I had planned a solo expedition to Greenland in 2020, but due to the pandemic and a ban on entry, I had to find an alternative. Northern Norway immediately sprang to mind.

I had first seen the famous pyramid of Stetind (1,391m, 68°9'55.00"N, 16°35'34.02"E), Norway’s “Anvil of the Gods,” in 1998 while on honeymoon with my wife, Daniela. Such wild mountains and granite walls are mostly unknown in my home country.

After a few roped solo routes to warm up, and once the rough Norse weather offered a fair window, on July 24, I headed for my main goal: the south face of Stetind.

I climbed the easy terrain on the initial 800m face without protection, hoping to continue up the Guldfisken Route (Norwegian 6). However, rockfall had covered the ledges on the vertical wall with rubble, so I discarded this idea. Over to my right was a prominent dihedral. It looked good, but the only problem was that it ended below smooth slabs. Would I be able to continue up these? My biggest passion is to explore unknown ground: If I don't know what to expect, there will be a lot of adventure. Achieving this while climbing solo poses the biggest challenge.

I have come to develop a routine while roped soloing, and I get into a good rhythm. I’m about as fast as a roped team. The challenges and risks are much higher, and every step must be thoroughly considered. But I enjoy being alone in the natural environment. The contrast to everyday life in the valley is strongest during extreme situations in the mountains: They open my eyes and allow me to grow in so many ways.

Following the dihedral and slabs, I reached the South Pillar (a.k.a. Sydpilaren, Norwegian 6, Hertzberg-Naess, 1936) at about two-thirds height, free climbing and back-roping with traditional protection only. I continued up the pillar, and after a further 10 hours reached the summit at midnight. The sun had disappeared below the horizon, but it remained light enough to climb all night without a headlamp. Strong winds made the descent difficult, but I reached my camp by the Tysfjord after a 20-hour round trip, tired but happy. I named my variant to the South Pillar—the middle third of the route—Goldfinger (6b+).

After a few days of rest, I moved a little further northwest to mountains not far west or south of the E6 highway. There, I made the first known solo ascents of Torskefiskaren (300m, N7- or 6b+), a challenging route on Kugelhorn (a.k.a. Kulhornet, 981m), and the Swiss Variation (300, 6a+) on the southeast pillar of Rundtind (a.k.a. Rundtinden, 798m). I also soloed the huge corner system of Engelsdiederet (N5+, 12 pitches, Barton-Cardy, 1971) on Eidetind (a.k.a. Eidtinden, 847m) and traversed the summit [the corner itself is five pitches; most parties do not continue to the summit but rappel the corner].

— Robert Jasper, Germany