensive vacation we've ever taken -- but worth every penny -- :)). The picture on my desk is of that glacier, which is in the Norwegian equivalent of one of our National Parks. It shows us standing at the foot of the glacier, between fissures that are taller than us. If you go to Norway, it's well worth making a trip to that glacier. Mike and Cindy Bickman Stepping Stone Farm Canton, GA
Briksdalen Glacier
This message is from: Lassesen [EMAIL PROTECTED] Patti Jo Walter: You are correct. A Japanese elderly woman was killed in the run-a-way. They thought it to be a bee that stung the horse, but they never knew why the gelding ran. At the Nordfjordeid Hotel, they have the regional yearbooks on the center bookshelves. The story was in one of the yearbooks. If you ever go back to Nordfjordeid... you can read about it (in Norwegian) there. Catherine Lassesen
RE: Briksdalen Glacier
This message is from: Dagrun Aarsten [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hi Patti Jo and everyone, yes, I heard about the accident with the Japanese people a few years ago, although I didn't remember anyone dying! The fjord people all over Norway were furious since it seemed to be a combination of green horse/unexperienced driver and should never have happened. It seems to be an age-old Norwegian tradition that when going up or down steep hills, the driver walks on the side to spare the horse. It is certainly not a thing to recommend... I have seen some wonderful partnerships between people and their horses, and then it doesn't bother me, when they are a team that has been working together for years and the horse is extremely reliable. Hmmm - did a web search and found some more information - there was an accident this summer with a horse bolting. This time with a driver with more than 30 years experience, but a relatively green horse. Nobody was able to explain why he bolted. The runaway horse and cart hit two other carts on the way, two carts tipped and the people fell out. Nobody was seriously injured but 9(!) people were taken to the hospital for checkups. All Korean this time. The horse and the other two horses involved were taken out of service immediately, and the spokesman only said that these things happen once in a while with live animals. People don't do lawsuits in Norway... But there was a reference to the accident you mentioned in 1999 and sure enough, one woman died after a week in hospital, of internal injuries (whatever that translates to in correct English). Pretty scary. I still haven't been to Briksdalen myself, I've just seen the pictures on all the postcards :-) It is gorgeous, and I am pretty sure I would risk it. Are the carts easy to jump out from...? Dagrun You gotta love Norway, in America they would have shut the place down, although I guess they don't know the meaning of getting hurt! Patti Jo Walter
Briksdalen Glacier
This message is from: Dave Patti Jo Walter [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dagrun, I can make my Briksdalen adventure even more interesting. For one, I could not get over the fact that our driver was NOT in the cart but walking next to the cart. I, being a more nervous American, said, NOW remember if you get into any trouble, THROW those reins up here!! She just smiled. Then we started talking Fjords. She told me they have 40 Fjord horses that work giving rides at this glacier, 20 per day. Most are owned by people living near by. I didn't see any grays, saw some reds, so asked her if they had any grays. She looked at me very strangely and said, why, did you hear what happened?. I looked at my husband and we both said, No, what happened? She went on to say, well last week, there was a run away with a gray gelding. The horse got away from the driver and ran down the hill with the passengers in the cart. She said, we figured the driver fell asleep. Wanting more clarification on to HOW you can fall asleep WALKING, but also on what happened to the people, I just asked, was anyone hurt???. Not really she said, Oh, well another driver tried to stop it and got run over, he broke his leg. The horse stopped at the bottom. Well what about the passenagers? Well they were from Japan,and they had to be taken to the hospital Were they hurt? No not really, she did died from her heart but she wasn't hurt. We just looked at each other and thought are we losing something in the translation!!! It was rather funny if it wasn't so sad! After I heard that I kept asking her if she was doing ok. I REALLY WANTED THOSE REINS!!! I also loved the cart, it was a 2 seated 2 wheeled vehicle. You can push the back seat up behind the first seat if you don't need it or you can push it back if you need it for more people. Really neat. I would encourage anyone to go there, it was beautiful and a neat ride up the glacier and across the water fall, it was s loud and you got a little wet. The horses were all use to it, but it was loud, the path is a little narrow and the drop off is steep but if I could handle it anyone could. Just make sure you tell your driver to throw the reins up in case of any trouble!!! You gotta love Norway, in America they would have shut the place down, although I guess they don't know the meaning of getting hurt! Patti Jo Walter
