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Torghatten (The hat mountain on Torget) is a coastal landmark that is well known throughout Norway. Foremost because of the famous hole that cuts through the mountain, but also because of the May 1988 plane crash where 36 people lost their lives in Torghatten's west wall. The mountain is located just southwest of the town Brønnøysund, located in Nordland fylke (county). The mountain is also admired by the thousands who pass Brønnøysund on "Hurtigruten" ("the Coastal Express").
Much have been said and written about Torghatten, and a lot of information can be found on this page (Norwegian language). Of course there will be myths connected to a mountain with this type of characteristics. The above page describes the legend about Torghatten. In English, the legend goes as this (short version):
According to legend, the hole was made by the troll Hestmannen while he was chasing the beautiful girl Lekamøya. As the troll realised he would not get the girl, he released an arrow to kill her, but the troll-king of Sømna threw his hat into the arrow's path to save her. The hat turned into the mountain with a hole in the middle.
Source: Wikipedia. Internet keywords: "Torghatten" "legend"
You can reach both the top and the hole on prepared trails. The hole is a massive tourist attraction, but the top is a popular goal being one of the mountains that often is found on the Fjelltrimmen list of mountains. The trail to the top is easy and most people should be able to reach the top of Torghatten. The terrain is a bit awkward in places, but wires can be used as handrails.
The view is excellent. From Leka in the south to Syv Søstre in the north and the Bindal, Brønnøy, and Sømna mountains that fade into the vast back-country mountain region towards the east. This web page will describe a round trip that includes both the top and the hole. This route is not suited for everyone, as the route from the top to the hole runs on rougher terrain. The easiest alternative is to descend the top via the ascent route and then follow the trail up to the hole.
Torghatten (1725-I: 258m, Ø.K: 257,7m) has a primary factor of 258m as Torghatten is located on an island.
My GPS reported 257m over a 5-minute period (top of cairn), on point 33 W 364909 7255970.
Notes: Class ratings are in reference to YDS. Click here for more information.
The trails described below are not necessarily the *easiest* trails to this mountain.
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Torgatten summit and hole round trip (all seasons)
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From Brønnøysund, head southbound towards "Torget". You will have to drive across "Brønnøysundbrua" bridge in order to get to Torget. From the Torget side of the bridge, drive 10,7Km to Torghatten Camping. Turn left in a fork approx. 2,4Km before Torghatten Camping (signed "Torghatten"). Two trails run from the parking area. The one to the hole is marked "Torghatten". You will be coming down this way. Locate the trail signed "Barnas Turløype" on the south side of the parking area.
Follow the "Barnas Turløype" trail south/southwest approx. 650m before the trail turns north and runs up along the powerlines on the mountain. Follow the trail marked with red paint all the way to the summit cairn. Some awkward sections are secured with wires. The average hiker will feel no need to use the wires. Sign the guestbook.
You can easily descend into the hole and cross over to the other side. I have never headed down the west side of the hole, but I have seen people do and there seems to be a trail. Explore it. It might take you all the way around and back (via the south side) to the parking. Otherwise, descend the tourist trail back to the parking area.
It was my second visit to Brønnøysund in August. I had left my dog "Troll" with my mom in early August and then climbed a lot of cool mountains. Now it was time to bring him back. Those 15 hour non-stop trips between Bergen and Brønnøysund are killers. I have never a strong urge to climb a high mountain the following day. I had been "challenged" by Kjell Iver Johansen to visit the top of Torghatten, and I wanted to take him up on the challenge. Kjell Iver has visited most of the significant mountains in the Brønnøy - Grane region and his web pages are a great resource for mountains in this region.
As I grew up outside Brønnøysund, I had visited the Torghatten hole "countless" times, but I had never been to the top. Until "Fjelltrimmen" surfaced, I didn't know that there was a trail to the top. But on this day when my left foot was still clutching and my head was still driving a car, Torghatten seemed like a sensible project. I combined the trip to Brønnøysund by visiting friends along the way and the time was 13:30PM when I was ready to walk up the mountain.
The weather forecast was OK, but some clouds made me ask one of my friends what the outcome would be. "A rainshower within the hour" was the response, and I was mentally prepared when I headed up the mountain. Some tourists came down along the wires as I headed upwards. I don't like wires, so I stayed far away from them, closer to the east face. Those 4 people were the only ones I saw on my hike across the mountain.
I reached the top 13:55PM and signed the guestbook. It was nice to be up here. I knew most of the mountains from north to south and I liked the views. But the weather didn't seem to match the forecast. I didn't really have any plans. I had spoken to someone who knew the mountain well, and he told me that I couldn't traverse the mountain, but I could descend to the west - which would result in some footwork on the road before I reached the car. I pictured I would be standing on the west side of the mountain, with several kilometres to walk back to the parking. But I found that seemed to head in the right direction (northbound) and as I started the descent towards the north, I was pretty confused - and curious about the outcome.
The path took me across Lesshatten before my friend Torbjørn called me to discuss the upcoming Gygrastolen project. As we were talking, I felt the first raindrops. I finished the conversation and moved on. The path took me down to a meadow, and I felt that I was really close to the hole. I stuck as close to the east face as I could, and a few minutes later, I was staring right into the hole.
I headed down to the hole on a very faint path, which meant that some people do take this round trip. I headed into the hole and felt a stench of human droppings hit my face. I yelled "thanks!!!" loud and hurried across to the other side. It was pouring down by now. I had made plans to descend the west side along the way, but my I was carrying a digital camera with several lenses, a cellular phone and a GPS. Only Garmin thinks it is a good idea to combine rain and electronics, so I ran down the tourist path as quickly as I could.
I passed a few tourists that were heading down as I was going up. They stopped and stared at me as I came running down the mountain. I felt an explanation was needed, as I was thinking back to a similar situation when I ran down Mt. Elbert in Colorado. A group of hikers that I caught up with turned around and ran towards me while yelling "What's wrong? What's wrong?" This time, to avoid confusion, I yelled "camera" while pointing towards the backpack. I heard "hee?" as I passed. It was pouring down, but I stopped and repeated "c-a-m-e-r-a" and pointed to the backpack once more. The tourists were looking at each other. "CAMERA!", I yelled loud and clear. "Oh, camera", they responded and nodded to each other, and I was free to go.
I reached the car 15:00PM sharp and after making sure all electronic items worked as intended, I headed back home. Interesting hike. Strongly recommended.
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Some of the thumbnails may have been cropped to fit the format.
To the summit
Summit views
Descent
The hole
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