Took the Engabreen ferry and wlked broad track (wished for bikes) to glacier slabs. Marked trail and ropes/chains on rock slabs. Steep marked beaten trail up to ridges below hut. Large snow patches. Went into mist and needed careful navigation. In decreasing visibility, we had long snowy sections and uphill rocky sections. There were hardly any waymarks. We put on stiff boots and crampons and passed a red (waymark) spot. Our phone map was good and I took a rough compass bearing, but could not find more marks. This was getting quite serious. We had to get through to the hut, could not go back (no ferry) and did not know our exact location. We had no foreknowledge of the ground, and there was no trail or footprints. We made a short retreat and repeated one section, and returned to our high point. Soon after that we found another red spot - a moment of luck - and got on to icy ground. We cramponed up moderately steep snow. Meltwater had run from the rocks and frozen into the snowpack. After a few more increasingly obvious marks and cairns, the hut loomed up just 25m ahead.
Next morning from Tåkeheimen in fine bright sunshine. Up steep snow in crampons. Snow very soft, with no trail to follow. Approx 250m of climbing to a flattening of the ridge, even a slight downhill. The plateau had sharp edge and cornices on the right. About 10:30am I called a halt. I was exhausted and fed up of step-bashing, but also I wanted to give us enough time to get down for the last ferry, and didn't know how long Judith would need. We had reached about 1380m and I was spent. Returned to hut. We met a solitary Norwegian coming up who was using our steps very gratefully. We postholed and slid down to the hut. None of the other 12 people at the hut had made the attempt for any distance. Followed beaten trail down to glacier slabs and waymarked trail round slabs to broad track. Good meal at Engen Brygge. Ferry back to vehicle.
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