Was Hardangerfjorden, western Norway, glaciated during the Younger Dryas?

A new site with a shell-bearing till is described from the outer part of Hardangerfjorden. Two shell fragments from the till were dated to 10,870 90 and 11,000 40 radiocarbon years BP. These dates support the established hypothesis of a major glacial re-advance and an ice-filled Hardangerfjorden during the Younger Dryas. An opposite hypothesis, that Hardangerfjorden remained ice-free during the entire Younger Dryas, was proposed in a recent paper by Helle et al. (1997; Norsk Geologisk Tidsskrift 77, 101-117) and supported by several scientists during the Nordic Geological Winter Meeting in 2000. I argue in the present paper that the latter hypothesis is falsified, not only by the two new dates, but also by previously published dates from shell-bearing tills and sub-till sediments. In my opinion, the data presented by Helle et al. allow for alternative interpretations.