Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Liadalsnipa traverse, June 14 2009


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My friend Anna was on a short visit to Norway, and the day before we hiked Haddalshornet and Blåtind. On this Sunday, we would attempt to traverse Liadalsnipa from east to west. I had traversed this mountain from west to east in 2008, and I had recently done the normal route up and down. As such, I was sort of familiar with this mountain, and knew that the mountain was doable even if the weather was a bit unstable. The only thing I didn't want, was thick fog during the rappel that goes with this route.

 

The route

The route
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Even though I had been to Liadalsnipa two times before, the mere thought of the traverse still psyched me out a bit. And based on my pictures, Anna also found the mountain scary to look at. But we approached the trip with great enthusiasm and hoped that the weather would be on our side.

The weather was just fine when we headed out from Halse. As we passed Nakkevatnet, we saw that fog was moving in over Liahornet and Grøthornet, and the horizon looked dark. I could even feel some windborne raindrops, and I was rushing a bit to get to the climbing section before the rain would set in.

The scrambling section from Blåfjellet to the rappel point above the gap that separates Blåfjellet from Liadalsnipa was a bit steeper than I remembered it to be. After all, I came up this way in 2008, and the scramble was much easier then. By the time we reached the rappel point, it was raining lightly, but the fog stayed clear of Liadalsnipa.

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To the rappel point

To the rappel point
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While setting up the anchor for the rappel, I noticed that we would have to be going straight off the rock. As it had been quite a while since I abseiled a rock wall, I really wished that I could take that one step before heading out. Just to get the feel of things. But that was not to be. It was raining, we were getting a bit cold and I fumbled with the prusik. In sum, I was not 100% comfortable and preparations took longer than they usually do. But once I was on my way down, everything was honky dory. Anna followed shortly after and now the climb could begin.

 

Abseiling into the gap

Abseiling into the gap
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I decided to put climbing shoes on (although it wasn't strictly necessary), to get a better feel for the narrow ridge crest. As the rock wasn't quite dry, I figured I would enjoy the climbing more then. Anna did the same. The first climbing section was straightforward (albeit airy!), and when we got to the cliff where a chain is hanging down, the plan was to get up without using it. But that wasn't trivial at all, and both Anna and I ended up using it to get into the narrow crack. The rest of the climb towards Liadalsnipa was easy, but great.

 

Climbing towards Liadalsnipa

Climbing towards Liadalsnipa
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The weather was already improving, and by the time we reached the summit, the sun was shining again. Sitting by the viewpoint cairn feels a bit surreal The fjord is 924m below, nothing is seen in-between, and there is no apparent logical route down. Anna found it quite amusing to be up here, having recently looked at the pictures I published from the May 29 hike. 

We took it nice and easy on the way down. The upper part of the normal route (slick rock and gravel) isn't a place where one should be rushing. I enjoy this mountain quite a lot, and if it hadn't been for the Eiksund tunnel toll fee (almost NOK 100,- one way), I would visit this mountain more often.

We were back at Halse 3:35pm, 4h:15m after heading out. The next day, we had a fun scramble up the Garneselva river - trip report can be found here.

 

Pictures

The pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 450D + Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS USM F 4-5.6

 
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To the climbing section

0. Trip tracks 1. Liadalsnipa 2. Passing Nakkevatnet 3. The ridge to Liadalsnipa 4. The rappel point 5. Bjørnastighornet 6. Fog moving in 7. Across Blåfjellet 8. The ridge ahead

The rappel & the climb

9. Descending from Blåfjellet 10. Anna on the way down Blåfjellet 11. The ridge to Liadalsnipa 12. Anna starting her rappel 13. Almost down.. 14. Up the ridge 15. The chain point ahead 16. An airy place.. 17. The chain point 18. The rappel point 19. A narrow section 20. Raindrops on the lens 21. A bit of walking 22. Lianeset 23. Along the ridge 24. View towards Halse 25. The final scramble along the ridge 26. To the summit 27. On the summit 28. Helgehornet and Lidaveten

Descent along the normal route

29. Heading down 30. A scrambling point 31. A majestic top 32. Another scrambling point 33. Fjellsmelle - Silene acaulis - Moss Campion 34. Interesting creek 35. View up the valley 36. Liadalsnipa

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