Mt. Torghatten on Torget Island, near Brønnøysund, Norway

December 1969 Issue

Mt. Torghatten on Torget Island, near Brønnøysund, Norway

Norse shenanigans! The site of November’s photo is Mt. Torghatten on Torget Island, near Brønnøysund, Norway. Legend has it that one night the troll Hestmannen spied the beautiful troll Lekamøya and her seven sisters bathing and decided she was for him. But the girls fled and, although Hestmannen was on horseback, he couldn’t catch up.

Furious, he fired an arrow after Lekamøya. The troll king Sømna threw his hat up between her and the oncoming arrow just as the sun rose. As everyone knows, sunlight turns trolls into stone. The pierced hat turned to stone (Mt. Torghatten; note the natural tunnel, 553 feet long, in the center of the mountain), as did Hestmannen, the king and the Seven Sisters; they are nearby mountain peaks.

Forty-two readers sent in the correct answer by the deadline, and ALLYN BURKE of Diamond Springs, California, won the drawing. We thank Michelle Mellon of Rancho Palos Verdes, California, for contributing the photo.