Hermannsdalstinden (1029m), Klokkaattetinden (869m) and
Brynliskardtinden (798m)

John Devenport

Ascended by Arthur Salmon, Graham Salmon, Peter Price, Neil Pomfret
and John Devenport as part of the Lofoten groups contribution to the
1992 Norwegian Meet.

From the delightful wild campsite on the beach at Buneset, a short
walk over the low col took us back to Vindstad where Howard used his
persuasive skills to secure a trip for the group round to the next fjord
in a small motor boat belonging to one of the few inhabitants in this
isolated hamlet.

In no time we were clambering up the jetty at the small
hydro-electric power station at the southern end of the Forsfjorden,
somewhat apprehensive of what lay ahead of us on our first real day in
the Lofoten mountains.  As we started round the west side of the fjord,
it was immediately apparent that we were going somewhere where not many
people had gone before.  There was definitely no path.  We had to make
our way as best as we could over the boulder strewn slopes, covered in
thick carpets of sodden moss and lichen, and just to make things really
interesting, entwined in dense birch scrub.  We seemed to have been on
the go for ages as I looked back towards the power station and there it
was, still only a couple of hundred yards away! Progress was slow.

After crossing the jumble of large boulders beneath a spectacular
foss, we actually started to go uphill, slithering over the rocks and
finally breaking out of the birch scrub, only to find ourselves having
to force our way through a dense carpet of six foot ferns.  Progress
was slow!

It was difficult to see where we were placing our feet as we fought
our way through the ferns up a steep, prominent rake leading north
across a slope of steep slabs, towards a distinctive col to the north of
Kringeldalstinden.  What started off as a wide rake soon became a
narrow, slippery ledge, less than a boot width wide, with a long drop to
our right over steep slabs.  We each made our way tentatively across
this narrow ledge to safer slopes, then continued up moss covered slopes
to the col where we stopped for lunch.  By now we must have walked just
over a mile and climbed about 400 metres.  Progress was slow!

At least were now able to see our objective for the day, from our
lunch spot on a large flat slab, providing an excellent vantage point to
study the precipitous slopes of Klokkaattetinden and Hermannsdalstinden
plunging down very steep slabs into the two lakes on their eastern
flanks.

Making our way across the broken rocky slopes of the south-western
flanks of Brynliskardtinden, a broad, steep, mossy gully led Graham,
Neil and John up a slippery staircase to the west ridge of the mountain,
along which we scrambled over large blocks to the summit (798m).  There
was no cairn, so we built a small one, before making our way back down
the ridge towards Klokkaattetinden.  A delicate traverse round a loose
rocky corner led to easy slopes towards the summit (869m).  A slight
descent to the south took us round the top of a snowfield to an
impressive col, with a steep brown slab barring our way to
Hermannsdalstinden.  On the right hand side a gully plunged steeply to
the rollers of the Arctic Ocean, while to the left another gully sliced
the great eastern precipice of the peak.  Here we needed to rope up to
ascend the airy arete along the top of the slab, to follow in the
footsteps of Slingsby’s first ascent of the north ridge of the
mountain.  Once above the slab, the ridge became almost Skye like, with
some excellent exposed scrambling over blocks and slabs.  At one point
on the ridge, an awkward step onto a mossy ledge called for combined
tactics, with the rest of us using Graham’s foot as a hold to haul
ourselves onto the ledge.  Eventually we reached some huge granite
blocks forming the summit.  What we originallythought was the first
sign of any litter turned out to be a polythene box containing a
visitors book, which revealed just how few people make the ascent of the
mountain, mostly by the easier south-west flank, which was to be our
descent route.  The summit provided an excellent viewpoint of the
stunning ridges on Breidtinden and Ertnhelltinden, some of which had
been climbed by Slingsby, but which looked incredibly difficult and
serious routes.  In all directions there was a seemingly endless
panorama of impressive peaks and huge cliffs.  After signing the
visitors book and documenting the reason for the YRC’s ascent, we made
our way down the broken slopes, and even had the luxury of an
intermittent path -the only one we ever saw in these wild mountains.

After an attempted short cut down to the Ternnesvatnet lake, steep
slabs forced us back onto the broad ridge, which was definitely the
correct line of descent.  From the lake, a temporary wooden staircase
alongside a new hydro-electric pipeline provided us with a direct and
very quick descent of the 700 feet back to the power station at the
Forsfjorden as heavy rain started to fall.  From there it was just a
case of fighting our way back round the fjord, through the boulders,
giant ferns, moss, lichen and birch scrub for the second time in the day
…. and two and a half hours later we had managed to "walk"
the couple of miles back to Vindstad, arriving back at our beach camp at
11.30pm, still in good daylight.  But progress had been slow!

Altogether an enjoyable day in the Lofoten mountains, but one note of
warning.  The very loose nature of the moss covered mountains meant
that even the passage of just five pairs of feet had left visible scars
along the route, so that we ought not be encouraging frequent ascents of
peaks in this stunning wilderness.  Perhaps these mountains should be
left to the Trolls.