Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal
"Hesteryggen", June 22 2008
To the main Tverrfjellet page (maps, route descriptions, etc.)
Troll, Nov 23 1993 - Jun 22 2008
(Click for larger image)
was the day when my dear little buddy Troll left me. On this Sunday morning, I woke up 6AM from an unusual noise in his room. I found him in a really bad shape, and after getting him outside, I immediately knew that his time had come. By the looks of it, he seemed to have got a Cerebral haemorrhage. His head was twisted and his body was trembling while standing up. Fortunately, he was calm when I laid him down. I didn't know what to do, and decided to wait a while. Could it be an epilectic seizure, and if so, would it pass?
I laid down with him, held my arms around him, knowing this was the end of a long and rewarding friendship. He licked my nose and wagged his tail. It was just as if he was saying; "don't be sad. It's time." He was breathing calmly and soon fell asleep. He woke up a couple of hours later and his condition hadn't changed. He didn't seem to be in pain, but he had no control over his body. There was no point in delaying the obvious. I called Ålesund Dyreklinikk on their emergency number. My good friend and neighbour Pål stayed with us until it was time to leave. Pål was sad too. Troll was considered family by my neighbours.
Arriving Ålesund Dyreklinikk, Susann (whom I knew from before) agreed that it was serious. We laid him down and he was given an injection that made him fall asleep. Susann asked me if I wanted to stay until it was all over, but I just couldn't. I wanted to, but couldn't. And I didn't want to bring him with me, either. He was in good hands, sleeping on his favorite blanket. I kissed him goodbye while he was still asleep. He looked so peaceful, and I was so thankful about him not being in any pain.
Driving back home, I had the time to get my head organized. Losing my pal was something I had been preparing for a long time, and I understood that I was not sad because he was no longer around. But the morning events were tough. Number of legs are irrelevant when a loved one falls down, and you're helplessly watching. The thought of the moment when he licked my nose and wagged his tail was so hard. He was so kind all of his life, even so at the very end. And then the radio played "You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains". There was no point in fighting feelings. I accepted that I would be mourning him today. But from tomorrow on, I would remember him with a big smile on my face.
I tossed my hiking gear into the car and drove away without any plan. On the road, I decided to head for the Ørsta region. On the ferry, I figured I could visit Tverrfjellet, which seemed like a short and easy walk from Vartdal.
Hesteryggen
(Click for larger image)
Arriving Vartdal, I eventually found the trailhead. The time was 13:26PM when I headed out. Moving upwards all by myself felt strange without my little friend in the backpack. I just let my feet walk and my mind wander. I thought back on the good years we spent together, and my emotional spectre was that of a sinus curve.
"All of a sudden", I was on top of Hestefjellet. The time was now 14:49PM, and Tverrfjellet was just 700m to the southeast. Risaskarelva river was just too wild to cross, so it would either be a round trip or the same way back. I settled for a round trip via Skorgedalen. I arrived on Tverrfjellet 15:14PM and the ridge ahead looked trivial.
But looks were desceiving. The ridge was not difficult, by any means, but it was not trivial. It was evident that I would have to put my thoughts on Troll aside, and focus on the task ahead of me. What I had thought was an easy, no-brainer ridge was a narrow ridge with an unforgiving steep drop down to my right. It wasn't that steep down to my left, but a rock in motion would probably not stop until it hit the Svartavatna lakes, 150m down below. And neither would I, by the looks of it..
The ridge traverse was fun. Pure fun. After a lot of recent scrambling, my head for heights was quite strong, and I was able to, for the most part, balance my way across the ridge crest. Parts of the ridge were indeed narrow, and I felt uplifted. It was good to focus on nice things again.
Just as I finished the ridge traverse, I met two youngsters on their way up from Skorgestøylen. They planned to descend via Risaskaret. I descended to Skorgestøylen, where I could see hikers in "all directions". I quickly hiked out of Skorgedalen and down the car road to Årsetdalen. I didn't look forward to the 4,6Km walk back to the car, but there was nothing I could do about it. Except hitchhike.
Out of the blue, a car pulled up next to me and the driver asked if I had been the one traversing Hesteryggen. He - Hallbjørn Staurset, a mountaineer from Ørsta - had spotted me in Skorgedalen. I asked if I could get a lift down the valley, and we had a nice chat along the way. I was back at the car 17:33PM, after a 4-hour nice, yet mindful roundtrip.
Back home, I decided to leave the signs of Troll as they were. I would take Monday off from work and prepare for a new chapter in life. Because on this afternoon, I would just celebrate the memory of a precious friend that filled my life with so much joy and happiness.
