Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal
Middagstinden from Bøstølen, July 19 2008
To the main Nonstinden/Middagstinden page (maps, route descriptions, etc.)
Middagstinden
(Click for larger image)
After a period of not-so-good weather, this Saturday was a quite nice one. I decided to pay Middagstinden a visit, as it had been on my to-do list for quite some time. Especially after having seen it from Nonstinden in October 2006. As we never saw a path on the way up Nonstinden, I didn't assume there would be a path to Middagstinden, either. So when I arrived at Bøstølen, the first priority was to identify a route that would get me up the forest without too much agony.
I settled for a route along an avalanche gully, as it wouldn't involve too much bush. This route would take me below Nonstinden, and I would then have to follow the ridge towards Middagstinden. It was clearly not the logical route to the mountain, but those who have spent hours fighting evil bush will understand the thought behind.
Cows
I parked where the bridge crosses the river and headed out 11am. I crossed a meadow and passed a herd of cows, which didn't pay any notice to me. Except for one, which was really nervous and started to head up the mountain. To not add any further scare to the cow, I took a long detour, watching the cow safely return to its herd.
Sheep
This was a steep hillside, and I continued on slabs after running out of boulder. When there were no more slabs, I continued up along the river. I was almost on top of the ridge, temporarily exhausted after a lot of scrambling. I sat down for a quick rest and water refill. As I turned around to fill the water bottle, I noticed I was sitting next to a dead sheep.
The sheep hadn't been for long, as the corpse was in good condition. But it gave me a hell of a scare. The sheep had obviously crossed a section of slippery slab rock above, and fallen to its death. I took a picture of the sheep's tag, as I would have to report this. And soon, too. The water that the cows were drinking would soon be contaminated. I considered strongly to move the sheep away from the river, but it was just too big. And because of the steep hillsides, I couldn't really get it away from the water, anyway.
Boulder
I continued towards Middagstinden, crossed a hump between Nonstinden and Middagstinden before taking on the strenuous hillside towards the top. From approx. 1000m, the hillside was just boulder. Loose boulder. During such ascents, it helps to feed other thoughts to the mind. But today, that didn't work. I had to concentrate on every step, as every wrong step would steal precious energy. This mountain should be skied, not walked!
I met two hikers descending from the summit. While having a nice chat, two other hikers (heading out from Måndalen) caught up with me. They were moving fast! One of them had to make it to a soccer match in Molde, and he was already running late...
The summit
Cool pinnacles on Middagstinden
(Click for larger image)
Me and the two other hikers from Måndalen reached the top of Middagstinden 1:35pm. The other hikers didn't stay long, and soon I had to the summit to myself. I was glad I was not in a hurry. This was a superb place to be. And the weather was just getting better by the minute. The hikers I met on my way upwards told me they had been following a path from Bøstølen. I was determined to find this path when I left the summit. Descending the boulder was even worse than ascending it. I stopped by point 943m, and I could see the first two hikers rest below me. As I passed them, they pointed out the path to me.
Hah, it was even marked. Excellent! After a rather strenuos hike, this was a big bonus. It didn't take long before I was back at the trailhead. The "Tindevatnet" trailsign was 10 meters (!!!) away from my car, and I had missed it. Now the quest for finding the sheep owner could begin. A few stops down the valley gave some pointers. And after a number of phone calls in the evening, I could rest asure that even if the owner was on vacation, he would be properly informed by relatives or neighbours.
