Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal
Blåtind, second visit, Dec 26 2008
To the main Blåtind page (maps, route descriptions, other trip reports, etc.)
The route
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While most people enjoyed a late, nice and long breakfast on the second day of Christmas, I was back at Indre Haddal, targeting Blåtind. Come to think of it - my breakfast was also long and nice, but it was quite early in the morning. 3 eggs with lots of sausage. Yum! And then out to work it off.
I left the trailhead 10:13am, and paid extra attention to the gate with the rusty barbed wire, on which I cut my fingers on Christmas Eve. The rich breakfast didn't allow for a speedy ascent, so I took it nice and easy and just enjoyed the day. The weather was kinda gloomy, but it was still a very nice day for a walk.
I headed up Klungsdalen valley and followed Blåtind's southwest ridge. The hillside was as good as snow-free. At 630m elevation, I came across a very inviting cornice that I followed upwards. This was a long cornice, and as I got closer to the top of it, I was in a position where a fall would give me just enough speed to send me straight off a cliff. The snow was so hard I couldn't even run my fingers through it. I finished the cornice in cat style (skipping the meow part), and concluded that I just had my adrenaline rush for the day.
The southwest ridge
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I reached the highest point on Hareidlandet island 11:23am, 1h:10m after leaving the trailhead. The vertical gain was 630m. It was a bit windy and cold, so most of my summit stay was spent sheltered behind the cairn. I was a bit keen on continuing towards Kongsvollen, but OTOH, I didn't want to re-bag (possibly a new mountaineering term) all of the local mountains within a couple of weeks.
So I decided to head down the west ridge. That would give me two new routes to Blåtind. I had been to Blåtind in April 2006, but ascended the mountain from the northwest. The descent was a nice one, and as there are a lot of rocks on Blåtind, I was constantly on the look-out for rock "faces". And I found some cool ones.
Back at Indre Haddal (and safely through the gate), a father and his son came out from the house where I had received medical care on Christmas Eve. I greeted them hello, and got a hello in return. Along with some strange looks... (who IS this guy?..)
Rugged peaks across Vartdalsfjorden
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