Storkjølhaugen

  • Storkjølhaugen
  • 1248 m
  • Primary factor 650 m
  • Gratangen, Norway
  • Location: North 63.55325, East 012.09402 (GPS at the summit)
  • Climbed May 6, 2016.

Information:

How to get there:
From Trondheim, drive north on Hwy. E6 to Stj§oslash;rdal, then fork east (right) onto Hwy. 14 that connects to Sweden. Continue about 45 kilometer to the small village of Meråker. Near the upper end of the village, turn left on a signed road that climbs gently and soon crosses the railroad. There are (after a short while), a sign for Sulåmo, about 22 kilometer.
On the top of the first hill, the paved road changes to dirt. The dirt road is well kept and easy to drive. Pass lake Funnsjøen and drive along the south side of lake Feren to Sulåmo. There is a signed parking near a house, self-serve, asking a fee of NOK 30 to park for 24 hours. Park here, location N63.55415, E011.95152, elevation about 410 meter.
Route:
From the parking, take the small farm road that runs by the red building towards the higher terrain. This road/route is marked with poles as it runs more parallel with the slope. After a while, fork right (leave the marked path) and ski gently uphill towards the very prominent peak ahead. Do not gain too much, you should pass this peak on its left side and enter the valley between the two peaks. Ski up this valley all the way to the saddle connecting the two peaks. From here, head left and find a skiable route uphill. There are several options with small, steeper cliffs in between. The slope leading uphill, is easier to ski as you get further across the horizon line. Turn uphill when convenient and ski to the very nice summit cairn.
Comments:
We were in Tronheim, to celebrate the "confirmation" (ceremony for 15 year old children) both on Thursday and on Saturday. Today, Friday, seemed like a good opportunity to go ski this peak near the Swedish border.
We left around 0700 and arrived at the Sulåmoen trailhead around 0845 and started skiing at 0850. The wax was red klister, spring conditions. In fact, we soon had to ski / cross several patches of land where the snow had melted. This mixes in some leaves and other substances in the klister, providing a good grip for uphill skiing.
We cleared the forest and skied directly towards Litjkjølhaugen, before I realized that we really ought to contour around this mountain, Well, we were not in any hurry, lost about one hundred meter of elevation, then skied into the valley, reaching its saddle around 1050, elevation about 890 meter.
From here, our route got steeper as we zig-zagged pretty directly uphill, eventually turning right and locating more friendly slopes. We arrived at the summit shortly before 1200 - noon. Very good views, several big lakes in Sweden (Sweden is only 3.7 kilometer away, then across the 100 meter lower Litjkjølhaugen. Next to this a broader view back to lake Feren. The summit had a nice cairn as well as a summit register. We signed in as number 24 and 25, the first vistors in May.
We left at 1215 and took a slightly more gentle route back down. Skiing was easy and soon, we were on the final slopes above lake Feren. A bit of mixed conditions before arriving back at the car at 1350, 5 hours after departure.

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