Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal
Storgrovfjellet, June 8 2008
To the main Storgrovfjellet page (maps, route descriptions, etc.)
The route to Storgrovfjellet
(Click for larger image)
as this was the third year in a row that Svein, Geir and I met on the Trollstigen road for summer-skiing. We visited Finnan in 2006, Breitinden in 2007, and this year' plan was Storgrovfjellet. I love coming to this area in spring, and if possible, I'll always continue to do so (who's that old man with a stick, heading up Trollryggen? ...)
The route to Storgrovfjellet ..
is straightforward. There is no need for an ice-axe, crampons, rope or anything of that sort. In other words, the backpack is light. The parking area was closed due to construction work, but we parked outside the gate as we didn't expect anyone to work on Sundays. Geir arrived right on time from Molde, and by 07:55AM (!) we were on our way to the mountain. The early start was necessary as rain was expected in the afternoon. But on this morning, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day.
Just like last year's trip to Breitinden, we had to carry the skis until we reached the waterfall. We also had to carry the skis for a short leg a bit higher up. We crossed the river on a seemingly good snowbridge and sat course for point 1464m, which we called Litlegrovfjellet for common reference between ourselves. This was a good viewpoint too, and we had lunch while watching clouds moving in from the south. I was paying particular attention to Trollryggen, which is probably the next top I'll visit in this area. Time will tell if the date reads June 2009.
After lunch, we continued up the mountain and passed a false summit which we called Mellomgrovfjellet, or even Halvgrovfjellet. The mountain humor had no end..
We reached the top ..
of Storgrovfjellet 11:06AM, which meant ascent time was roughly 3 hours in a moderate pace, and lunch included. We moved over to a better viewpoint just south of the summit and enjoyed the mighty views towards Bispen, Kongen, Isterdalen, Trolltindane and Breitinden.
Looking down on Isterdalen
(Click for larger image)
Descent
We left Storgrovfjellet 11:35AM. I skied ahead, in the direction of Litlegrovfjellet, planning to get some superb shots of the others, with Trolltindane as background. There was just no end to how cool those pictures would be! Geir came blistering down the mountain. I tried to point out where I wanted him to ski, but he just aimed straight at me, and passed inches away from me. I got one picture where parts of Geir's head dominated the picture. And blurry as it was, it went straight to the recycle bin.
Then it was Svein's turn. He seemed to have the right direction and I was ready with fast shutter speed and Store Trolltind as the background. But then he changed direction and passed on the other side. Great. Just great....
But it is understandable that focus was on skiing. That's what we came here for, and the snow was just excellent. Too bad it's all over in just a matter of minutes. Shortly after, we were back in Stigbotnen and headed towards the trail head, which we reached 12:30PM. We had "skied" on foot down a short, but steep slope of snow near the Trollstigen viewpoint, which was seemingly good fun for the tourists. I won't be surprised if a picture of Svein, likely titled "Der verrückte Norweger" will surface on the internet one of these days...
And the rain? It came as we drove down Valldalen..
Svein's trip report on fjellinordvest.net can be found here.
