Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal
Skårasalen (1542m) from Kvistaddalen, Aug 18 2011
To the main Skårasalen page (maps, route descriptions, other trip reports, etc.)
Skårasalen
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Background...
It was the time for the annual mountain trip for the police academy students who have come to spend their next 12 months on Sunnmøre. Trond Arne - responsible for the student's practice year - had again asked for my pathfinder services. Last year's hike to Sylvkallen had went quite well, and everyone was accounted for - in the end...
I found last year's pathfinder job quite interesting, as I've never taken 40 people up a mountain before. It was also great fun to see that so many expressed pure joy of being up here in our local mountains. So this year my personal interest was merely to have a nice day with the group, and help giving the students a kick-start to the Sunnmøre mountains.
Based on the experiences from last year, I had nominated Skårasalen as this year's candidate mountain - a choice that Trond Arne agreed to. To be fair, this mountain really doesn't require a pathfinder, but I reckoned that Trond Arne also was hoping for a report (like this one...) serving as a good memory for the students later on.
Skårasalen (right) seen from Saksa
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The route...
I had only been to Skårasalen once before - on skis back in 2006. As such, I didn't really know the summer path and if I was going to act as a pathfinder, I'd better know the route! As such, two days prior to the trip, I went to Kvistaddalen and hiked Skårasalen in thick fog and light rain. I kept a fast pace, and it took me 59 minutes to hike the 1030 vertical meters and 3,4km long route. I was extremely happy with this, as I don't think I've ever done 1000 vertical meters within the hour before. The descent went quite fast too, and 1h:35m after heading out, the pathfinder was back at the trailhead. Later, I reported to Trond Arne that the group would probably need 2 hours to reach the top.
The route to Skårasalen
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Aug 18 2011 - The hike...
I waited for the group at Kvistad, and just after 10am - a convoy of 14 cars pulled up behind me. Trond Arne had made an arrangement with the land owner to pay toll later on. A very wise decision! After a bumpy drive up Kvistaddalen, we arrived at the (large) parking area below Skårasalen and started preparing for the hike. It was good to see Trond Arne and Hilde again. It had been almost a year since our memorable Liadalsnipa hike. It was also good to see Leif Arne again. We hiked Laupsnipa together in January 2009, and we've only met briefly since then.
Trond Arne introduced me to the group, and wrapped up by asking me how many mountains I had done this year? This is always a tricky question (and I hate it!). Does it mean unique mountains, or how many hikes to any mountain? But there is never the time nor place to get nerdy about these matters, so I just answered 200 (in my hiking log, this mountain would be #219). Some students probably found that to be an impressive number, but I swear I could see that "get a life" look on some of their faces...
We headed out from Kvistaddalen 10:20am, and the group counted 35 hikers (not counting myself). There were 24 students and the rest were their tutors/instructors (lacking a better translation for "veileder"). The mountain was hidden in fog, but we hoped that it would clear up during the day. But at least it didn't rain!
On the way to Skårasalen
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Being busy...
I took my role as "journalist and photographer" seriously, and was constantly in front of, trailing or on the side of the group. I watched two return early on (previous injuries) and my client count was now reduced to 33. As we entered Blåhorndalen (the valley between Skårasalen and Storhornet), there was no sign of any fog lift, but the spirit was still good. By now, I had already talked to a number of the students, and everyone expressed great joy about being up here.
As we took on the final hillside towards the summit, we had glimpses of peaks across the Hjørundfjord. And in the next second, there was a ray of sunshine, only to find ourselves back in the fog two seconds later. In short, there was no telling of how it would be on the top.
Keeping the faith
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On top!
The group had done a good job by sticking together, but (inevitably) in the end - smaller groups were trailing the main one. The first hikers reached the summit 12:18pm - close enough to the 2 hours I had estimated to Trond. Everyone seemed very happy to be up here, and kept looking out for the fog to lift. I was a bit nervous, with people occupying every corner of the summit. Do be careful...
Waiting for the fog to lift
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Pictures...
In the end, we realized that there would be no views from the summit today (at least not while we were on it) and we could focus on enjoying lunch. That's when it dawned on me that I had forgotten both water and food. But I was doing absolutely fine without it. Instead, I started planning on the pictures that I wanted to take of the group. For starters, the summit picture;
On top of Skårasalen
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I also informed the group that if they wanted to see the Skårasalen views, they could visit my web-site and look at the panoramas I took in 2006. I also told them that Skårasalen had the highest primary factor (PF) in Møre og Romsdal county and that the mountain was #7 on the national PF list. I also tried to explain the basic concepts of primary factor, and although many didn't probably have the faintest idea about what I was talking about, they seemed to appreciate the fact that this peak was "a somebody" on a national scale...
Last year, I tried something completely new, and rallied the Sylvkallen group in a 360 degree circle around me. Then I rotated the full circle, took 9 pictures and stitched the pictures into one big panorama. The result was far from perfect, but it was a fun thing to do. So this year, I wanted to try this again, and we agreed to come together on the flats below the summit. This type of picture doesn't work well in a steep uphill. Again, the result was far from perfect, but ...
360 deg. panorama
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Descent...
On the way down, we went over to a viewpoint north of the summit and got some good views towards the Hjørundfjord and the mountains beyond. This little episode "made the hike" for many of the students. Now it was just a matter of keeping the good spirit and return to the trailhead without any accidents. Unfortunately, one in the group took a bad fall and hurt her hand.
Back in Blåhorndalen, it was time for fun on snow. It would have been more fun with slightly steeper terrain, but that would also increase the risk of injuries.
The first hikers arrived at the trailhead 2:20pm - exactly 4 hours after heading out. Although the hike was nice, there is little drama with Skårasalen - at least on the normal route. So for 2012, I proposed a new (and a bit more rugged) mountain to Trond Arne. Only time will show if there will be a new trip report...
In Blåhorndalen
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