The Hills Have Us

WotLK Classic Northrend Leveling Guide

The Hills Have Us

Alliance • Grizzly Hills • Level 73 • Amberpine Lodge

Report to Lieutenant Dumont at Amberpine Lodge [31, 59] in western Grizzly Hills.

Warning: Accepting this quest instantly places you on a gryphon and flies you out of Dragonblight. There is no confirmation prompt. Finish all Dragonblight business before accepting. The Horde pursuers during the flight are cosmetic and cannot harm you. On landing, grab every quest at the lodge before heading out.

Vikstone's Classic Expedition

The first arrow whistled past as the gryphon banked hard over Venomspite's airspace, and the Grizzly Hills spread below in dense pines and autumn colors. After weeks in lands the Scourge had touched, the air carried no rot. Just cold wind and the sound of a living forest.

“While we focus to hold our ground at Wintergarde and deal with the unfolding events of the Wrathgate, battalions from as far away as Westfall battle their way through the dense foliage and inhospitable denizens of Grizzly Hills. All in hopes of finding an alternate route into Icecrown. Lieutenant Dumont, stationed at Amberpine Lodge, has enlisted the aid of able bodied citizens willing to risk life and limb in the uncharted wilds.

Will you rise to meet this challenge?”

-Gryphon Commander Urik

Objective

LEVEL

73

Requires level

73

Start

Gryphon Commander Urik

END

Lieutenant Dumont

Report to Lieutenant Dumont at Amberpine Lodge in western Grizzly Hills.

Automatic Flight Mechanic:
Upon accepting, you are immediately placed on a gryphon. If you want to finish other Dragonblight quests first, avoid accepting this quest until you're ready.
Horde Ambush Experience:
During the flight, Horde scouts will pursue you, throwing weapons for flavor. This is purely cosmetic and does not affect your journey. — **Automatic Flight Mechanic:** Upon accepting, you are immediately placed on a gryphon. If you want to finish other Dragonblight quests first, avoid accepting this quest until you’re ready. **Horde Ambush Experience:** During the flight, Horde scouts will pursue you, throwing weapons for flavor. This is purely cosmetic and does not affect your journey.

Grizzly Hills Storyline

Reward

Upon completion of this quest you will gain:

5,150 experience

25 reputation with Valiance Expedition

Walkthrough

Quest Giver: Gryphon Commander Urik — Wintergarde Keep, Dragonblight (gryphon station)

Turn In: Lieutenant Dumont — Amberpine Lodge, Grizzly Hills [31, 59]

Objective: Report to Lieutenant Dumont at Amberpine Lodge in western Grizzly Hills.

Quick Facts

Level Requirement: 73
Faction: Alliance
Chain Position: Breadcrumb into the Amberpine Lodge quest hub and the broader Grizzly Hills storyline

Walkthrough

Read Before Accepting

Accepting this quest immediately places you on a Wintergarde Gryphon and flies you to Grizzly Hills. There is no confirmation prompt. If you still have unfinished Dragonblight business, do not accept this quest until you’re ready to leave.
This is one of the most common accidental quest acceptances in WotLK.

The Flight

Once airborne, a Wintergarde Gryphon Rider announces: “I’ll have you at Amberpine Lodge in no time, ally!”
During the flight, Horde pursuers will chase your gryphon and throw projectiles at you. This is purely cosmetic and cannot harm you or interrupt the flight.
On landing, the rider says: “I think we lost ’em! That was a close one! Welp, as promised, Amberpine Lodge in one piece! Keep your feet on the ground, friend!”
Head into the lodge and speak with Lieutenant Dumont to turn in the quest.

Efficiency Tips

If you haven’t explored Grizzly Hills yet, you’ll earn discovery XP for locations you fly over during the scripted flight. This one of the highest-value “talk to NPC” quests in the expansion.
You can jump off the gryphon mid-flight. The game grants you a parachute effect to prevent fall damage. Useful if you want to land early and explore, but there’s little reason to since the flight delivers you directly to the quest hub.
Once you turn in at Amberpine Lodge, pick up every available quest before heading out. Key pickups include Local Support, which begins the Silverbrook chain, and quests from the lodge interior.

Lore Context

The quest text references the Alliance’s efforts to find an alternate route into Icecrown through Grizzly Hills, while simultaneously holding Wintergarde Keep against the Scourge and dealing with the Wrathgate crisis.

It also mentions that battalions from as far away as Westfall are fighting through the zone, setting up Captain Gryan Stoutmantle and the Westfall Brigade, who you’ll encounter later at their encampment in eastern Grizzly Hills.

Completing this quest makes the Alliance version of the Ursoc quest chain available, starting with The Failed World Tree and A Dark Influence.

Easter Egg

The quest name is a play on The Hills Have Eyes, the 1977 horror film by Wes Craven about a family stranded in a remote, hostile wilderness.

Explore Grizzly Hills’ hidden easter eggs, lore mysteries, and connections across Warcraft history in Vikstone’s Grizzly Hills Chronicles, along with the complete quest storyline.

You will be able to choose one of these rewards:

Wyrmward Cover

Canyon Runner’s Vest

Wyrmchaser’s Waistguard

Wyrmbane Wristguards

You will also receive:

Upon completion of this quest you will gain:

20,500 experience

250 reputation with Valiance Expedition

Vikstone's War Journal

The gryphon banked hard as the first arrow whistled past.

Vikstone Portrait Act 2 — Illustrated by Christian DiBari and Simon Gough.

“Hold on!” The rider pulled us into a sharp climb. Behind us, Horde interceptors peeled away from Venomspite’s airspace. Another volley. One shaft punched through the gryphon’s wing membrane. The beast screamed but kept climbing.

We cleared the ridge as the pursuit fell back.

“I think we lost ’em!” The rider let out a breath. “That was a close one! Welp, as promised, Amberpine Lodge in one piece. Keep your feet on the ground, friend!”

The Grizzly Hills spread beneath us as we descended. Dense pines, autumn colors threading through the green. After Dragonblight’s frozen desolation, the forests felt almost warm, almost alive.

Lieutenant Dumont met me at the lodge’s entrance, his expression grim.

“You were almost shot down, eh? Savage monsters, those Horde. Payback will come for what they’ve done. You can count on at least that much, warrior.”

He gestured toward the wilderness beyond the lodge’s walls.

“Now, it’s time to put you to work.”

The pines swayed in wind that carried no rot, no death-stench. Just cold air and the sound of a living forest. Strange, after weeks in lands the Scourge had touched.

The work would come. It always did. But for one moment, the Grizzly Hills felt like somewhere a person could breathe.

Dumont’s greeting was grim, but the pines carried no rot and the air tasted clean. The first real work in Grizzly Hills begins with Local Support.

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Objective

LEVEL

73

Requires level

73

Start

END

Grizzly Hills Storyline

Reward

5,150 experience

25 reputation with Valiance Expedition

Walkthrough

5 Gold

30 Silver

20,500 experience

250 reputation with Valiance Expedition

Vikstone's War Journal

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The Making of the Guide

Solo PvP Guide

Star Wars Galaxies Chronicles

The Guide to SWGEmu