It took me almost six years to paddle the Bjoreio from top to bottom. Not because it is a crazy difficult run—there are some portages over the 35 km section, which drops 1300 meters in gradient. Most of it is beautiful class IV/V. Not because it's a very remote river —most of the river is roadside. Not because it has no water all year long—it has water more frequently than many of classic runs in Norway. Then, why had it barely been run it before, and why did it take me such a long time?
"It was nothing major, just easy, small waves, but they were big enough to break up the large iceberg I was standing on into a thousand smaller pieces."
For a better explanation, I need to describe the types of kayakers in Norway. There are three types of kayakers here: raft guides coming for work, kayakers coming for summer trips, and locals, whether Norwegian or one of the many other nationalities living here permanently. I don't really fall into any of these categories. I usually choose to come a bit early to sneak in a few days of cross-country skiing. Some of the raft guides also come early on the season, but they come for work. Most of them are not very interested
