Hurrungane
by Erik Sandelin
My old friend Anders and I traveled to Hurrungane in Norway for some adventure.
Hurrungane is situated in western Joutenheimen at the end of the steep and long
fjord Sognefjorden. It's one of the classic climbing areas in Norway where climbers
has been active since the 19th century.
Hurrungane is also notorious for its poor weather. With the highest peak, Store
Skagastölstind, at 2405m it's a high-alpine area by Scandinavian standards (sea-level is
only 15-20km away) and the
first peaks to ward off the low pressures from the North Atlantic Ocean.
My own record of 5 visits and
2 completed routes is pretty standard. Persistence and patience is the key to
success here. 
In early winter Hurrungane offers interesting mixed climbing of Scottish type. The
peaks are draped in rime which makes for delicate climbing where protection might
be hard to find and you rarely have solid placements for your ice-axes.
Unless you're a member of the prestigious,
ancient Norwegian alpine club "Norsk Tindeklub" (They have a hut with wine-cellar
and you can only become member by recommendation) the old stone-house "Hytta på bandet" is
the base for winter-climbing in Hurrungane. For more than a hundred years
this small shelter has protected climbers
from the elements. Located in a pass at 1700m you have easy access to Store
Skagastölstind, "Storen" ( The big one!), and a wonderful view of Mardalen ("The Mar valley"). Dragging all
the climbing-gear and a week's worth of food and fuel up to this hut is hard work.
We where wasted by the time we stumbled into the hut and unfortunately it wasn't
any longer the cozy hut we remebered from previous visits. The sleeping-quarters
where full of snow and the mattresses where wet and full of mold. Trash where
spread around the hut, the stove had
been removed and frost covered the ceiling and the walls. ( If you're a Swedish
or Norwegian climber reading this, please let DNT know what you think about the
status of Hytta på bandet.) By letting our stove run for a couple of hours we
managed to get rid of the frost and get some level of comfort.
Originally we had our minds set on the south face of Store Skagastölstind.
Summertime this is a 17-pitches, easy rock-climb. Covered in frost and snow
it turns into a difficult multi-day mixed climb during winter. This mean you at
least want to start out in good weather. Unfortunately this didn't happen during
our stay. The degrading status of the hut didn't help our patience either. But
at least we managed to get in a nice three-pitch route, Andrew's gully, to the
summit of Storen. It offered us challenging mixed climbing and a some nice views
of the surroundings. The south face will still be there and so will we!
Last Update 2003-02-13