Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal
Otrefjellet
Scrambling on Otrefjellet, June 5 2008
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Seen from almost any angle ..
Otrefjellet is one of the dullest Sunnmøre mountains
I've seen. When seen at all, as it hides anonymously in shadows from the higher
neighbours Blåskjerdingen and Grødet. The mountain totally lack any form of
character and attitude. It's just a mountain ridge. Even the forest road up
to Ulvestadvatnet can be a bit dull, so why on earth do I keep coming back?
Because..
(Click for larger image)
"Jaws" ... is what I call this
amazing gap at approx. 550m elevation. It's just like the mountain is breaking
in two, and a series of tall, cool rocks rise up from the abyss. Those
with a playful mind can have a mighty good time up here, jumping from tower
to tower, picking climbing routes that can range between anything from
child's play to hard. I don't know the actual depth, but I assume
it's a good 10 meters down to the floor, if there actually is one. Some black
holes in the abyss makes you wonder..
On this trip..
I brought my friend Per. I figured he would enjoy himself up
here, and I wasn't wrong. As Per doesn't travel this type of terrain too often,
he needed some time to adapt to
this weird landscape, but once adapted, he enjoyed himself as much as I did.
Which is a feat, considering the fact that his company was the trainer from
hell. This is also a good place to fight aracnophobia, as there were spider
webs between every single rock. Spider webs are also good for the balance
training, as you try to defeat them with your best foot. I feel a bit sorry for
the spiders, but we're humans. Our own pleasure comes before anything else.
And
if it hadn't been for the fact that Per was carrying the only key to the house,
and his wife was (patiently) waiting outside, we could have still been up here.
My personal highlight was climbing a corner. I've never
climbed anything where I needed to put my fingers into a vertical crack. And I'm
not going to boost the difficulty level, but it was hard enough for me, and
falling back down would have been ouch. Very ouch. Every step
forward is exactly just that, and should be celebrated accordingly. Hereby
done.
The -ouch or yes!- route
(Click for larger image)
I do recommend..
those who are young at heart and free of mind to visit this
fun area. But come in summer, and not when there is snow. At least on foot. The
ground near this area is treacherous, with holes and cracks all over the place.
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