Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal
Blåtinden, Midttinden, Trolltinden, Apr 5 2006
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Midttinden and Blåtinden
(Click for larger image)
This trip was initiated by Svein Myhre and his friend Geir. Geir had been to Trolltinden several times, but this would be the first visit for the rest of us. I estimated the ascent to be 3-3,5 hours, the descent to 1,5 hours and given the 2-hour drive (back and forth), it would be an unusual long evening ski-trip. My only concern was about the dog, forced to stay back home. The rendevouz time at Hjelvika was approx. 16:00PM. Geir and Svein arrived on time, and we were ready for departure from Vikåsen 16:05PM.
The forest road towards Skålsætra had been prepared, and allowed for a comfortable start of the trip. After 1,2Km, we left the forest road and followed human tracks up the forest, and arrived Skålsætra shortly after. We met people who adviced us to head up a tiny valley directly from the cabins, after expressing concerns about our late arrival.
After heading up the valley between Skåla and Storhaugen, we had Blåtinden in clear view. We noticed that the wind had roughed up the NW facing slope, and wouldn't offer perfect skiing conditions (upon descent). Geir had broken trail in the lower sections of the forest, but I took over, fully loaded after 6 adrenaline shots during the 1,5 hour(!) session at the dentist a few hours earlier. I'm not sure if adrenaline works that long, but I was wired up above my head and could probably had skied 6 hours without pause. I ascended Blåtinden in solitude, but I'm sure the others were happy about the broken trail. I ran into ice below the summit and had to backtrack. In the meantime, Geir passed me and picked a better route, and by 18:30PM, we were on top of Blåtinden.
This was a fascinating plateau, and vaguely reminded me of Blægja in Sogn. The cornices to our left were huge and created the perfect contrast against the blue fjord below. 20 minutes after leaving Blåtinden, we reached Midttinden, and by 19:05PM, we were standing on Trolltinden. Exactly 3 hours after heading out from the trailhead. The view towards the Romsdalen/Tafjord peaks was astounding. All the prominent peaks I only had seen via the tele-lens, were stacked in unorderly fashion right in front of me.
Descent
But I didn't have the time to enjoy the views. After a round of pictures, it was time to head back home to the dog. I left the others, who chose to enjoy skiing down from Trolltinden, into a gully below. By the time I reached Blåtinden, I phoned my neighbour, who volunteered to pay the dog a visit.
I didn't look forward to skiing down Blåtinden, and decided to ski further down the NE ridge. Soon, I ran into pure powder and had very enjoyable descent from the mountain. I could let the skis flow all the way, down the Skåla - Storhaugen valley in full speed, then slalom among bush in the lower part of the valley, full contact with a tree in the narrow valley above Skålsætra and light panic on the icy forest road back to the trailhead, which I reached 20:05PM. Exactly one hour after arriving Trolltinden.
As I reached Tresfjord, I noticed an avalanche below Trolltinden. I could swear that the avalanche wasn't there when I drove in. I called the others and asked if this was a result of their playful activities below the summit. It turned out that Geir had set off the avalanche, but he was above it (not in it) at the time. I guess Geir had a thought or two around this, on his way back to Molde. As there were ski-tracks above the avalanche, they would have to report it, which I assume they did.
