Storsølnkletten, 1827m
1690m NW of Storsølnkletten, 1690m
Veslsølnkletten, 1454m

Mountain area : Alvdal Vestfjell
Fylke/Kommune : Hedmark/Alvdal
Maps : 1818-IV Atnsjøen (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Maps : 1619-III Alvdal (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Maps : 1519-II Folldal (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Primary Factor: Storsølnkletten: 1037m
Primary Factor: Point 1690m: 111m
Primary Factor: Veslsølnkletten: 400m
Hiked : June 2003
See also : Petter's page
Storsolnkletten seen from Muen

Storsølnkletten seen from Muen

Introduction

Store Sønkletten is truly one of the most prominent peaks in southern Norway. It is located SW of the village of Alvdal and can be identified from far away due to its very characteristic profile. From the summit, you have tremendous views towards the large plains in Østerdalen and the neighbour valleys. You also get a spectacular view towards the 2000m mountains in Rondane towards the west, the high mountains on Dovrefjell in the north-west and Tronden near Alvdal in the east.

This mountain region is known as Alvdal Vestfjell, where Storsølnkletten is the highest mountain. Storsølnkletten is also the highest mountain in Alvdal Kommune. Storsølnkletten has a satellite peak [1690m] located NW of the main summit. I consider this point being a separate peak, with a primary factor of over 100m. Thus, this peak is the third highest in the region. Only the neighbour Gravskardhøgda [1767m] and the main summit being higher.

Just north of the Storsølnkletten, you will find the smaller neighbour Veslsølnkletten [1454m]. The profile resembles the higher neighbour, with a high point, a saddle and a satellite point. But everything is scaled down on Veslesølnkletten, compared to the neighbour. Seen from a given angle in the north, Veslesølnkletten blends in perfectly in front of Storsølnkletten, and given the right light, the peak can be pretty hard to see from distance.

Various names are being used for these mountains. The M711 maps define Storsølnkletten and Veslsølnkletten as the names. The summit signs say Store Sølnkletten and Vesle Sølnkletten.

Primary Factor

Storsølnkletten:
Source: Petter Bjørstads list of mountains in Norway with PF > 1000m.

Primary factor: 1049m.
Saddle: The relevant saddle is located near Stadsbyøyi. This is south of Folldal. The hill Åsen has a saddle on both its west and east side, both are (775-780), interpolated to 778 meter. The clearest saddle is on the west side.

Point 1690m has a primary factor of 111m towards the main summit. The saddle is obvious and the height is defined as 1579m.

Veslsølnkletten has a primary factor of 400m towards Storsølnkletten. The saddle is found in Veslsølndalen, by lake Klettjørna. This lake drains south, while a much smaller lake just NW of the lake drains north. The saddle is between the two lakes, and we have defined the saddle to be at the same height as lake Klettjørna - 1054m, giving a primary factor of 400m.

Trail descriptions:

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

Storsølnkletten can be reached via several routes. One popular route is from Atnsjøen via Breidsjøseter. But in summertime, there is a shorter route. A mountain road from Alvdal will take you to Flatsetra or Follandsvangen, providing a very good starting point for the hike. The below trail description is based on this mountain road.

Flatsetra - All summits round-trip (summer)

Difficulty : Class 2
Comments : See route description
Distance : Approx. 25Km round-trip
Time : Approx. 7-8 hours round-trip
Starting Elev.: Approx. 980m
Vertical Gain : Approx. 1500m

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

Access

From Alvdal, follow highway 3 north, passing a Statoil gas station on your left. After a couple of Km (max.) turn left towards "Folldal". Follow this road for approx. 2.2Km and turn left towards "Sølndalen". Follow the main road upwards and ignore any smaller roads forking off. After approx. 4,9Km, you arrive a self-serviced toll station (NOK 40,- for passenger cars per 07.06.03). Further 7,5Km on the road, you arrive a Y-fork. Turn right and drive approx. 14,5Km (passing Flatsetra) and locate the beginning of a "T" trail on your left (before the road descends to lake Breidsjøen). On this 14,5Km road, you will pass another self-serviced toll station about half way (NOK 10,- for passenger cars per 07.06.03). Park outside the road near the trailhead, or drive down to the lake for parking.

The route

Follow the "T" trail down to the lake outlet, and cross the river via a bridge. Follow the "T" trail for a few more Km until you reach a trail junction at the north end of lake s. Klettsjøen. Go left here, and cross the lake outlet over rocks. Just after passing the lake outlet, make sure you locate the trail as it turns left. Then follow this trail (towards Follandsvangen) until you cross the point 1690m's north ridge. Our variation to this route, was to take a direct route from lake s. Klettsjøen towards the north ridge. Going through the small forest was easy, and we saved some distance through this direct approach. Once on the north ridge, follow a "T" trail to point 1690m. All "T" trails so far are class 1, even the direct approach towards the north ridge.

From point 1690m, descend across boulder down to saddle and climb up to the summit of Storsølnkletten. This is class 2 terrain. On the summit, you will find the summit register in a mailbox.

