Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

A long, and a bit strange day, Apr 21 2007

This page features pictures from Ørskogfjellet, a roundtrip on Aksla (Ålesund) and a ski-trip to Sulafjellet. All in the same day.

Failed attempt on Søre Smørhylla, 871m

This Saturday morning was just gorgeous, and I decided to go for a quick ski-trip on Ørskogfjellet. Unfortunately, my back problems (described in full here) kept me in some sort of agony all the way to Ørskogfjellet, and I wondered what skiing would be like. I had not yet aquired skins for my new vax-free skis, and I was only semi-optimistic about how well the skis would stick to the snow.

There was no one but me at the Ørskogfjellet parking. What a rare sight on a day like this! I headed out 10:05AM, and the amount of snow took me by surprise. This part of the mountain was almost free of snow, one week earlier. Today, I was struggling in 30cm fresh snow, with zero grip for the skis. This was no good for a sore back, and every step was a fight.

One hour later, I called it a day. As I headed down, several skiers were heading upwards. Just for fun, I tried to ski a few meters in their tracks, and the skis sat like glue. If my destination was Måslia, then I would have turned around, but none of these skiers were heading for Smørhylla. I decided to walk the dog back in Ålesund, instead. I stopped by Moa and bought a new pair of skins.

Pics from my short stay on Ørskogfjellet

1. Alone at the trailhead (807KB) 2. Views, up in the hillside (611KB) 3. Smørhylla ahead. Too far (162KB) 4. View back towards Nysæternakken (154KB)

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Aksla roundtrip

(Click here for the main Aksla page)

The dog was happy to see me, and even more happy when he understood that we were gonna go for a walk. Visiting Aksla, I like to head out from Gangstøvika, and walk along the fjord. I can then choose the length of the walk, by either heading up to Aksla Stadion (half way) or go all the way to Fjellstua.

Today, I headed up to Aksla Stadion and then to Rundskue, before heading back down the ridge towards Fagerlia/Gangstøvika. My friend Terje called me and asked if I wanted to join him for a ski-trip to Sulafjellet later in the afternoon. The idea wasn't overwhelmingly tempting, given the fact that I already had given up on my morning ski-trip, but decided to give it a go.

The dog and I started out 13:25PM and we were back at the car 14:50PM. The walk had done me good. The back felt warmer, but also exhausted. I've never been driven over by a car, but at that point, I was pretty sure this was how that would feel like. Back at the house, I had 30 minutes to cut the new skins (slightly too wide) and REST. The skins took 15 minutes, and then I spent 15 minutes, laying in the hallway, resting my back and petting the dog.

Pics from the Aksla roundtrip

1. The route (330KB) 2. Gangstøvika trailhead (345KB) 3. Aksla tower in view (375KB) 4. Up towards Aksla Stadion (426KB) 5. Flatholmen (245KB) 6. The hill up to the tower (393KB) 7. Rundskue (345KB) 8. Wide-angle view from Rundskue (1339KB) 9. The circular viewfinder (184KB) 10. Gamlemsveten seen from Rundskue (220KB) 11. Godøya seen from Rundskue (158KB) 12. Smørhylla - my original plan for the day (200KB) 13. Sykkylven mountains (498KB) 14. Sulafjellet - my goal for the afternoon (239KB) 15. Out-of-focus self portrait (145KB)

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Vardane on Sulafjellet, on skis from Langevågen

(Click here for the main Sulafjellet page)

16:20PM, Terje and I was ready depart from the Langevågen trailhead (90m). We would have to carry the skis along the pipeline, and up to the intersecting road at 250m elevation. There was no point of walking the snow-free road from the trailhead.

This was Terje's first trip with his new skis, and he filled his backpack full of snow, trying to get an impression of how things would be like on his trip across Jostedalsbreen, one week later. Providing my health status indicator gained a few points over the next days, I would go on that trip too. But I already know how a heavy backpack feels on a ski-trip, and was traveling light this afternoon.

The lower part of the mountain did not offer good skiing. Rocks popped up everywhere, and it wasn't until we reached Vonhytta, that skiing (downhill) seemed enjoyable. We had to put skins on at 400m elevation, as the snow was getting cold. We reached the top 18:15PM, and witnessed the dark horizon that was bringing poor weather for the day after. There was still enough good light for fun downhill skiing, and I looked forward to it. In fact, I was hoping that a fall would finish the job that the chirpractor started the day before.

Skiing down to Vonhytta was one of the finest skiing experiences I've had in 2007. A firm crust with 10cm snow on top. Had there been a lift back up to the top, I would have spent the rest of the day up here. Below Vonhytta, we had to ski carefully to avoid rocks, but foul language behind my back suggested that Terje wasn't able to avoid all of them.

19:10PM, we were back at the trailhead. I had now been in activity most of the day, and gained 1050 vertical meters. A "strange" outcome, after having cancelled my morning ski-trip after only 150 vertical meters, assuming the rest of this beautiful day would be just misery.

Pics from the Sulafjellet ski-trip

Up to Sulafjellet

1. The Langevågen trailhead (234KB) 2. Upwards, along the pipeline (411KB) 3. Skis on! (310KB) 4. Terje and his full backpack (240KB) 5. Not too much snow in the lower part (292KB) 6. The cabin area (172KB) 7. See that snow??? (182KB) 8. Another coastal moment (184KB) 9. Approaching the top (177KB) 10. Cornice danger (192KB) 11. On top of Sula (241KB)

Sulafjellet views

12. Wide-angle view from Sulafjellet (761KB) 13. Zoom view from Sulafjellet, part 1/2 (897KB) 14. Zoom view from Sulafjellet, part 2/2 (811KB)

3 pics added, from Terje

15. The skins are now on (293KB) 16. Things seen through sunglasses (197KB) 17. Terje and me at the top (168KB)

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