Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Sprovstinden on skis, Feb 11 2006

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FINALLY a Saturday without snowfall, rainshowers or gale-force winds, and I had my eyes set for Sprovstinden. This mountain truly stands out when viewed from the Ålesund area, and I was very keen on visiting this top. The weather forecast reported overcast sky, with strong winds along the coast. I assumed it would be cold at the summit, but there was no reason to spend the day up there.

I parked near the Ørskogfjellet Alpinsenter, which was closed. I wrapped my four-legged buddy "Troll" in a warm blanket, and headed out 10:10AM. I dreaded the descent already at the lower section of the downhill slope I ascended. A lot of snow had fallen, but easily I broke through the powder snow and touched rocks on the ground.

The ascent was far from fast. Breaking trail costs. Carrying a dog costs too. And I was wearing too much clothes. Snow conditions improved above 600m elevation, and sunshine came along. After the initial fatigue, I got my strengths back and, looking aside from emerging blisters, skiing was fun again.

We reached Sandtinden, 12:10PM, two hours after leaving the car. 380 vertical meters ascent per hour wasn't all that impressive, but it was a fairly steep slope, and there was a lot of snow. It was quite cold at the summit, and I put on extra gloves, an extra hat and the winter jacket. Only my butt was still cold, but there were no more clothes in the backpack. I checked how the dog was doing. He had icicles under his eyes.

I cleaned up the dog and continued towards Sprovstinden. I read the terrain all wrong. From Sandtinden, the connecting ridge looked narrow and the slopes up to Sprovstinden seemed very steep. This was apparently light and shadows playing a trick with my mind, because the ridge was wide and slope was gentle.

We reached Sprovstinden summit 12:50PM and it was a hostile place. The powder snow blew across the mountain, covering my tracks. But I was able to get my usual panorama pictures before I turned around. I was surprised to find no cairn on top.

Skiing down was no problem, considering the awkward backpack. We paused by the upper ski-lift. I had earned a chocolate bar, and the dog was treated with his usual summit lunch-box, even if he hadn't walked a single step on this mountain. Not his fault, however. I had to take the skis off between 480m and 380m elevation, as my skis ran into one rock after the other. Terrible skiing conditions. We were back at the car 14:15PM, approx. 4 hours after we left. A very good day in the mountains.

Pictures from the Feb 11 2006 hike

1. Sprovstinden seen from distance (145KB) 2. Festøykollen seen from Sjøholt (162KB)

Sandtinden

3. The starting point (160KB) 4. My ascent route (taken after the hike) (260KB) 5. On the way to Sandtinden (165KB) 6. View down the slopes (440KB) 7. Ørskogfjellet (436KB) 8. Breaking trail has its moments (207KB) 9. Breaking the big white (236KB) 10. Sandtinden summit 252KB) 11. Trolltinden & Ytstetinden seen from Sandtinden (270KB) 12. Trolltinden & Ytstetinden seen from Sandtinden (305KB) 13. Sprovstinden to the right (412KB) 14. Wide-angle panorama from Sandtinden (902KB) 15. Sandtinden (355KB)

Sprovstinden 50mm panorama, 3 parts (annotated)

16. Sprovstinden 50mm panorama 1/3 (1279KB) 17. Sprovstinden 50mm panorama 2/3 (1088KB) 18. Sprovstinden 50mm panorama 3/3 (794KB)

Sprovstinden wide-angle panoramas, 2 parts (not annotated)

19. Sprovstinden wide-angle panorama 1/2 (1032KB) 20. Sprovstinden wide-angle panorama 2/2 (373KB)

300mm zooms from Sprovstinden (some annotated)

21. Trolltinden & Ytstetinden seen from Sprovstinden (249KB) 22. Romsdalen mountains, seen from Sprovstinden (865KB) 23. Sunnmøre alps, seen from Sprovstinden (756KB) 24. Ålesund region, seen from Sprovstinden (620KB) 25. Lauparen region, seen from Sprovstinden (1/2) (709KB) 26. Lauparen region, seen from Sprovstinden (2/2) (394KB) 27. Haram mountains, seen from Sprovstinden (757KB)

Other Sprovstinden pictures

28. Civilisation, as seen from Sprovstinden (163KB) 29. Lebergsfjellet seen from Sprovstinden (322KB) 30. Sandtinden seen from Sprovstinden (497KB) 31. Sprovstinden east ridge (365KB)

Descent

32. Pause at 700m elevation (153KB) 33. Back to start (264KB)

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