Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Eidskyrkja on skis via Skinnviksætra, Mar 29 2009


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The route from Skinnviksætra (ski-tracks are visible)

The route from Skinnviksætra (ski-tracks are visible)
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The goal for this Sunday was Middagshornet (880m) - a sort of anonymous top below the mighty Eidskyrkja massif. I hadn't even given Eidskyrkja one single thought, expecting the wind on the mountain to be way above my comfort zone. When I arrived at Skinvika, I noticed that the toll road to Skinnviksætra seemed to have been plowed. It was a bit strange, though; there was 10cm snow on the ground, but the road was snow-free. At least as far as I could see. In the end, I decided to walk this road and get some vertical meters in return.

Around the next bend, I saw that the road had snow, but it had been plowed. A couple of cars passed me, and I was offered a lift. I declined. The walk was nice. I enjoyed the sun shining through snowy trees, with the mighty mountains on the other side of Austefjorden creating formidable scenery. It was just an outstanding day.

 

Approaching Skinnviksætra

Approaching Skinnviksætra
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35 minutes after heading out, I arrived at the Skinnviksætra parking. More cars had passed, and I had a quick chat with two girls about to head out. Everyone was apparently heading towards Eidskyrkja. Hell if I would settle for Middagshornet if I could follow tracks up to Eidskyrkja! I had certainly planned to ski this mountain this Easter, and since Easter was around the corner, I might as well do it now.

My only concern was that I hadn't brought any food or water. I emptied the backpack and found a bottle with 0,25L of old water, and a handful nuts at the bottom of a side pocket. "That'll do", I concluded. After all, I was in a very good physical condition, and not a bit tired after the ascent to Skinnviksætra. Only 1132 vertical meters to go. Nothing to it!!

On the way to Eidskyrkja

On the way to Eidskyrkja
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Had I been alone up here, without any tracks ahead of me, I would have settled for Middagshornet. But thanks to 3 guys far, far ahead of me, skiing was easy. It was a warm day, and I didn't have to wear any jacket. The first leg up the valley went by quickly, as I was quite busy checking out Tårnet and Litle-Eidskyrkja.

When I reached the small lake at 900m, I needed more energy. I ate my handful of nuts and drank 0,1L of my precious water. I was gaining ground on the 3 guys ahead of me, and it became a motivational factor to catch up with them. The number of switchbacks up the glacier seemed infinite, but eventually I was looking back on Kollefjellet, as opposed to looking up to it.

Looking back on Kollefjellet

Looking back on Kollefjellet
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I caught up with the other guys at 1380m elevation. The upper part of Eidskyrkja was fogged in, and they didn't intend to head into the fog. I said that "having come this far, I'm not turning around now". Hearing my own words, I realized how stupid they sounded and I quickly added; "...knowing that it's safe to continue", while pointing at my GPS.

I continued up the mountain and reached the summit cairn 3 hours after leaving the trailhead. The distance travelled was approx. 7,7 and the vertical gain was approx. 1412m. And I finished the rest of the water, very grateful about having had any water at all.

The summit was a very, very, very cold place, and my hands were freezing. Eidskyrkja was the only mountain with a cloud on top, which was disappointing, given the potential grand view from this top. To get an impression of the views, look at the panoramas taken from the neighbour mountain Matøskja. I only spent a few minutes on the summit before heading back down.

Descending Eidskyrkja

Descending Eidskyrkja
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Descending Eidskyrkja was åsåm. 1000 vertical meters of Telemark skiing in 20cm powder snow with firm snow beneath. The two girls I chatted with at the parking had also turned around, but two more skiers were on their way upwards. I assume at least one of them would make it to the top.

I've never skied so fast before. I fell, smiled, got up again, hurtled on, fell again, etc. It only took 30 minutes back to the Skinnviksætra parking (including falls, pictures and rests). It was a bit disappointing having to walk back down the road. A 1400m descent would have been super-åsåm! No complaints, though. I found water, which tasted heavenly! And the hot-dog in Volda even more so! Once back home, I hiked Huldrehornet (271m), and walked a bit funny on Monday morning...

Pictures

The first set of pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 450D + Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS USM F 4-5.6.

 
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To Skinvika

0. Trip tracks 1. Saudehornet, Ørsta 2. Volda & Vanylven peaks 3. Snøhornet 4. Eidskyrkja massif 5. Skaphornet 6. Eidskyrkja massif 7. Eidskyrkja massif, zoomed in 8. Skinvika trailhead

To Eidskyrkja

9. Blåfjellsegga 10. Snøhornet, 1309m 11. On the mountain road 12. Approaching Skinnviksætra 13. Litle-Eidskyrkja 14. On skis 15. On the way to Eidskyrkja 16. Litle-Eidskyrkja 17. Skinnviksætra 18. Skinnviksætra 19. Litle-Eidskyrkja 20. On the way to Eidskyrkja 21. Middagshornet 22. Tårnet 23. Towards the glacier 24. Tårnet 25. View across Austefjorden 26. Guys breaking trail 27. Kollefjellet 28. On the plateau 29. The other skiers descending 30. Looking back on the plateau 31. Eidskyrkja summit cairn

Descent

32. Kollefjellet 33. Sunndalsnipa 34. Descending Eidskyrkja 35. Descending Eidskyrkja 36. Not signed by dare-devils, but still fun 37. Tracks on Snøhornet 38. Peaks across Austefjorden 39. Eidskyrkja massif. Tracks are seen

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