Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal
Næremstindan
Høgsvora, Mar 11 2006
This route is described on the Høgsvora main page.
The routes up & down Høgsvora
(Click for larger image)
It was a brilliant Saturday. The time had come to visit Høgsvora. I had already been up
to Blåskjerdingen, Trolltinden and Sprovstinden, and I seem to be collecting peaks in the eastbound
direction. Høgsvora was "next in line". The high point (1164m) was tempting, but not while
carrying my dachshund "Troll" in the backpack. I was a bit worried about the temperatures. Brilliant
weather this time of year normally involves centigrades on the minus side.
I arrived Vaksvikfjellet 09:30AM and the place was quiet. I noticed the fee-based parking, but didn't
have any coins. I parked outside something that looked like a B&B, and told myself that I was an eligible
guest, but I wanted to check out the local mountains first. With good conscience in place, I left the
trailhead 09:35AM.
There was not a skier in sight, and I was convinced I would be the first person on
the mountain this morning. The plan was to follow the trade route, but when I got my eyes on the south
ridge, I was tempted. I could see ski-tracks on the ridge, and figured that if others have skied this ridge,
I could too.
On the way up the south ridge, I noticed a Telemark skier leaving pretty tracks down from Høgsvora.
That guy had made an early start! The ridge was fun until I was standing on top of a 3m high cornice.
The cornice was airy and in order not to mess up things, I would have to focus on the "job at hand".
The "job at hand" simply involved skiing down the 3m cornice without falling. The snow was hard and the
shadows made the terrain a bit difficult to read. I considered taking the skis off, but ended up
concluding that I would be safer with the skis on. I grabbed the lower end of the poles, turning them
into "ice-axes" in the event of a fall. It felt a bit silly, as in any other circumstance, the descent
from this cornice would have been a no-brainer.
The descent went well, but I blew steam when it was over. The rest of the ridge didn't offer any further
challenges, and I could let Troll out of the backpack. He ascended the remaining 50 vertical meters
to the summit, which we arrived 11:20AM.
It wasn't too cold on the summit, and I took my time with the pictures while Troll enjoyed his summit
lunch. I noticed that a "string" of skiers were on the way upwards, and that many would reach
the top this Saturday. I'm not too crazy about crowded tops, but at least I had the summit all to myself.
With all the tracks available, Troll was able to walk all the way back down to the trailhead,
and while the dog ran down the mountain, seemingly happy, I practiced on my turns.
Again, I noticed that I can only do left-turns, and that the inner ski was trailing like a dead item.
We passed a couple of dozen skiers on the way down, having all sorts of opinions on the dachshund
that was descending this mountain;
- "Oh dear, please carry the dog in the backpack"
- "Has he really been up the mountain?"
- "???"
- "Sooo short legs..."
- "Good dog!"
- "he he.."
Most skiers were considerate, and stepped out of the trail when Troll came running down, but
a few didn't bother. Troll ended up in a "sea of powder", and only his head could be seen.
The "Oh dear.." sentence was launched from a couple of elder women, leaving an insane stench of perfume,
and I suspected they would settle for peeling oranges at the mountain foothills (no harm in that). Troll was a "good dog"
and ran all the way back to the trailhead, which we reached 12:40PM. There road was absolutely packed
with cars, and I was glad I could leave the mountain now. I considered doing another top in the area,
but wanted to get away from this crowded place and settled for a nice afternoon hike to Blindheimsfjellet instead.
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