The plan for the day was to hike Glamragjelet all the way up, and test how the new plastic boots and crampons would work together. As I drove towards lake Osavatnet I heard the wind howl and I noticed trees bending over. OK, it might be a cold day. I had waxed the skis at best effort, but when I left lake Osavatnet 10:30AM, I concluded that waxing is a science I'm lightyears away from understanding. The road to Redningshytten contained snow stomped to ice by the past weeks' hikers and skiers. The little grip I had disappeared in the first downhill. I made it to the Kinndalen entrance, and skied down to the Glamragjelet entrance, where I switched skis with crampons.

The wind was almost horrendous in this canyon, and the balance did not get better with the skis high on the back. I noticed large rocks and icicles in the canyon, and moved to the left-hand side of the canyon where I could hike one frozen snow. A better alternative than the powder in the canyon. I passed Pilatusgjelet and found it steeper than ever. There's a chance I will be climbing this couloir soon, and it was impossible to look forward to it.

I was surprised that the upper part of the canyon was far less steep than I had anticipated. It wouldn't have been a problem to put the skis on and run back down, but due to the "flat" light, it wasn't easy to see anything. Above 800m, some real strong winds set in, and I got use for the ice axe for the first time. The winds were pushing me back down the slope, and I used the axe to hold on. A very strange situation in clear weather. Above Glamragjelet, I switchbacked on flat surface, trying to make progress. This was a bit exhausting. My traditional route up a steep snowfield wasn't very inviting with these winds. I went to the Gullbotn cairn trail and reached Gullfjellstoppen summit 13:00PM. This was the shortest route to the summit (in distance), but I have never ever used 2,5 hours (w/o pause) to the summit. In normal conditions, I would expect to cut this time down to 1,5 hours.

I needed rest and found shelter behind a large cairn on the summit. The Jondal mountains, which I had been thinking about for this Saturday, were hidden in much worse weather. The western mountains were clear, although windy. Since this was my 5th visit on Gullfjellstoppen in 2004, I didn't bring a camera. There's a limit to how many panoramas I need to take from this place on earth. Quite opposite to my previous visits in 2004, there was not a living soul anywhere near. I almost enjoyed the situation.

I sat a new personal record in skiing down to Redningshytten. Although it was difficult to see details in the terrain, I knew the route after numerous visits. People plow down these slopes and the skis ran faster than I cared for.  I decided to stop by Redningshytten. I haven't been inside for years. 5-6 people were inside and they gave me more than the usual quick look. I went for shelter in the corner and noticed what caught their attention. I was steaming. Steam was pouring out from all my clothes. I opened a bottle of juice. Even the juice was steaming....

Glamragjelet seen from Haugsvarden