Nordre Knutsholstind

  • Nordre Knutsholstind
  • 2185 m.
  • Primary factor 55 m
  • Jotunheimen, Norway
  • Location: North 61:26.053, East 008:33.323
  • Climbed in August 1998

Information:

How to get there: The standard route to the summit of Store Knutsholstind is from the small lake just north of the water divide in Svartdalen. Svartdalen leads between Gjende lake and Bygdin lake, and the DNT huts Torfinnsbu or Gjendebu make good starting points (Gjendebu is closer to the peak, and makes for an easier approach.) You can get to Gjendebu by boat on the lake Gjende from the touristhut Gjendesheim, this hut is on the road between the major valley of Valdres and the Otta valley (a branch from the Gudbrandsdalen valley). Better yet, start the hike from Gjendesheim and walk the famous, but often crowded trail to Gjendebu, or hike south of Gjende in an area with almost no hikers.
Route description: A possible route (which I used) starts right at the same spot as the route to Store Knutsholstind. Head up towards what look like a rather flat area, the distinct needles should be visible further to the north (left) of this plateau. The route gets steeper towards the end, but there are ledges (with grass) and a little route finding should get one up without any real climbing. On the top, one finds a quite large, fairly flat area. There is a high point on the ridge in the direction of Store Knutsholstind that requires some light scrambling, this is not Nordre Knutsholstind. Rather, the flat area slopes up to a high point with good views of the glaciers below, this is the summit.
Comments: I did this climb with my sons Pål Jørgen (9 years) and Tor Erling (16 years). The intention was to climb Store Knutsholstind, but an inaccurate description of Slingsby's original route led us astray. Following the ridge between Nordre Knutsholstind and Store Knutsholstind gets you to a rather steep section most suitable for a rappel. It became very clear that this was not the route that Slingsby ascended with a lady.

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