Sjunkhatten

There is no road or path to Sjunkhatten. From Bodø drive to Kjerringøy and along Neveisfjordveien to its end near Øyjorda, then arrange a boat across the fjord to Straumsnes. From the shore a short stretch of birch forest leads towards a cliff, then open ground rising leftwards with patches of forest, across a stream and above the treeline (waypoints given by Bjørstad at about 185 m and 325 m), to cross Sjunkskaret near its lowest point. Descend about 100 m to a good camp spot by a small lake at about 350 m. From camp, hike south up the broad slope near Sørkråvatnet (475 m), bear left above steeper ground and follow ledges, with a couple of easy scrambling moves, to the col west of point 772; snow lingers here into July. From point 772 descend to the foot of the west ridge and climb a grass slope to the start of the climbing at about 770 m, reached by moving far right with a short descent. The ridge rises about 200 m. The first pitches follow a crack or ramp on the far right that is almost always wet, with running water and slippery lichen, to a long grass ledge; walk left along it to a clear crack, then traverse up rightwards on ledges and good slabs (the best climbing, on sound rock) to exit round a corner below the highest rocks. A few short steps lead to easy broken ground and a couple of hundred metres of scree to the summit. Descend by abseil down the middle of the face: an established anchor sits on a shelf at the top of the cliffs and two more lower down; parties have needed to build the last anchor themselves. Bjørstad's party made 4 abseils with two 60 m ropes; a 2020 party made 4 long abseils of up to 55 m on fixed anchors. Climbing time is about 4 hours; most parties camp near Sjunkskaret and take two days.