Rock climbing up Stetind Mountain in Kjøpsvik

Conquer Norway's national mountain on this challenging guided climb to the summit of the Stetind near Bodø.

William C. Slingsby, the father of Norwegian mountaineering once called the Stetind: “The ugliest mountain I ever saw”. Maybe that has something to do with its seemingly impossible vertical ascent - or the fact it was successfully summited by his rival Ferdinand Schjelderup in 1910! Stetind is 1392 m high and one of the most famous and celebrated mountains in Norway. The peak is a “world in itself”, formed by screes and steep, smooth and slippery slopes of naked rock.

Location
Located in Nordland, Stetind is Norway’s national mountain it is located in Tysfjord in Northern Norway, between the cities of Bodo and Narvik. A classic Norwegian peak nearly 1400 metres above sea-level, the Stetind is described as a perfect obelisk in pure granite with sweeping ridges rising straight from the fjord. A well-known landmark for the sailors along the coast, the vertical, steep and anvil-like mountain is a favoured place for peak climbers. The known professor and philosopher Arne Næss established himself as King of Stetind when he in the late 1930's introduced bolt climbing in Norway. A number of impressive technical routes that brought him to the top still exist.

Activity
A full day technical climb suited to experienced climbers with a head for heights, meet your IFMGA Mountain Guide at 6 am for an organised guided climb to the summit of Stetind. The total time for this activity is estimated between 10-12 hours and organised as follows:

1. Stetind via normal route: The tour to starts with a good trail through a wonderful birch forest. At 700 m above the sea, the terrain gets rougher, filled with boulders and sparse vegetation. From the foretop, you will traverse the exposed ridge to the top of Stetind.
2. Halls foretop: The guide will give you a safety talk and an introduction to the gear that you will use. Here you will also be exposed to the 750m ridge of serious exposure above 800m granite slabs just a few degrees off vertical, on both sides.
Mysosten block is the crux of the route. The main crux of the route is the epic “finger traverse”. It is barely three or four metres in length but quite difficult. The technique is to “hand traverse” a crack in a ledge that rises diagonally.
3. The return: Going back Mysosten block requires an abseil on the return route. If you have not done abseiling before, this is a scary place to start! Only 30m of abseiling, above an 800m slope of pure granite. 

Conditions
Stetind is a hard and demanding trip. This trip is designed for people in very good physical condition, with previous alpine experience, and a good head for heights. You will benefit from previous climbing experiences, but this is not absolutely required. The tour involves steep uphill walking for 3 - 4 hours only to reach the Halls foretop. The walk down might be the toughest part for the legs and knees. The route may be diverted during poor visibility or wet weather conditions.