ABOUT US

The first year

TrollAktiv was established in January 1994 by Tim Davis. An ex British Army, Commando Engineer, Tim had been employed as an Adventure training specialist Instructor based in various locations including the Bavarian Alps and Norway. Troll Mountain AS started life as a small operation running ski trips for British guests out of Ljosland Fjellstove in Åseral during the winter and a summer climbing, safari and rafting operation based in Evje.

Establishing a base.

The current location at Syrtveit was purchased in 1996 which was the start of a long and ongoing development project. In 1997 Gjertrud Forgard, a local girl from Åseral joined the company and quickly established herself as a talented rafting guide and the Chief Administrator a role she still performs today. The summer operation gradually took over from winter and by the early 2000s Troll Mountain was already established as a leading rafting operator in Norway. In the late 1990s the first accommodation cabins were built close to the main building which had by this time become a Youth hostel. Activities developed at a rapid pace and in a few short years we boasted to having 20 different activities available.

Building a brand.

In October 2000 a pair of twins where born at the raftingsenter.  23 years later guests could meet them on the river or instructing the treetop adventure park.  Tor and Julie learnt to ski and paddle as early as they learnt to walk.  The early years of this century saw many changes. In 2005 the importance of the internet forced an important name change.  The easier to remember and more searchable trollaktiv.no was adopted to take the company into the new Millenium.  In 2010 TrollAktiv built the first Treetop adventure park in Southern Norway just south of Evje.  This has since been followed with new parks at Syrtveit, north of Evje, Tromøya and in Sandnes.  Rafting has continued to grow and the company has regularly added new activities and increased the total number of employees.  Simon Hansen the current Daglig leader joined the team in 2008 and quickly established TrollAktiv as a center for competence in the fields of White water rescue, Climbing park instructor courses and Wilderness First aid.  Between 1997 and 2018 TrollAktiv operated from a compact but ever expanding base at Syrtveit, 7 km north from Evje.

Securing the future.

In January 2018 a land purchase for a surrounding farm was agreed which secured the company large tracts of land for future expansion. TrollAktiv has established a Mountain bike park, Archery park, Laser tag and Paintball areas on this new land with more projects planned for the future. The Covid years of 2020 and 2021 proved to be a catalyst for change as we added more high standard cabins, a Pizza restaurant and and more leisure activities for our guests such as the multi sports area, sports simulator and the adventure playground. Hove klatrepark AS was established on tromøya close to Arendal and quickly gained a solid foothold. This exciting Adventure center has developed into a quality operation with an ever growing portfolio of activities.

Safety first.

TrollAktiv has right from the beginning had a sharp focus on quality control and safety and became the first company in Norway to be certified with “Adventure Mark” in 2018.  TrollAktiv is a shareholder in Varde AS the Norwegian certification organisation.  Through “Varde” Tim and Simon are still both actively involved in shaping the future safety of the Norwegian outdoor industry. 

What makes TrollAktiv different.

Throughout the past 30 years, our guiding philosophy has always been the same. Summer or the winter our aim is to encourage young people to develop their self confidence and teamwork through shared adventures. We take advantage of the trees, rivers, snowy trails and sunny crags of the southern Setesdal valley to create the a multitude of all year round activities. The future is guided by our history and TrollAktiv will continue to develop products that will challenge and develop resourceful and confident young people from all walks of life.