Blåfjellet, 1293m (Storklumpen)

Mountain area : Svenningdal, Nordland
Fylke/Kommune : Nordland/Grane
Maps : 1925-IV Svenningdal (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Primary Factor: 981m
Hiked : Sep 2003
See also : Petter's Blåfjellet page
See also : Hatten
Blåfjellet seen from highway E6

Blåfjellet seen from highway E6

Introduction

Blåfjellet, or Storklumpen as the summit point is also called, is the highest mountain in the large area west of highway E6 from Trondheim to Mosjøen. From the summit, large portions of Nord-Trøndelag and Nordland Fylker can be seen. Opposite of E6, on the east side, the mountains in Børgefjell rises high and mighty with Kvigtind as the most prominent peak.

Blåfjellet has a terrain that allows for a good ski trip, and the mountain is quite accessible from the road. If you set course for the connecting high mountains towards the west, you soon enter true wilderness.

Primary Factor

This peak is the highest west of Hwy E-6 in the area between Mosjøen in the north and the river Namsen (draining south and west further south). This saddle is south of the lake Store Majavatn (310m) that drains north. On a 5 meter contour map, the 315 contour goes through while a point named "Nils Elias-plassen" is marked at 312 meter. We take this to be the saddle elevation.

Source: Petter's list of the Norway's most prominent mountains.

Trail descriptions:

Note: Class ratings are in reference to YDS (Yosemite Decimal System).

Svenningdal - Blåfjellet (all seasons)

Difficulty : Class 1
Comments : Straightforward hike
Distance : Approx. 8Km to summit
Time : Approx. 3-4 hours to summit
Starting Elev.: Approx. 130m
Vertical Gain : Approx. 1170m

Map of the area
Map of the area
Detailed map
Detailed map

Access

Drive to Svenningdal, south of Trofors and north of Majavatn. In Svenningdal, locate the Josefinegaten road and follow this road approx. 200m westbound until you reach a gravel road marked "Trofors/Svenningdal". Turn right (northbound) and follow the road for approx. 2Km. You should now have a parking spot on your right and a road that crosses the railway on your left. Park here.

The route

Cross the railway and follow a forest road upwards. After a few hills, the forest road turns into a mess (per Sep. 2003). Follow the muddy forest road which turns into a forest trail after a while. Stay in the forest along the muddy forest road, if possible. At one place, still in the forest, a minor forest trail forks to the right. Ignore this trail and continue straight ahead. Follow the trail until you reach a boggy area where you most likely will lose the trail. Turn slightly to the right (in parallel to the stream coming down to the mountain), cross the wet area and pick up the trail on the other side.

Just below 400m, the trail vanishes. Cross the large plateau below the mountain. When you reach a wide river, turn to the right and walk along the riverside until you can set a direct course towards the mountain. Walk towards the stream from the mountain and climb up a birch forest ridge. Continue this direction until you reach the saddle between Blåfjellet and Grønfjellet. From the saddle (726m) set a direct south-west course towards the summit.

Trip Report Sep 26 2003

After a successful climb of Heilhornet, Petter Bjørstad and I spent the night in Brønnøysund. Early morning Sep. 27 we drove eastbound to Svenningdal. The original plan was to climb Syv Søstre (Sandnessjøen), but the weather forecast suggested an alternative plan. Petter had done some map research on Blåfjellet and found it to be a mountain that could be ascended in poor weather conditions. As we came out of the Tosen tunnel, there was snow on the road. With summer tires, driving carefully was called for.

After locating the trailhead, we headed towards the mountain 09:15AM. We were happy to follow a trail through the dense forest. It was snowing light. Visibility was OK down in the forest, but we knew the mountain would offer more serious weather. At 600m, we ran into snow and the pace decreased significantly. The winds were much stronger now, and the temperature was dropping.

Fortunately, the rocks on the mountain weren't buried in snow, so navigation was fairly easy. The climb from the saddle to the summit is indeed long, and walking around in a white-out would be less than fun. When we finally hit the summit ridge, we passed a point (cairned) where the height was estimated to be approx. 1291m. But the high point was on the far end of the summit ridge, and we crossed this ridge in very strong winds. We were fighting for balance at times, and agreed that not attempting Syv Søstre this day was a good decision.

We reached the summit at 12:35PM. Taking a picture of Petter at the cairn was a painful process. My hands got instantly freezing cold and getting the gloves on became the highest priority. A useful reminder of the importance of good equipment when walking about in the high mountains in severe weather. We stayed only 5 minutes at the summit. The descent went much quicker and we returned to the car at 14:50PM. I was thinking that a 6 hour hike in deep snow was perhaps not the best way to prepare for the tough Syv Søstre hike the next day. On the other hand it was useful to get acclimated to the winter conditions. Back in civilization, we drove northbound towards Sandnessjøen and enjoyed the luxury of a nice dinner and a good bed at the local hotel.

Pictures from the Sep 26 2003 hike:

Move cursor to read notes, and click on the images to see full version.
Some of the thumbnails may have been cropped to fit the format.
Pictures are presented in the order they were taken.

Rapfjellet seen from the trailhead. Blaafjellet hidden behind (95KB) The Gronfjellet-Blaafjellet ridge ahead (269KB) Petter on Blaafjellet summit (104KB) Me on Blaafjellet summit (82KB)

Pictures from other hikes:

Close-up of Blaafjellet from highway E6 (95KB) Zoom view from Innerhatten Zoom view from Vistkjerringa


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