Krossanesfjall Mountain

Two names, one mountain. The map says Krossanesfjall, and most photographs of it are captioned Eystrahorn. It stands 716 metres above a shore of black sand, and the whole ridge is in view from the road, so nothing has to be walked into.

The rock is gabbro and granophyre, dark and coarse-grained, and the peaks read almost black against the sea. Fog rolls in off the water and over the hills, and it can take the summit away completely. The beach below is worth the walk on its own. Tour coaches stop here, and the place still does not feel busy.

• Arctic terns: they nest near the shore in summer and dive at heads. Hold a hand or a stick above you and keep walking.
• Fog: cloud rolls in off the sea and over the hills, and it can hide the mountain from the road entirely.
• Wind: this is open coast. A windproof layer matters more here than a warm one.
• Coaches: tour buses pull in at the lighthouse. Even then the site does not feel crowded.

Krossanesfjall stands beside the coast road between the south coast and the east fjords, and most people meet it as a stop on that drive. There is a car park at the lighthouse below the mountain. The viewpoint is the car park itself: no walk in and no climb to see the mountain. From there a flat walk leads along the black sand beach under the rock face.

Better: a clear day, and the hours of low sun at either end of it, when the rock face takes on relief.

Avoid: low cloud. Fog off the sea can take the whole mountain out of the picture, and there is nothing else here to fall back on except the beach.

The view is the entire reason to stop, so the weather decides whether the stop is worth making. In summer the shore belongs to nesting arctic terns.