Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Blåtind, second visit, Dec 26 2008


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The route

The route
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While most people enjoyed a late, nice and long breakfast on the second day of Christmas, I was back at Indre Haddal, targeting Blåtind. Come to think of it - my breakfast was also long and nice, but it was quite early in the morning. 3 eggs with lots of sausage. Yum! And then out to work it off.

I left the trailhead 10:13am, and paid extra attention to the gate with the rusty barbed wire, on which I cut my fingers on Christmas Eve. The rich breakfast didn't allow for a speedy ascent, so I took it nice and easy and just enjoyed the day. The weather was kinda gloomy, but it was still a very nice day for a walk.

I headed up Klungsdalen valley and followed Blåtind's southwest ridge. The hillside was as good as snow-free. At 630m elevation, I came across a very inviting cornice that I followed upwards. This was a long cornice, and as I got closer to the top of it, I was in a position where a fall would give me just enough speed to send me straight off a cliff. The snow was so hard I couldn't even run my fingers through it. I finished the cornice in cat style (skipping the meow part), and concluded that I just had my adrenaline rush for the day.

The southwest ridge

The southwest ridge
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I reached the highest point on Hareidlandet island 11:23am, 1h:10m after leaving the trailhead. The vertical gain was 630m. It was a bit windy and cold, so most of my summit stay was spent sheltered behind the cairn. I was a bit keen on continuing towards Kongsvollen, but OTOH, I didn't want to re-bag (possibly a new mountaineering term) all of the local mountains within a couple of weeks.

So I decided to head down the west ridge. That would give me two new routes to Blåtind. I had been to Blåtind in April 2006, but ascended the mountain from the northwest. The descent was a nice one, and as there are a lot of rocks on Blåtind, I was constantly on the look-out for rock "faces". And I found some cool ones.

Back at Indre Haddal (and safely through the gate), a father and his son came out from the house where I had received medical care on Christmas Eve. I greeted them hello, and got a hello in return. Along with some strange looks... (who IS this guy?..)

Rugged peaks across Vartdalsfjorden

Rugged peaks across Vartdalsfjorden
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Pictures

The pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 300D + Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS USM F 4-5.6

 
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To Blåtind

0. Trip tracks 1. Through the infamous gate 2. The southwest ridge ahead 3. On the southwest ridge 4. My footprints from two days ago 5. Haddalshornet 6. Rock face 7. Rock face 8. Approaching the summit

Blåtind views

9. Wide-angle view from Blåtind 10. Volda and Vanylven peaks 11. Grøthornet and Liahornet 12. Garnestua 13. Liadalsnipa

Descent

14. Summit cairn 15. The west ridge 16. More snow on this side 17. Haddalshornet 18. Indre Haddal

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