Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Lesten/Rosethaugane via Måsegjølet, Sep 29 2006

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Måsegjølet

Måsegjølet

This was a short evening hike that I will remember, as it contained elements that touched something inside. I had no plan, other than that time didn't allow for anything but a short hike. I hadn't been to Godøya in some time, and I hadn't visited Alnes since the hike with Terje, back in April. On the "Absolute Lesten" hike from Gjuv, also back in April, I almost reached Alnes before I headed up Søre Dalen and back onto the plateau. Thus, there was a section between Alnes and Søre Dalen that I hadn't hiked. This was the only plan for the day. My dachshund "Troll" came along for a free ride in the backpack.

I left Alnes 16:10PM and headed westbound. The weather was a bit "grey", but it wasn't raining. I was a bit curious about how this hike would end. The plan I made along the way was to get Måsegjølet in view, but I didn't think I would be able to ascend it. Not with the dog anyway. I expected to return the same way, along the shore.

The walk along the shore was a true delight. I walked down by the ocean, jumping between rocks, route-finding, while the waves hit the coast, making pretty nice scenery! Nice, to the extent that I had no vertical ambitions as I headed towards the Lestaskjeret reef.

But at last, I had the Måsegjølet couloir in view, and my vertical side told my horisontal side (which is a weak side, so there was no fight, really) that I should head up and at least, take a look at the couloir. So I did. And this was a cumbersome ascent. The ice-axe (yes, I brought one. I mostly do) came in very handy, as the holes between the rocks were really nasty and dangerous. Peek and poke. Yup, there was another hole.

Once I was inside the couloir, it looked both easy and difficult. Easy, because of the terrain. Difficult, because of the steep hill. But switchbacking back and forth (yes, that's what switchbacking is...) got me past the spots where a fall would have been .. inconvenient. It had started to rain, light, and the grass was slippery. No telling how far one would go, should a slide take place.

The overall route was YDS class 2 (just off-trail, finding the best route), but one point qualified as class 3. It was a fairly simple step, but there were no handholds. I tried, using the axe to dig for handholds, but came up empty. As it seemed as this was the only troublesome spot, I was very keen to advance, and ended up with jamming the axe in a spot my hands weren't able to reach. Then I pulled myself up. Troll, enjoying the day from the backpack, never uttered a sound. He's been through these kinds of ordeals before.

Although steep in places, the rest of the ascent was fairly easy. I topped out on what is called Lesten on the 1:50,000 map and Rotsethaugane on Økonomisk Kartverk. I had passed through here before, but never paid much attention to the couloir. Here was a path, a very WET path, but Troll didn't seem to mind. Happy to be grounded, so to speak. We passed the hut west of Alnesvatnet and got on the main trail down to Alnes. By 18:05PM, we were back at the car.

Pictures from the hike

Along the coastline

1. Map of the route (203KB) 2. Alnes lighthouse (106KB) 3. The trailhead (178KB) 4. Cool horizon (134KB) 5. Lestaskjeret ahead (162KB) 6. Big rock (197KB) 7. Incoming sea (277KB) 8. Splat .. (171KB)

Måsegjølet

9. Heading up to the couloir (178KB) 10. Cool ridge (188KB) 11. Inside the couloir (292KB) 12. Steep hill (278KB) 13. Cool rock formations (214KB) 14. View down the couloir (176KB) 15. Almost on top .. (174KB) 16. View down the couloir (169KB)

Descent

17. Topping out (180KB) 18. Storhornet in view (361KB) 19. Alnes (263KB) 20. Alnes (235KB) 21. Black-faced sheep (278KB) 22. Bay surfers (132KB) 23. Cool horizon (108KB)

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