Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Kvasshornet/Jolhornet on skis, May 25 2008


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To Kvasshornet

To Kvasshornet
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On this gorgeous ..

..Sunday, I met with Daniel in Volda. We had spent Saturday evening in different ways; Daniel had skied Svinetinden in Ørsta and spent the night in Volda, in his car. I spent Saturday evening in bed, trying to recover from a bad hangover and dehydration. But now we were in Volda, heading for the beautiful Bjørke region, with Kvasshornet as the main target.

I didn't know it at the time, but a friend of mine - Åsmund was skiing Klovtinden (Rognestøylstindane) on the other side of Rognestøyldalen valley, and another friend - Svein - was skiing Eidskyrkja on the opposite side of Austefjorden. In other words, the Ørsta/Volda region was the place to be on this beautiful Sunday in May. I can only imagine the crowds on Skårasalen, Grøtdalstindane and Kolåstinden.

To Kvasshornet via Jolhornet

We left the Bakkedalen trail head 09:55AM. We only walked for a couple of minutes before we could put the skis on. After some creative skiing, we moved onto more solid snow, and picked a route that seemed to be in safe distance away from the avalanches below Jolhornet. But we hadn't been skiing for long before an avalanche crossed our tracks. It wasn't a massive avalanche - but if it came your way, you'd wish you weren't there.  The slabs below Jolhornet seemed very unfriendly. You'll understand when you're there.

11:25AM, we were on the Storetinden - Jolhornet ridge. The day before, this hillside had a 5cm layer of fresh snow that some skiers had set off. Not all of it was gone, and it made me nervous. We skied Jolhornet's south flank until I decided to get onto safer ground. I took the skis off and proceeded up the ridge on foot. Daniel kept on skiing. His nerves are made of cold steel.

We passed Jolhornet 12:25PM. Most people would leave the skis on Jolhornet and proceed on foot. Daniel kept on skiing. We had to pass a cliff on the outside, but the snow conditions were favorable. Passing the cliff posed no problems, although the snow bridge connecting the ridge and the cornice outside the cliff didn't seem to have many days left.

Just before Kvasshornet's summit plateau, we ran into naked rock. I had assumed Daniel would continue skiing on the rock, but to my big surprise, he took the skis off . We reached Kvasshornet summit 12:45PM and had an enjoyable stay at the top.

Some minutes later, Astri and Geir-Ove arrived on top. I had met them on Snøhornet back in 2007. We discussed Kvasshornet back then, and Geir-Ove later sent me pictures. I was looking at these pictures early Sunday morning. How strange it was to run into them on Kvasshornet..

The route from Bakkedalen

The route from Bakkedalen
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Descent

Daniel had a plan to join some friends and ski Skårasalen (1542m) later on. Kvasshornet (from Bakkedalen) is a full day's project for most people coming from Ålesund, but for Daniel it seemed only natural to proceed to a higher mountain.

I was confident he would pass the cliff on foot, but no. I studied him as he set a whole lot of snow in motion below this cliff, and envied him the control he obviously felt. I'd like to feel some of that control, and only training will get me there.

I had expected that I would descend Jolhornet on skis without too much worry, but I was wrong. Without the (seemingly) unstable snow conditions, I wouldn't have worried, but I chickened out and descended the upper part along the ridge, on foot, watching Daniel vanish down the hillside.

By now, the snow was quite wet and heavy, and skiing down wasn't fun at all. I could only forget about Telemark and had to descend in slalom style. My legs were exhausted after a few minutes. The snow in the lower parts had melted during the day, but Daniel kept on skiing. I've never seen people ski down a creek before..

We were back at the car 14:30PM, after a very nice trip. I had a dog to attend to, while Daniel had a higher mountain to ski. Driving convertible back to Ålesund made the day even better, and once back home, my dear neighbour had already walked the dog. Even so, I went up to Sukkertoppen later in the evening, just to taste the contrasts between a snowy Ørsta mountain and coastline summer.

Pictures

The pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 300D + Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS USM F 4-5.6

 
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To Jolhornet

1. Jakta seen from Finnes 2. View up the mountain 3. The trail head 4. Dangerous slabs below Jolhornet 5. Bakkedalsvatnet 6. Avalanche crossing our tracks 7. In a sheltered spot 8. Jolhornet ahead 9. Kvitegga 10. On the Storetinden - Jolhornet ridge 11. The ridge towards Jolhornet 12. Towards Jolhornet 13. On the flank below Jolhornet 14. High on Jolhornet

Wide-angle view from Jolhornet

15. Wide-angle view from Jolhornet

To Kvasshornet

16. Kvasshornet ahead 17. Daniel passing the cliff 18. Looking back at Jolhornet 19. Kvasshornet ahead 20. Looking back on Jolhornet 21. Entering Kvasshornet 22. Colored lakes far below 23. Daniel and I on Kvasshornet 24. Daniel by the cairn 25. Kvasshornkollen

Wide-angle views from Kvasshornet

26. Wide-angle view from Kvasshornet 27. Wide-angle view from Kvasshornet 28. Wide-angle view from Kvasshornet

85m zoom views from Kvasshornet

29. 85mm zoom view from Kvasshornet 30. 85mm zoom view from Kvasshornet 31. 85mm zoom view from Kvasshornet

Descent

32. Astri and Per-Ove arrives on Kvasshornet 33. Jolhornet ahead 34. The snow bridge next to the cliff 35. Daniel skiing outside the cliff 36. Daniel safely down 37. View back up the mountain 38. Driving down Bakkedalen 39. Jakta and Risenosa 40. Jakta 41. Kjerringkjeften

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