Kyrkja | |
Map: | Innlandet#Norway |
Map Alt: | Map of the location |
Label Position: | bottom |
Coordinates: | 61.5414°N 8.292°W[1] |
Location: | Innlandet, Norway |
Elevation M: | 2032 |
Prominence M: | 278 |
Isolation Km: | 1.8 |
Elevation Ref: | [2] |
Range: | Jotunheimen |
Parent Peak: | Visbretinden |
Kyrkja is a mountain in Lom Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The 2032m (6,667feet) tall mountain is located in the Jotunheimen mountains within Jotunheimen National Park. The mountain sits about south of the village of Fossbergom and about northeast of the village of Øvre Årdal. The mountain is surrounded by several other notable mountains including Urdadalstindene and Semelholstinden to the east; Kyrkjeoksli, Visbretinden, and Langvasshøi to the southeast; Høgvagltindene to the south; Stehøi and Stetinden to the west; and Tverrbottindene and Tverrbytthornet to the north.
The mountain is named Norwegian Nynorsk; Nynorsk, Norwegian: Kyrkja which means "The Church". This name was given because its peak is extremely steep and resembles a church spire.[3]
Kyrkja was not thought to be climbable until the 19th-century, due to its steepness. Despite its slopes, climbing to the top is a day’s hike, helped by the rocks covering the mountainside. Kyrkja used to be covered in snow, but climate change has severely lessened the amount of snow on the mountain.