Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Snøhornet (1309m) on skis from Årset, Feb 11 2012


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Our route, as seen in Google Earth

Our route, as seen in Google Earth
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While Anne was traveling in Argentina, I got a visit from my friend Petter Bjørstad from Bergen. After going through a number of peaks that he would like to visit, we settled on Snøhornet (on the Ørsta/Volda border) for this Saturday, even if the weather was not so great. When we left my house in the morning, it was raining on Gurskøya and we could see that it was snowing in the Ørsta and Volda mountains.   

We chose to ascend from Årset - the normal winter route to Snøhornet. I had done this route once before -  Feb 10 2007 - almost on the day 5 years ago! One thing is for certain; we had a lot more snow back then...

 

Lacking snow...

Lacking snow...
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I had already "warned" Petter about the forest between Årset and Litlesætra, and told him it was slightly cumbersome - yet knowing that he doesn't usually worry about things before it is strictly necessary. So when I heard - every so often - "o la la" behind me in the forest, I was smiling to myself. It's probably been a while since Petter skied a route like this.

 

Forest challenges

Forest challenges
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I enjoyed the ascent up the forest, but I found it more likely that we would be walking down this way. We passed Litlesætra and I realized that I still have no clue what Litlesætra is (a cabin or ruins?).

There was a lot more snow in the upper forest, and the snow was of good quality. I looked forward to ski down here. Petter was skiing on his new randonee skis, and I have to admit - it was a bit unusual to see him with this type of equipment. This is normally how I picture Petter on skis, but at least the weather seemed to be the same...

Next top was Årsetsætra (550m), where we found it proper to dress up for rougher weather...

 

Årsetsætra

Årsetsætra
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The big question was if we would run into ice up on the mountain, but we were prepared (crampons and ice-axes) anyway. The ascent from Årsetsætra to the Snøhornet ridge at 1100m involves a couple of steep sections, but we were able to ski all the way up to the ridge. 

At approx. 900m, there is a small "bowl" where cornices had been building up. As the cornices were facing the mountainside, I didn't see them very well. But as I put my foot on it, the edge of the cornice collapsed under my feet, and I barely avoided falling into the bowl. That was just plain scary! Some of those chunks were way bigger than me!

 

The ground collapsed under my feet...

The ground collapsed under my feet...
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The terrain now got steeper and I began to lose my perception of depth. Every time my skis lost the grip, I felt that I would fall off the mountain. So I chose to ascend a short pitch on foot while Petter was skiing above me. Once I saw contours in the terrain, I was back on my skis and we sat course for Snøhornet's southwest ridge.

Visibility was deteriorating by the minute, and when we reached the final hill on the ridge, there ground was so icy that we decided to proceed on foot (from 1190m). After a short ascent and a ridge walk in white-out, we arrived on top of Snøhornet 1:43pm - 3,5 hours after heading out.

 

On foot to the summit

On foot to the summit
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The conditions on top were somewhat hostile, and we didn't stay longer than we had to. Visibility had now changed from bad to worse, and it was convenient to let our GPS units lead us back to our skis. The next 200 vertical meters of descent were just awful, as the point man was not able to separate the ground from the air. And for me, there was a new lesson learned; it is almost impossible to be the point man in a white-out and descend safely while holding the GPS in one hand. Solution for the future; cord around the neck...

At 900m, visibility was getting much better and we could ski down to Årsetsætra in a fairly normal fashion...

 

Skiing - with some challenges involved

Skiing - with some challenges involved
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The part from Årsetsætra and down to the top of the steep forest was incredibly fun. But we chose to descend the awkward forest on foot. We returned to the car 3:30pm - 5h:15m after heading out, quite happy about the trip. And one minute later, Anne was calling from Argentina ;)

Thanks to Petter for a nice trip! It's good to be two under these conditions...

 

Pictures

The pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 550D + Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS USM F 4-5.6

 

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To Snøhornet

1. Årset trailhead 2. Up the forest road 3. In the forest 4. Challenge ahead 5. Solved! 6. Moving on 7. Passing Litlesætra 8. Litledalshornet 9. Excellent snow quality! 10. Towards Årsetsætra 11. Towards Årsetsætra 12. Årsetsætra 13. Litledalshornet and Blåfjellsegga 14. Gearing up... 15. Moving on 16. View up the mountain 17. Mighty background 18. A scary moment 19. The final hill 20. Petter on Snøhornet

Descent

21. Descending 22. O-la-la 23. Below the white-out 24. Returning to Årsetsætra

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