Hamperokken hike

Overview

Reaching Hamperokken summit is considered as one of the mountains that should be climbed by those who have experience climbing or scrambling. The spire on the top of the summit remembers a bit to the Matterhorn and it gives aerial and exposed parts during the approximation and the scrambling to the top!

Approaching the ridge

The path starts from the parking and it is marked with red signs in the trees. Once the first hill is reached is seen the birch forest and the river that will be crossed through a small bridge following during all the time the red marks. Once it is crossed the bridge the path goes straight uphill until it is reached the altitude of 1000m. Here was found a Ti på topp postbox (2017). 

Scrambling in the ridge

The Middagsaksla ridge has its maximum difficulty and exposure if it’s followed the edge of the ridge. The first section avoids the most difficult stretches on the left side of the ridge (East face) and later on, the ridge gets more spectacularity if it’s followed the edge of the ridge (high exposure). It is possible to avoid some aerial parts this time on the right side (West face) where the exposure is way lower than following the ridge.

Scrambling the summit

The summit is the most exposed stretch due to the last 40m. It is followed the base of the summit at 1300m to reach the southwest face where is found the 2 different routes that lead to the base of the spree. On the pictures is shown one of the couloirs that can be followed an is the way up on the Tromso sky race. This couloir was marked the September of 2017 with red marks. It leads to a wide mountain pass where to the right can be seen the way down of the Tromso sky race. 

Both ways have the same exposure and difficulty but to reach the base of the spree through the way down of Tromso sky race has to be faced almost the south face walking 1 more minute crossing a very wide and exposed part and taking the couloir to the left. Once in the base of the spree, we climbed it starting in the right side and doing a traverse to the left where is easier to get to the top.

Way back

The way back is the same one that was taken to reach the summit. It takes less than 2h to get back to the parking. It’s possible to follow the path though Litleskaret but due to the scree is recommended during wintertime.

Recommendations

-Hamperokken is not an easy hike, it requires climbing experience although is not a very hard climb and the exposure is very high especially during the last 100m. Though there are not bolts in this part, a few hikers may choose to use a rope for added safety here.

-Be careful with the weather conditions because it can change quickly and in an unexpected way. It can get cold quickly so is recommended to wear always with us some warm clothes.

-In case of setting up a tent be respectful with nature and locals. You can take advantage of the Norwegian law “allemansratten” to set up a tent almost wherever you want but keep on mind that nature doesn’t care about our egos. We should show as much respect and take as much caution as possible. Indrearne at BBC

-Your safety is our concern but is your responsibility. Hiking in high mountain areas requires a minimum of preparation and wearing warm clothes and proper boots always with us.