"Spisshorn" (1231) via the south face. 900 m, 45-50°.
Spisshorn as seen from Isvasstinden. This photo shows only the last 300 height meters of the route.
Spisshorn is situated to the north of Reindalen. It was first climbed on July 14th 1952 by the British team Showell Styles and John Welbourne via the west ridge (left). They named the peak "Spissthorn".
A short route description: the approach is rather long. Start from Lenangen skole and follow the valley Reindalen / Sarvvesvággi for approx. 7 km to the upper lake (456) . The terrain is extremely easy to be Lyngen. It is easy to confuse Spisshorn with the similar looking peak 1155, so be aware. Our plan was to climb the large couloir running all the way to the summit, but steep cliffs further down prevented easy access to the beginning of the couloir. Actually we could not find the couloir until we were right below the summit, and we therefore ended up climbing a more difficult and steeper route closer to the SW ridge.
The GPS track of the route.
A confusing selection of couloirs.
"Ice-climbing".
Into the fog.
Kent Hugo is looking for a way up.
Traversing further right.
Approaching the SE ridge.
On the SE ridge. The climbing looked too difficult for randonnee boots and we decided to traverse across the snow field to the left.
From the traverse.
The second visit to the SE ridge. The terrain looks really difficult and the moral is low. We made another traverse across the snow field to the left.
What´s on the other side?
Checking the GPS.
Finally we found the main couloir.
In the main couloir.
The summit ridge.
At the fore summit. The red line marks the upper part of the couloir and the exit to the summit ridge.
Kent-Hugo at the summit.
Back on easier terrain.
The East face of Spisshorn in summer.
Climbed on May 25th 2014 by Kent Hugo Norheim and Geir Jenssen.
All photos by Kent Hugo Norheim and Geir Jenssen.