Published: Feb 4, 2026
The first winter ascent of the enormous “Swedish Route” up Trollveggen (the Troll Wall) was performed by three young Norwegians during two cold weeks.
"The key passage was a difficult traverse 700 meters up the climb," says Kjetil Svanemyr, one of the three climbers on this famous first winter ascent.
“We tried throwing ice axes around the corner, we dangled from doubtful skyhooks and we did a hairy pendulum traverse on bad bolts, but nothing worked. We started getting a little desperate. The thought of rappelling 700 meters down a series of overhanging wall sections made us feel we had no choice but to go up."
Hans Christian Doseth is the natural leader. But even he – a strong and technically masterful climber – is stuck. The three comrades – Kjetil, Hans Christian and Håvard Nesheim – have already spent many days on the wall. It's February: the days are short, the nights long, and many of the rock ledges aren't wide enough to accommodate the tiny rump of a climber.
"We had come so far up the wall that just turning back would be a major production. Up until that forbidding traverse we'd had a lot of excellent climbing, almost all of it extremely exposed and technical, aided by rope ladders. We knew Hans Christian was the only one who could manage that traverse."
And indeed, after countless attempts in a long day of hanging tough, Hans Christian clears about 30 meters – barely a rope's length. It gets the trio over the crux.
Trollveggen's 1,200-meter elevation is slowly consumed, one rope length at a time. After 13 days on the wall, the three young men reach the top.
"At the summit, pride and joy flows over you," says Kjetil Svanemyr.
“After two intense weeks, you also feel the fatigue set in. The psychological stress means you never get to relax. Down in the valley, we were met by radio reporters and newspapers. For three young climbers it was strange to be received like heroes."
That first winter ascent of the “Swedish Route” in Trollveggen continues to stand as a milestone in Norwegian climbing history. Trollveggen's face has since been changed by slides and rock slippage, and no one has repeated the achievement.
"I can remember that we got completely new outerwear. And it was fantastic by the measure of the day," says Kjetil Svanemyr, referring to the Gore-Tex garments he received from Norrøna before striking out on Trollveggen's “Swedish Route” in winter.
It's hard to say whether Norrøna, let alone the three climbers, fully understood how successful Norrøna's trollveggen suit would become. Since then, trollveggen has been a faithful partner to mountain folks, ski folks, climbing folks and city folks.
Year after year, adjustments and improvements have come like clockwork. Kjetil Svanemyr, Hans Christian Doseth and Håvard Nesheim wore green suits with blue reinforcement at the knees, elbows and shoulders.
"During a winter ascent you are reliant on things working," Kjetil says. "That suit was made with the movements of a climber in mind. I still have the pants, in fact. But during a rescue in Romsdalen, I accidentally left the jacket on a ledge.
" He adds: "What a crying shame that is. That jacket had been through a lot."
