Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal
Skarphornet on skis, Dec 7 2008
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Upper route to Skarphornet
(Click for larger image)
This was a windy Sunday, and higher mountains didn't seem attractive. I settled for Skarphornet, which would be a fairly short drive as Volda is only approx. 20 minutes away from home. The trip wouldn't be long either, which was OK. The day before, I had skied Veirahaldet and besides, plenty of things to do back home.
Arriving at Vassbotnen, I talked to an old man who strongly suggested that I should not ski the forest road I had planned. According to him, this road was way too steep. I chose to ignore his advice, and turned onto a road which seemed to be a side road going straight through a golf course(?). There was snow on the road, and I immediately regretted not parking down by the main road. It felt as if the car would sink through anytime now. Just when I decided to drive back in reverse, I noticed another car ahead of me. I drove up to the guy and noticed that he was stuck. As I couldn't get his car free, I offered to drive him home. He appreciated the offer, and when I returned 20 minutes later, I parked down by Vassbotnen.
On the way up the forest road, I met a tractor with two men onboard. One of them said "You're in for a hell of a ride" (translated). Not figuring Volda to be Redneck country, I presumed that he was talking about skiing. Because of the engine noise, he wanted to make sure I understood, and assumed hockey position, wagging his butt back and forth. At this point in time, I prayed that he was talking about skiing..
In for a hell of a ride
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I hadn't been on the forest road for long before I started looking forward to the descent. It would be a fast one! The hairpin-curves seemed intriguing. Would I have the nerve to make the turns in Telemark-style, with the risk of ending up far down in the forest?
But foremost, my focus was on the mountain. The forest road ended at approx. 450m elev., and then I got on a ridge with little snow, calling for a slalom descent. The ridge proper was icy, but not difficult to ski. I reached the top of Skarphornet 12:40pm, 1h:50m after leaving the trailhead.
Two people were on their way up the northwest ridge, and arrived just as I was ready to leave. We chatted briefly. One of them was Per Brekke, who had also supplied the Ivar Aasen hotel with pictures. He had a kickass (and obviously expensive) camera, and Mom - if you read this - that's what I want for Christmas..
Kolåstinden seen from Skarphornet
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It was time for my "hell of a ride", and I couldn't get down to the forest road soon enough. But I soon found out that there was no way I would descend this road in hockey position. Fortunately, my skis are quite short, and I was able to ski down in slalom-style, allowing me to reduce speed just enough to not freak out completely.
Some turns were done in Telemark-style, some in slalom-style. It being early in the skiing season, the descent was tiring, and I often had to stop to rest my legs. The descent from 450m to 50m took 10 minutes, which isn't very fast, but besides the resting stops, there were also some flat sections which took some time to cross. Nevertheless, the descent was indeed memorable, and it certainly turned the hike from being a bit dull to quite exciting.
