After players defeat their first dragon outside Whiterun, a booming voice summons the Dragonborn toHigh Hrothgaron the summit of the Throat of the World. Doing so is a key part ofthe early main quest lineofThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim.
However, reaching High Hrothgar isn’t as easy as walking straight there from Whiterun. The isolated monastery is most of the way up a very tall and steep mountain, and players will find it difficult to climb up from any angle even when using the climbing exploitsSkyrimis famous for. Fortunately, there’s a path up the mountain that any player can climb.
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Reaching Ivarstead
To reach High Hrothgar, the best place to start is a town called Ivarstead. Players should have an objective marker pointing to this settlement when the quest “The Way of the Voice” is active. One way to reach Ivarstead is totake the cart to Riftenand go west along the river.
Players can also get to Ivarstead by walking along the base of the Throat of the World mountain, which may confuse some players who expect a path that leads more directly to High Hrothgar. East of Whiterunis the Ritual Stone, a potential fast-travel location. South of the Ritual Stone is a rough path that leads up the mountain, but instead of leading straight to the peak it eventually reaches a fork where the Dragonborn must turn left or right. Turn left and keep following the path as it goes back below the snow line to eventually reach Ivarstead and the start of the real path up the mountain.
On the west side of Ivarstead is a long stone bridge, and players should find two people talking about the Seven Thousand Steps and how hard it is to climb them. Players can offer tocarry Klimmek’s supplies up for him, which is an easy way to make 500 gold since the Dragonborn has to visit High Hrothgar anyway.
Climbing High
Once players start on the Seven Thousand Steps, it’s easy enough to stick to the path since there are always some stone stairs that mark the path forward. Along the way, the Dragonborn will encounter two pilgrims and ten emblems that tell a story if players examine them. A few leveled wild animals will appear along the path, but none of them arequite as infamous as the frost troll.
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At one point, the path levels out and passes through a narrow ravine. Regardless of the Dragonborn’s level, a frost troll is standing on one side of the ravine and will attack if it spots the Dragonborn. Frost trolls are level 22, making this a tough fight for a low-level character. Fortunately, there are several ways to overcome this challenge without having to come back much later:
The Graybeards
Once players get past the frost troll, they’re home free. The monastery of High Hrothgar is a few flights of stairs ahead, and there should be no random encounters between the ravine and the final destination. Just be sure to drop Klimmek’s Supplies in the chest at the base of the monastery before entering.
The Graybeards are friendly enough, and they’ll explain to the Dragonborn how to use Shouts,how to gain new Words of Power, and how to make Shouts more powerful. More importantly, the location High Hrothgar will unlock, and so players will never have to climb the Seven Thousand Steps again.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimis available now on PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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