The southwest face is less forbidding, and it is possible to find a way up through the partly snow-covered talus slopes. The mountain, as its neighbors, consists of the hard gabbro rock, which withstands erosion better than most other rocks. The orientation of the layers of gabbro in Skarstind is uncommon. Normally they rise from northwest towards southeast, which is why many summits are easiest to reach from the north side. At Skarstind the layers rise from southwest towards northeast. This is easily seen on the photo in the table. The summit can be reached without equipment if the conditions are good and there is very little snow on the talus slopes on the southwest face. The normal ascent starts from Leirdalen up to Dummhøe, which is an easy, but rather steep climb of more than 1000 meters. Up to approximately 1500 meters, there is a path, made by sheep and goats, and used by mountaineers, but from there one has to follow the ridge up to Dummhøe, which is more of a small plain than a mountain. The plain is followed up to the summit of Western Skarstind, but from that small summit you can see the difficult west wall of the main summit. There are four small walls to climb, but they may all be outflanked on the right side if the conditions are good. From the Western summit the flank seems nearly as forbidding as the wall itself, but at a close distance it is not too difficult and no equipment should be necessary. However, on poor conditions, the Talus may be very loose and great caution is advised. On days with fresh snow, like the last picture, equipment will probably be necessary on all routes. Nåle seems to be very difficult, but it is much easier than the summit itself. Skarstind is quite popular, given the mountain's high rank among Norwegian peaks; on most days during the short summer season peakbaggers climb the mountain, but the summit is hardly ever crowded. A winter ascent is only for the very experienced. The first element is the genitive of "skard" n 'gap, pass', the last element is the finite form of "tind" m 'mountain peak'.