Descend your ascent route, or include Veslsønkletten on your round-trip: Go back to the saddle and descend to Veslsølndalen valley. Hike up Veslsønkletten where you see fit. It may be best to walk up to the small sub-peak (unnamed) and follow the high ridge to the summit. There is a cumbersome boulderfield on the summit's west side, which you may want to avoid. Descend back to the valley, and follow a trail back to the north ridge of point 1690m, and further on trail back to lake s. Klettsjøen.

Trip Report June 07 2003.

Under the concept "what to do while in transit at Oslo airport Gardermoen", my friend Petter wanted to take the opportunity to visit the mountains near Alvdal, some 300Km (on road) further north. There were three mountains, each with a primary factor of more than 1000m, located in this region. I volunteered to come along, as I had been fascinated by these mountains (Storsølnkletten and Renddalssølen) from my Muen hike, a couple of years ago. The drive would be long, but these mountains would be worth any inconvenience. As Petter flew in from Germany Friday night, I drove from Bergen to Oslo (530Km), where Troll would spend the week-end. As we didn't know this area at all, we got very useful information in advance from Alvdal Turlag about snow conditions (or lack of) and mountain roads.

Saturday morning, well before 05:00 AM, June 7 2003, I drove from Nesodden outside Oslo, and picked up Petter in Oslo. Then we headed towards Alvdal and Storsølkletten, 1827m. The drive was long, but mentally shorter than we had imagined. The mountain road from Alvdal was indeed bumpy the last 10Km, but if it hadn't been for this road, it would have taken all week-end to hike this mountain. When we got Storsølnkletten in view for the first time, we were puzzled by the fact that Veslsølnkletten was nowhere in sight. The mystery solved itself a little later on, when we got a different angle. The smaller mountain was hidden - in front - of the larger mountain, and the two peaks could not be distinguished. At this point, the idea to include Veslsølnkletten on the hike, was born.

We found the start of the "T" trail near Flatsetra, and started the hike 11:05AM. We followed the trail system until there was only the mountain in front of us. Then we left the trail and aimed for the NW ridge, leading to point 1690m. The development in weather seemed unclear. There were rainshowers in the horizon, and even some drops made us put on the raingear. You never know. But the weather got gradually better the higher we got, and we could enjoy sunshine on 1690m, where we arrived at 13:20PM.

We enjoyed the great views towards Rondane before we hiked up the remaining stretch to the main summit. We reached the summit 14:05PM, and witnessed massive rainshowers over Rendalssølen in the horizon, our goal for the following day. The local weather seemed to stay good, and I was happy about having traveled so far for this peak, and be rewarded with good weather. On a more unhappy note, I wasn't feeling all great. A headache had set in early on the hike, and it only got worse. In the rush to get to Alvdal and the trailhead, we hadn't paid attention to food. And as we didn't even have a chocolate bar in the backpack, there was nothing to compensate for energy spent. At this point of the trip, not having food felt sort of ridiculous, but I guess we both initially pictured the trip as just one short summit ascent. After a 25 minute break on top, it was time to move on.

Veslsølnkletten resembled a mini-mountain, when viewed from Storsølnkletten. But it had a nice profile, and if it hadn't been for the larger neighbour, it would have been a prominent peak, in its appearance. We hiked on snow down to the saddle between 1827m and 1690m, and followed the valley down to the basin between the two points. Then we hiked across Veslsølndalen valley and took a direct and steep route up Veslsølnkletten. We reached this summit 16:15PM, and decided that it was enough peaks for one day. We left Veslølnkletten 16:30PM and took a route around Storsølnkletten's NW ridge before we joined the ascent trail at lake Klettsjøen. We reached the car at 18:25PM, which meant 7,5 hours of hiking, including some short breaks on the summits. The headache was now overwhelming, and I decided to take a few Paracetamols to mend the problem. On an empty stommach, things only got worse. Far worse, and Petter had to drive the car to Alvdal.

Visions about camping life (I had a tent in the car) were replaced by visions about a bed and a good dinner. We checked into Alvdal Hotel, and after a good dinner, life was much better and I could start enjoying the day's accomplishments. We decided to stay for two nights. As we would be heading towards Rendalssølen the next day, and do Tronden the day after, Alvdal was the ideal "basecamp".

Pictures from the June 07 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.

Solnkletten from the mountain road (121KB) Solnkletten from the mountain road (124KB) On the ridge (217KB) The tiny neighbour (160KB) Petter on point 1690m (122KB) View from point 1690m (269KB) On route to the main summit (176KB) Summit view from Solnkletten (316KB) Rondane view from Storsolnkletten (246KB) Tronden by Alvdal (103KB) Petter on Storsolnkletten (125KB) Snohetta on Dovrefjell (132KB) Tronden and Rendalssolen (236KB) NE view from Storsolnkletten (206KB) Breidsjoseter (164KB) Heading towards Veslsolnkletten (110KB) Veslesolnkletten (218KB) Storesolnkletten seen from Veslsolnkletten (145KB) Tronden seen from Veslsolnkletten (115KB) Rendalssolen seen from Veslsolnkletten (106KB) Petter on Veslsolnkletten (137KB)

Other pictures

Large Hedmark mountains


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