Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal
Eidskyrkja on skis from Skinnviksætra, Apr 24 2011
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The route from Skinnviksætra
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After a very memorable ski-trip to Storetinden the day before, Anne and me set up camp in Bakkedalen. We found a perfect spot by the river and woke up to the same stunning weather as we had the day before. The original plan was to do another mountain from Bakkedalen, but I suggested that we should go to Eidskyrkja instead. That mountain has great views, and I had only been up there in fog. So, after a nice breakfast we packed our bags and drove to Skinnviksætra.
Morning in Bakkedalen
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The perfect time to ski Eidskyrkja from Skinnviksætra is when the road is open all the way to the parking (340 meters), and you can start skiing immediately. We were now coming to the end of this period. My guess was that within the very next days, you would have to carry the skis for a little while. But today, we could ski directly from the parking, and everything was just fine!
Heading out
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We headed out 9:50am, which was quite early. There was no doubt that Eidskyrkja would be a "crowded" mountain today, but so far, the activity was modest. We had 4-5 skiers ahead of us, and a couple was trailing. I sincerely hoped that the weather would stay good so I could get my summit pictures. Eidskyrkja is known for the fog on top, and it just wouldn't be fair if that should (against all odds) happen today.
Eidskyrkja is an impressive sight from all angles, and perhaps especially from the north. I was happy to take Anne up here, and it wasn't hard to tell that she enjoyed being up here either...
Mighty terrain
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As we made our way up the mountain, the once-so-blue sky was no longer blue and I feared that we would be cheated out of the views from the summit. Moreover, it was getting windy and a bit cold. Better suit up and pick up the pace...
Gaining altitude...
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We reached the summit cairn 12:07pm - 2h:17m after heading out. The first skiers were already on their way down the mountain while the others were busy at the cairn. All of a sudden, 3 snowboarders came out of nowhere (possibly from the Grøndalen side) and one of them was wearing shorts! Brrr - that didn't seem very smart at all, but who am I to judge...
On top of Eidskyrkja
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It was way to chilly to spend leisure time on the top, so after taking the summit pictures, we headed back down. With more than 1100 vertical meters of descent ahead of us, things were looking up! A number of skiers were heading up the mountain and Eidskyrkja summit was soon about to be a busy place...
The snow quality was OK, but not excellent. It was quite hard below Kollefjellet, but got better further down. In any case, skiing was a pure delight...
Descending Eidskyrkja
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We returned to the trailhead 1pm - 3h:10m after leaving. There was no place to park for miles around, and in one way I missed the solitude that Storetinden and Bakkedalen offered. On the other hand - I have no right to complain about anything! No right at all...
Sha-la-la
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