Norwegian Mountains - Route Descriptions

Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Sukkertoppen: Winter pics 2007-2008

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Feb 24 2008, Sævollråsa & Geocaching

After catching waves on Vigra island, I returned to Ålesund to try a new route to Sukkertoppen. I asked Olav to join me. The route went up from Sævollen, and from distance, it looked trivial. But one never knows. In a boulder area, just above the upper houses, we saw a beautiful deer. We're well aware of that this is deer country, but it's always fun to get them in view. Although not in your backyard, Olav would probably add. Then an eagle decided to keep us company, circling above us from we started and until we topped out at the mast. Wildlife day.

The route itself was quite trivial, except for a lot of bush and a YDS 2+ entry point, which we suspected would collapse over time. We followed a vague track upwards, and had no technical issues along the way. People had surely walked here before. As I didn't know any name for this route, I decided to refer to it as Sævollråsa. If an official name exists, let me know. If I ever become a grade VI climber (Norwegian class), I could probably write the book 20 ways to get to Sukkertoppen, but I won't so I won't.

On top, Olav wanted to search for an hidden item near Sukkertoppen summit. He has bought a GPS and taken up Geocaching. Even if they are two completely different technologies, the GPS and the avalanche transceivers have a lot in common. Especially how to approach (and report) a given precise location. Olav had no gift to trade, so he put the box back in its place. I assume the contents of the box will change soon. After the usual bouldering practice, we headed down and descended the steep forest a bit east of Sævollen. I had done this route before, but it was the first time for Olav. Of course he had to complain about me destroying vegetation as I descended, leaving few handholds for him. Still, yet another fun day on Hessa island.

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Feb 18 2008, Thick fog

On this rainy and foggy evening, I took the trip up Trollråsa. It was quite a magic walk. Because of the thick fog, I couldn't see much. The only sound I heard was from the waves hitting on the beach. The weak light from my headlamp gave me navigational challenges, and had to be pointed upwards. The strong light from my Pila torch looked like a Star Wars light saber. Immensely cool...

On top I could hardly see anything. The dog, already poor sighted, was totally blinded by the fog. I had to put a leash on him and lead him down the mountain. Knowing "every rock" on this mountain helped me a great deal. I've never seen thicker fog since moving to Sunnmøre.

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Feb 15 2008, Failed attempt on Tyskerstien

Today's task was to climb "Tyskerstien", unroped (again), carrying my dog (1st time). I was optimistic about the chance for success and asked Olav to come along. "Tyskerstien" (The German path - phrase from WW II) is hilariously steep, but a lot of fun too. On the way up to the climbing entry point, Olav noticed a cave. Upon further investigation, it turned out that the cave was the safest entry point.

In front of the last climbing pitch, I had to leave my dog at the base, and went climbing pretending I was carrying him. A very exposed (descending) pitch into the Tyskerstien gully felt really, really, awkward. I decided not to go through with the project and suggested that we went up the Trollråsa route instead. Olav agreed, still not fully comfortable with the roots that you have trust your life with...

Rather than returning back to the sports field, we traversed the hillside, spending some time climbing the part above the climbing fields. When Olav realized he was running out of (family) time, we continued traversing the hillside, across the climbing fields, and directly into Trollråsa. We went down the normal route, and Troll was finally able to do some walking. All in all, a good 4Km work-out for me and the dog..

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Feb 11 2008, Sukkertoppen panorama

Mom was visiting Ålesund and we went up to Sukkertoppen. It was a fine day, and I decided to take yet-another-Sukkertoppen-panorama. The result was quite nice (the long panorama) and I deemed it "shareable".

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Feb 2 2008, Snowshowers & snowstorm

I was on-duty, and decided to enjoy the mountains surrounding Ålesund on this seemingly nice day. First, the dog and I went to Sukkertoppen and had a very nice light on the way up. Snowshowers passed along the coastline. The nice light gradually faded away, but I decided to ski up to Sulafjellet afterwards. At Vonhytta (approx. 500m elev.) I had to turn around. I had run into an unfriendly snowstorm (I guess they all are..) and the whipping was unbearable. And that's while I still had references in the terrain (rocks, etc.) My binding then broke (!) and had to be repaired. The descent wasn't all that fun, as I couldn't see much. I had no idea where the road to the cabins was until I crossed it.

Back down at the Sulafjellet trailhead near Langevågen, I saw that a lot of snow had fallen. So I decided to stop by Høgelia (Blindheimsfjellet) and see if I could get the first ski-descent in 2008 (as in 2006 also). Halfway up the course, the ski-lift started up. I skied as fast as I possibly could, watching two persons being taken to the top by the lift. Fortunately, they were only heading up on a maintenance mission, and so the hill was all mine..

To Sukkertoppen

Snowstorm on Sulafjellet

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Jan 17 2008, Winter ascent of Trollråsa

Per is a new acquaintance in Ålesund. We agreed to do a walk together, and (of course) I suggested Trollråsa. Per hadn't been in this type of terrain before, and had probably expectations towards the route and the scenery and I wondered how he would cope.

He coped well. Trollråsa with snow is a serious hill on snow, and several places are simply unforgiving. In other words, no mistakes allowed! I gave him an ice-axe, which came in handy before we reached the rocky part. I had other means of securing him on the rough spots, but they never came into use. Per did well on his own. Two other guys passed us on the way up. They seemed like very eager beavers and didn't seem too focused on following the established route. Scrambling seemed to be the motivation. They had been here before, but hadn't noticed the mailbox. Now they're properly signed into the Trollråsa visitor register.

My little buddy Troll was riding the backpack upon ascent and had big fun when he was finally let out by the rock-with-the-hole-under. He knows this mountain so well, and he kept his own pace, well ahead of us upon descending the normal route (we had cars at both trailheads)

We passed Sukkertoppen summit 16:10PM and darkness came upon us in the forest. Altogether a very nice walk. I'm sure Per would like to return in summer, now that he tried the Trollråsa chair...