Travelers seek adventure on Norway's Stetind mountain
2010-02-26
As winter begins to ebb, travelers tired of the snow are gearing up for exciting warm-weather adventures. Tourists hungry for a challenge might consider booking tickets to Tysfjord, Norway, to climb the country's national mountain - Stetind.
Stetind is a monolithic peak standing roughly 4,567 feet above sea level and has been described as a perfect granite obelisk. The mountain lies among a sea of sweeping ridges that rise straight from the nearby fjord, and is punctuated by an oddly shaped summit that appears as if it were carved by four axe swings to a log that led famed British mountaineer William C Slingsby to declare Stetind "the ugliest mountain I ever saw."
What Stetind lacks in beauty it makes up for in challenge. Its needle-like shape has resulted in a very steep ascent leading to the Mysosten block, a sharp crack in the ledge loaded with jagged rocks and slick surfaces that can prove quite difficult.Then there is the peak itself, a sheer and slick surface formed by screes that is characterized by steep, smooth and slippery slopes of naked rock.Stetind is best tackled in the summer months, when more established routes are open, including the beginner's trails and technical paths for more experienced climbers.