Norwegian Mountains

Kvitfjellet from Eidsbygda, Aug 20 2006

For Information, maps, trailhead and route descriptions, click HERE.

Kvitfjellet

Trip report, Aug 20 2006

Busy week-end

It had been a busy week-end. I drove to Oppland on Friday, visited Heidalsmuen (1745m), Storhøi (1349m) and Steinhø (1338m) on Saturday. Before we broke camp Sunday morning, I visited Stålhø (1231m). I then dropped my friend Arne off at the Otta train station before setting the course back to Møre og Romsdal. There was sufficient time to visit a mountain along the way, and I chose Kvitfjellet - a mountain I had noticed on the few trips I've done between Ålesund and Åndalsnes.

The weather wasn't the best, but it wasn't raining. Steaming fog would obviously ruin the fine views, especially towards the Romsdalen mountains, but that was OK. I expected it to be a nice walk anyway. I didn't have any map, and tried to find the obvious trailhead from the GPS. The small display doesn't necessary make it easy to become familiar in a new landscape. I assumed that I would find a path from the place Norvik, and directly up the southeast ridge.

"Hardly visited"

Before arriving Norvik, I noticed a road running up the forest. I saw a guy mowing his lawn, and drove up to ask him about the path. "There isn't any path", the mower replied. "Hardly anyone visit this mountain, and those who do, walk different routes", the mower continued. "That said", the mower concluded, "it is just a matter of walking up the ridge".

It was hard to comprehend that a dominating mountain, such as this, was "hardly visited". But I had no other practical option than to follow the mower's recommendations. I drove up the forest road and parked where a locked gate prevented any further driving. The dog ("Troll") and I left the trailhead 12:50PM and headed up the forest road, aiming for the north side of the southeast ridge.

At road end, I had a dense forest and a steep ridge ahead of me. I think the word "Jeeeezz.." crossed by mind before I headed up into the forest. After getting past the dense trees, I got a better overview of the ridge. The terrain was quite open, with high grass everywhere. My course would be obvious; center of ridge, all the way up.

I had to put the dog into the backpack long before road end, and the weight, the steep forest ridge, the high grass and the HOT day were contributing factors to the conclusion that - this wasn't such a brilliant idea after all. But, there was nothing more to it than "hard work", and 14:30PM, I arrived Kvitfjellet summit.

What?

Just as I was arriving the summit, a large group from Molde og Romsdals Turistforening left the summit. I asked the trip leader - "Did you find a path?" The trip leader told me that there was a fine path, all the way from the trailhead to the top. I sighed, and realised that the mower obviously didn't care much about what happened on the OTHER side of the mountain. My fault. I should have known better.

The dog and I spent 15 minutes on top before we headed back down. Troll was totally uncontrollable, running back and forth, and showing me teeth when I tried to bring him along. I had seen another dog leaving with the group, obviously a bitch, with a most excellent scent.

Descent

I attempted to follow my ascent route. I didn't manage and ended up too far south on the ridge. A steep section gave us grief. I had mistaken it for a grassy hillside, with built-in steps, but it was a huge slab with loose turf on top. The turf gave way, I fell, but the ice-axe stood firm on top, causing a sudden halt for the both of us. "mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmpf", was the sound from the backpack, from a dog caught between a human and a hard place. Seemingly, I have developed a good technique regarding the axe. I never think about placing it firmly into the ground, but I seem to do so, anyway. This was far from the first time I've fallen, and running into a sudden stop caused by the axe. I hope this works the day when it really matters.

After adjusting the course, I came out from the forest exactly the place I had entered it, and by 16:00PM the hike was over. Time to head back home.