Svartebottstinden (1207m, prominence 252m) 16th July 2009

Setnesfjellet from the hostel



The summit of Svartebottstinden

It was a sunny and humid morning as I left the hostel in Åndalsnes with the intention of climbing Setnesfjellet. This is a 1238m high mountain which rises steeply behind the hostel and is Major mountain of Norway, having a prominence of over 600m. I have a Norwegian language book called Fra Topp til Topp i Romsdal by Iver Gjelstenli which gives a vague description of climbing this hill. It mentions a path which starts from the upper edge of cultivated ground east and above the gravel pit, which then climbs the north east ridge to the north top. I walked to the gravel pit but saw no sign of the path and I also thought the hill looked steep, rocky and forbidding. I decided to try the other side of the mountain, which looked less steep from the map.

A misty Isterdalen

Having the missed the morning bus and, being rural Norway, there being no bus for several hours, I decided to hitch-hike the few miles to Innfjorden. After 20 minutes an older guy who didn't speak any English gave me a lift to the settlement of Griset, where the trail started. This saved me a vertical climb of 130m from Innfjorden, which I was grateful for. A well signposted path climb through the path to the col between Grisetskolten (1066m) and Svartebottstinden (1207m) and the plan was to traverse around to a subsidiary top of Svartebottstinden, called Ølmannstinden (1161m), descend to the col below Setnesfjellet and then climb to the summit.

Isterdalen

I started up the steep path at 11.15 am and I was soon soaked. This was due to the high humidity and the fact that it soon began to rain, and this rain carried on for much of the rest of the day. As I climbed views opened out up Isterdalen but the mountains were shrouded in mist, although there were misty views to Grisetskolten and Ølmannstinden. At the col I left the path and climbed the open slopes towards Ølmannstinden, stopping briefly for lunch in the rain and the mist. I reached the top at 2.30 pm with the help of my new GPS and immediately started the descent towards Setnesfjellet.However, I didn't get very far before the slope started to become steeper than I was comfortable with in the mist. I couldn't see what I was descending into and was concerned that the angle would steepen further. I felt that clear visibility was needed, so I returned to the summit of Ølmannstinden.

Grisetskolten

I decided to climb Svartebottstinden instead but felt that this was a second best option, as I was disappointed at not climbing another Major mountain. I followed the ridge to Svartebottstinden, although the terrain was rocky and undulating and not as well defined as the map suggested. It would have been difficult to have followed a compass bearing as walking in a straight line was impossible. I reached the cairn on the summit at 3.30 pm but enjoyed no view, in fact it was still raining and wasn't very pleasant. I started the descent straightaway,initially following my route back towards Ølmannstinden, before descending towards the col below Grisetskolten. I reached this col at 5pm and followed the path back towards Griset. The rain became torrential for a time, before finally stopping. I reached the road at Griset at 6.10 pm and followed the road down to Innfjorden. Since there was no bus I was forced to hitch back to Åndalsnes. I started hitching at 6.45 pm, and although there was little traffic I only had to wait 10 minutes before a woman gave me a lift to the hostel.

Link to Picasa Album