Now finished with my PhD project, there has been time again to explore the Norwegian mountains as a volunteer with DNT (The Norwegian Trekking Association). Earlier this year I joined the newly formed Scannegruppa (scan group), a volunteer group formed to venture to some of the remote properties owned and managed by DNT Oslo to make digital documentation. Recently they acquired a Matterport Pro camera, with LiDAR and 360 degree camera, with which valuable data can be captured to plan maintenance and upgrades to sites with limited seasonal access.
Last month I was one of two volunteers sent to Jotunheimen, to scan the serviced cabins at both Gjendesheim and Gjendebu, which is also DNT’s oldest cabin. The mountains here are spectacular, with each cabin being positioned at either end of the lake Gjende, and linked by the famous Besseggen hike. Thankfully we were getting the boat across the lake, rather than take the gruelling hike over the top ladened with camera equipment. Next time however we may not have that luxury! Not all cabins can be reached with motorised transport (excluding helicopter!), so recruiting and training volunteers with mountain experience to use the scanning equipment makes sense.
Gjendebu is set in a stunning location, remote, distant and 990 meters above sea level. There is no mobile coverage, and we were there out of season whilst the generators were being fixed, so limited electricity. Normally I’d embrace going off-grid in such a place, but we were here to scan! Charging batteries between outages was one thing, but having enough interior light to scan proved challenging, as we also waited for the rain to ease outside. My new Gortex jacket got plenty of usage, but the camera isn’t so watertight.
In the end we took scans in 822 locations across two sites, across four days. At times our hi-tech three-legged friend seemed somewhat out of place amongst the harsh nature and historic cabin, particularly in the Gjendinebu cottage – a simple stone walled and earth floor building with around two centuries of guest’s graffiti etched into the door.
The model will be used internally for measured documentation, so is not made public. The scans generate a measured 3D model, exportable as a point cloud and 3D data set, or accessed via Matterport’s own viewer where you can ‘walk around’ through each of the scan points (see here for an example of Urnes Stave Church). Here are a few screenshots from our model of Gjendebu:
