Pulpit Rock: Divine dawn

It’s not yet 6 AM when the sun breaks through for the first time. The fjord reveals itself bathed in a magical light that makes it hard to determine where the water ends and the sky begins.

Still inside the tent on the edge of the cliff, the 22‐year‐old Belgians Pieter Coppens and Dieter de Feytens are fast asleep – less than two feet separating their heads from a free fall as high as two Eiffel Towers. “We actually slept pretty well”, says Pieter when they wake up somewhat later in the morning. He begins the day by stretching his arms towards the sky, feet planted at the hard, rocky ground – his toes at the very edge.

Talking to the gods

At the edge, one might let the mind wander – towards nature itself, characterized by life and death and renewal, seasons that come and go. But even then, something remains firm. Places where generations can experience the same views and share experiences across time.

“I heard it got the name because one can stand here and talk to the gods. Because one comes so close”, says Pieter Coppens. “I can understand that. To stand here – it gives me almost a spiritual feeling.”

One life

The two of them arrived just before midnight the night before. Well prepared, with hiking boots, a trekking cooking set, a good knife, and a leather full of water. The tent they really didn’t want to use, but a shower caused them to change their minds. In any case, they were always going to sleep on the edge: “We heard from some friends that it was amazing. So it was”, says Dieter de Feyter. He encourages everyone to travel and to seek out these kinds of experiences.

“You learn so much about yourself”, he says. Adding, perhaps as much to himself as anyone else: “You have only this one life.”

Life and one’s place in it all may be something you will come to think about in the face of raw nature at the top of the Pulpit Rock.