TOP 10 TRIPS 2008

TOP20 (ALL)  2009  2008  2007  2006  2005  westcoastpeaks

2008 was the year I lost my dear little buddy "Troll". While I miss having him around, his departure also allowed me, on a larger scale, to pursue local mountains that I hadn't been able to do so far. Blåbretinden, Råna, Store Smørskredtinden, to name a few. These peaks increased my comfort level on steep snow.

2008 was also the year when I found the will to travel again. On a small scale, but still. And while not being a mountaineering challenge, The Three Peak Challenge in the UK stands out as the highlight of the year. A crazy project + good friends can easily beat any steep wall or narrow ridge.  

Among many wonderful trips, these were the top 10 trips in 2008:

 

1. Three Peak Challenge -  United Kingdom Aug 2008
  Bit of a "crazy" project with Matt, Olof, Anna, Louise and Joe; to visit the high point of Scotland (Ben Nevis), England (Scafell Pike) and Wales (Snowdon) in less than 24 hours. We did it in 21h:40m. A very different trip from what I'm used to, but fun, fun, fun.
2. Sprovstinden
on the north ridge		 1194m Vestnes, Møre og Romsdal, Norway Mar 2008
  A winter climb of Sprovstinden's north ridge, led by Daniel Due-Tønnessen. To me, this was a trip of the serious sort, although Daniel seemed to find the whole thing quite trivial. We were "rewarded" with an inferno and a white-out as we reached the summit. An unforgettable climb, it was.
3. Bladet 1300m Sunnmørsalpene, Møre og Romsdal, Norway Aug 2008
  This was certainly a dream come true, together with my friends Matt, Anna, Joe & Terje. Matt led the climb, which was totally fun and rich on episodes from beginning to end.
4. Gran Paradiso attempt 3030m Graian Alps, Italy Apr 2008
  An attempt to climb Gran Paradiso (4061m) with my friend Petter Bjørstad, ended at Rifugio Vittorio Emanuele (2735m). I was in a bad physical condition, which let up during the day, when Petter successfully climbed the summit. I skied up to 3030m while waiting for him. This was a highly intense weekend trip...
5. Svartevasstinden 1259m Vestnes/Rauma, Møre og Romsdal, Norway July 2008
  A very enjoyable climb, led by Odd Arne Maridal. We had both been wanting to do this mountain, and were just waiting for a co-climber to surface. This is, bar none, the most difficult of the Vestnes tops.
6. Kvitegga 1707m Sunnmørsalpene, Møre og Romsdal, Norway May 2008
  To me, this is one of the finest ski-trips in Sunnmørsalpane. And Sveinung Klyve, Svein Myhre and myself were blessed with the finest weather possible, upon our visit. A descent with a "nerve" from Kvanngrønibba, gave the trip the perfect ending.
7. Smørskredtinden 1631m Sunnmørsalpene, Møre og Romsdal, Norway July 2008
  Store Smørskredtinden was the highlight of the solo trips I did during the summer, just after my dog had passed away. Equipped with crampons and two axes I ascended from Tverrdalen. I've never been brave in steep snow hills, but this trip was a huge step in the right direction.
8. Blåbretinden 1476m Sunnmørsalpene, Møre og Romsdal, Norway July 2008
  Another unforgettable solo trip made during the summer. I was only going to visit Litlehornet, but ended up crossing Ljosabreen glacier and climb the steep north flank.
9. Liadalsnipa 924m Sunnmørsalpene, Møre og Romsdal, Norway July 2008
  An awesome traverse together with Arngeir Syversen. As we didn't quite knew what we were heading into, the east ridge turned out to be a bit of a mental challenge.
10. Kongen 1614m Trollstigen, Møre og Romsdal, Norway July 2008
  A trip to Kongen and Bispen together with Torill, Inka and Arngeir, that didn't have any challenging moments, but .. oh my .. how beautiful these peaks are.