Scandinavian Mountains over 2000 metres - James Baxter

Areas › Kalvehøgdi Massif › Nordre Kalveholotind › Alternative Routes

There are three usual routes up Nordre Kalveholotind.

The first and most common is from Torfinnsbu lodge. This is the route I have described as the main route.
A second and long route is from Bygdin Fjellhotel lodge via Hestevollen and the steep south east ridge in the summer on foot or the Kalvehøgdbreen glacier in the winter/spring on skis.
Nordre Kalveholotind can also be climbed from Kalvehøgdi either in the summer when it will be part of a long day or in the spring as part of a ski traverse of the mountain. Indeed the two mountains are only separated by a short and gentle 2 km saddle.

From Bygdin Fjellhotel lodge

The route from Bygdin Fjellhotel lodge to Nordre Kalveholotind goes via the ramshackle Bygdisheim lodge on path Ka.1.It is suited for either a summer foot tour or a winter/spring ski tour for more experienced skiers. Continue along the shore for another 2 hours or 6 km crossing a small stream by a bridge until you get to the buildings at Hestevollen. Just beyond the buildings is another small bridge over the Hestevollåne stream. Cross this bridge and leave the path heading up the slopes to the west of the stream. After about an hour the terrain steepens and forms into a broad ridge. Head up this ridge veering north west for another hour until you are in a large bowl beside the lake at 1745m which lies beneath the large cliffs on the east side of Nordre Kalveholotind. The final slopes before you enter this bowl are steep you will probably have to remove skis in winter. Once in the bowl you have a choice of two routes depending on the season.

During the summer scramble up the easy grade I south east ridge to the summit of Nordre Kalveholotind. This ridge is steep but does contained any exposed scrambling.
During the winter/spring it is feasible to ski up the marginally crevassed western Kalvehøgdbreen glacier to the saddle between between Nordre Kalveholotind and Midtre Kalvehøgdi. There might be a cornice to overcome as you approach the saddle. From the saddle head south for a km to the summit.

From Valdresflya Vandrerhjem or Bygdin via Raslet

From Valdresflya Vandrerhjem or Bygdin Fjellhotel lodge head up to the plateau of Raslet and the lake at 1798m. If coming from Valdresflya follow the route as described on the Kalvehøgdi main page. If coming from Bygdin Fjellhotel lodge follow the route up the Repefonnbekken streams as described under the alternative routes section for Rasletind. Both of these routes are excellent ski routes.

From this lake ascend for ¾ hour keeping to the west side of a large shallow bowl until you gain the highpoint 2088m on the main ridge main Kalvehøgdi ridge. From here continue north west for 1½ km to reach the top of Mugna. Here there fantastic views suddenly unfold. From Mugna turn south west for 1 km to reach the summit of Østre Kalvehøgdi, 2178m.

From this peak continue south west for another km passing a narrower section to Midtre Kalvehøgdi, a small rise in the main ridge at about 2120 metres elevation. From Midtre Kalvehøgdi, the outlying ridge with Nordre Kalveholotind, extends two km to the south. The first km is a gentle descent down to the saddle followed by an easy km climb up to the summit of Nordre Kalveholotind. For all of this 2 km journey south through the saddle, except for the saddle itself, there are large cliffs on the east side which are topped with a cornice until mid summer.

The return can be by any of the alternative routes described above depending on the season. The total time for a round trip using any of these routes are between 8-12 hours. It is also possible to descend down to Torfinnsbu lodge via the main ascent route but route finding from the plateau down the steep gully on the south west corner of the mountain is difficult.