Norwegian Mountains - Route Descriptions

Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Tussen, Dec 9 2007

This route is described on the Tussen main page.

Tussen
(Click for larger image)

Achiii...

I honestly don't recall the last time I had the flu. Definitely years ago, but this December there was no escape. I had been down with fever last week-end, and spent the week trying to recover. I wasn't in terrific shape, but simply had to get out. The cold, gorgeous weather wasn't favorable in that respect, but I was quite willing to trade a new mountain top for another week with coughs and a running nose.

The parameters...

.. for where to go were more complex than usual. I set up the following order: a) it had to be a top I hadn't been to before, b) I wanted to ski it, c) I wanted to keep energy spent at a minimum, d) the views had to be good, and e) if possible, the dog could walk some. I spent some time going over the maps. When I discovered there was a road to Tussen, the matter was settled.

Cold morning

It had been raining the day before, then came the low temperature and thus, roads with undercooled rain. I am no big fan of driving long distances on roads like that, but I will if I "have to". I had sufficient time for reaching the 09:45AM ferry from Vestnes, but then I discovered that my new skiing boots were smaller than my usual plastic boots. Thus, they didn't fit in the binding. 10 minutes later, the problem was fixed, but I was now in a hurry. Given that the icy roads permitted me to stay with the speed limit, I would barely make the ferry connection. Fortunately, the road to Vestnes hasn't too many bends and curves, and I reached the ferry harbor 09:44AM.

On skis or on foot?

At the Tusten ski-centre, the man preparing the downhill slopes told me that the road had a hard crust with 1cm fresh snow on top. Since the sun was on its way up, I decided to put the skis on, although I easily could have reached the top on foot.

Troll (the dog) walked the road for a while. A belt wagon had driven the lower part of the road, and for a fury little fellow with small feet, walking became difficult. I put him in the backpack and continued upwards. I moved slow, trying to save as much energy as possible. A fleece neck protected my nose and my mouth. All in all, trying to avoid getting sicker on this mountain. Energy was low, but the gorgeous day was fuel in itself.

Wonderful views

I left the parking 10:55AM and reached the summit 12:35PM. Man, it felt good to be outdoors again. And the view was just as great as I knew it would be. After all, this wasn't my first visit to the area.

I wrapped a large blanket around the dog while taking pictures. That didn't stop him from trembling, but whether he was actually freezing or just being a dachshund, I will never know. The thought was unavoidable; why is it only me on top of this mountain, on this beautiful Sunday? After all, there is a big city just below.

Descent

I did strongly consider descending the downhill slope, but chose not to. The upper slope wasn't "open", and there was simply not enough safe snow. Rocks were lurking just underneath. Descending the road would be just fine, as the dog could walk all the way down. As I passed the tower, the mountain suddenly got "crowded". A family were on their way down, and several others were on their way up. We kept the family company most of the way down, and they were good company.

13:50PM, we were back at the car. It had been an easy trip for me, but harder for Troll. My 14 year old buddy fell asleep before I got the car started. I didn't feel any worse than I felt this morning, which was a good sign. It seemed as I had gotten away with a trip which certainly no Doctor would have recommended.