Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Melshornet from Ulset, Mar 24 2006


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I had been working in Ulsteinvik this Friday, and decided to visit Melshornet on the way home. The weather was gorgeous, but this trip didn't quite turn out the way I planned. I stopped by a house to ask where people went if they wanted to ski the mountain. I was given advice and directions, and was on my way to the car. I raised my hand to signal "thanks for the info, have a nice day" and in the next second I was airborn in a horisontal position. I had stepped on ice, taken a rotation but landed in a way that would impress a cat.

A nasty feeling came creeping right away. I had helt the car keys (and also the keys to the house) in my waving hand as I was falling. The keys were nowhere to be seen. A 10 minute search came up empty. There was 50cm of fresh snow and the keys must have sunk in deep, not leaving a trace. I had no clue in which direction they went, and decided to give up the search.

The really weird thing was that my spare car keys had been stored in a box (back home) for 10 years. The day before, I was tidying, and figured that the keys should be stored in a more practical place. So I put them in my portable PC bag. I added the house keys also, and since I was on my home from work, the spare keys were inside the car. I had mixed emotions; annoyed and relieved. Mostly relieved now that I didn't have to take the long way home to Ålesund without a car.

When I finally found a place to park, I managed to step on the backpack, destroying one of the "belt" clips. Very impractical since this "belt" is vital for moving the weight of the backpack (which normally includes a dog) from my shoulders to my hips. The time was 16:10PM and it was time to get moving. I put my dog "Troll" in the backpack and made a very bad decision about leaving the wind-jacket in the car. It was a gorgeous day and a fairly low mountain. I would be up and back down "before tea". That was the plan, anyway.

I found excellent tracks up the forest road, but they ended along with the forest road. They turned aound HERE?, I remember thinking. I met a guy who had traversed the mountain (coming from Hareid) and followed his tracks up the forest. I'm not sure how useful the tracks where, but after a cumbersome forest struggle in deep snow, I finally reached the open space on Melshornet's south ridge.

On the ridge, I was exposed to a insanely cold wind and regretted the wind-jacket decision. It was so cold that I strongly considered turning around, but things got slightly better when I sought towards the western side of the ridge. I reached the top 17:40PM and it was a very cold place. The wind whirled up the snow and it was difficult to see clearly. I put the dog in shelter behind the cairn while taking a very fast round of pictures. I did not bother about the visitor's register. I wanted to get off this mountain as fast as possible.

After skiing down the ridge, it was good to be back in lower elevations. I could barely feel my fingers at the summit, and I reminded myself (again) how stupid it is to swap gloves on mountains exposed to the wind. We were back at the car 18:20PM and I made a mental note about going back in late spring, looking for my keys.

Pictures from the Mar 24 2006 ski-trip

To Melshornet

1. Melshornet seen from RV61 (178KB) 2. Melshornet seen from Ulset (182KB) 3. On the forest road (220KB) 4. Kongsvollen seen on the way to Melshornet (216KB) 5. On the way to Melshornet (109KB) 6. Superb view on the way to Melshornet (816KB) 7. Windy ridge (257KB) 8. Melshornet summit (150KB) 9. Troll in shelter behind the cairn (197KB)

Melshornet 50mm panorama, 2 parts + 1 zoom panorama

10. 50mm panorama from Melshornet, part 1/2 (1865KB) 11. 50mm panorama from Melshornet, part 2/2 (1245KB) 12. Fine mountains zoomed in from Melshornet (1136KB)

Descent

13. Melshornet south ridge (224KB) 14. Troll walking for 5 minutes (329KB)

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