Norwegian Mountains - Route Descriptions - Skarven in Skorgedalen, Isfjorden

Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Skarven on skis, Apr 1 2007

For Information, maps, trailhead and route descriptions, click HERE.

Trip report, Apr 1 2007

Having visited Jendemsfjellet in Fræna on foot the day before, the interest for a skiing trip had been restored. For some reason, Skarven was the first mountain I thought of, when I woke up this Sunday morning. I knew nothing about the mountain, and it had not been on my to-do list. But I knew it was sort of a standalone mountain, and I - vaguely - recalled a forest road from the map. I looked out the window. The sky was grey, and pictured myself arriving Skarven under difficult lighting conditions. Still, the trip was a GO.

It is a fairly long drive from Ålesund to Skorgedalen. Almost 2 hours. To enjoy the drive better, I pulled down the roof, and put on a Traveling Wilburys CD that I hadn't played in 17 years. I entered Åndalsnes, singing "The Devil's Been Busy in Your Backyard" in a false tune, but with a good state of mind.

At the head of the Skorgedalen valley, a person was collecting the toll fee. I didn't know that this was a toll road (she wanted NOK 50,-), and I didn't know that the LARGE parking area would be COMPLETELY PACKED. I had been looking forward to solitude, and here I was, in Rauma's most popular skiing region. I didn't even know there was a slalom hill, although I wondered what the "Skisenter" sign was all about.

Ascent

My dog "Troll" and I headed out 11:35AM. It was too early in the day to ascend the mountain on vax-free skis, so I had put the skins on. We were following scooter-tracks for a while, and Troll was able to walk. I then chose to head directly up the forest, north of point 588m. This route took me directly into Skarvebotnen, and I had to decide the further route.

Scooter tracks into Skarvebotnen was the determining factor, and Troll was now walking again. From 700m elevation, I carried him all the way to the top, which we reached 13:00PM. I hadn't been skiing very fast, but still I arrived the summit 5 minutes before a party that was at 500m elevation on the SW ridge, as I parked the car.

Two girls were at the summit, and three more skiers were on their way. It seemed that most of the Skorgedalen visitors were enjoying the day in cabins or in the slalom hill. Perhaps on Smørbottsfjellet as well. I enjoyed the views. I was able to recognize the majority of the notable peaks, 360 degrees around. This means I have spent my year (++) up here well, and should be able to face any Nordmøring, Romsdaling or Sunnmøring in an upright position.

Descent

I REALLY wanted to descend my ascent route, but I had to consider that I was "wearing" a dog. I chose to descend via the SW ridge, and I didn't regret this decision. This side of the mountain had very few tracks (most people ascend here) and I was able to ski FAST on GOOD snow, just barely warmed up by the sun. This was one of the most enjoyable descents on skis I ever had. I chose to ski slalom-style, keeping the backpack somewhat steady. Yet, I would pay GOOD money to learn what the dog was thinking, right there and then. He kept calm all the way down to point 588m, where we ran into scooter tracks. From this point, he ran all the way back to the trailhead.

The descent with the dog in the backpack didn't go unnoticed. Several skiing parties were on their way upwards. Some seemed to get a good photograph, others just kept staring (yes, I look over my shoulder). 14:03PM, we were back at the trailhead. Roof back down, and Traveling Wilburys back on. And then a nice hike to Sukkertoppen once back in Ålesund.