Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Svinetinden 1132m on skis, Mar 24 2007

For Information, maps, trailhead and route descriptions, click HERE.


The high pressure period persisted. After the nice trip to Rjåhornet on Gurskøya the day before, it was time for a ski-trip this Saturday morning. My dog Troll was, for strange reason, in limping mode, and had to rest back home this week-end. My good neighbour Pål looked after him, and I chose to make a short trip across the fjord. I called Svein Myhre (fjellinordvest.net) and got some good advice about Svinetinden. I couldn't make up my mind between Svinetinden and Masdalshornet, but my choice eventually fell on Svinetinden.

I knew the trailhead and parts of the route from my Romedalstinden hike in 2006. I was granted permission to park at the uppermost farm at Ytre Standal, and left the trailhead 10:20AM. I was skiing on my short, vax-free Outtabounds skis, and decided to test the vax-free concept. The route to Ytre Standalssætra is flat at first, then a gentle, gradual rise. The skis sat perfect on the snow, just becoming warmed up by the sun. As the sun gained intensity, skins would have not made any difference to my choice of route.

This was great news. The valley skiing went smooth, and I actually felt I was skiing! Unfortunately, the light became very "flat" as I approached Lake Høgevatnet, and by the time I was in a position to see the lake, I didn't. Without no perception of depth, I took the "long way" towards Grønetinden and then the pass over to Molladalen.

On the ridge, 300 vertical meters above the lake, I had NO clue whether a slide would send me all the way down to the lake, or just two meters. I tossed snowballs. They rolled in a disturbing pace, and vanished into the big white. I decided to stay on the ridge. The last hump before the summit was a bit tricky to pass. I ran into a section of really hard snow at the very steepest angle, and chickened out. I backtracked, took the skis off and proceeded on foot. After some light scrambling, I reached the top 13:00PM, just as the sun brought back contours in the terrain.

Svinetinden was a good viewpoint, but nothing close to some really good Møre og Romsdal viewpoints that I've been to. Molladalstindane were awesome, of course, but the remaining views were somewhat limited, mostly due to the haze. Nevertheless, I enjoyed myself. Big time. This was my second trip up from Ytre Standal, and for the second time, I reached a nice top after fighting difficult lighting conditions. For Romedalstinden in 2006, that is an understatement. The fog was thick, and I didn't see diddly until I rose above it.

After a round of pictures, I left Svinetinden. Descending the summit was slightly more awkward than ascending it, but nothing close to what I would call problematic. I had enough visibility to take the OBVIOUS route straight down to the lake, but I wasn't really sure about the snow conditions. To be on the safe side, I backtracked my ascent route, and had an enjoyable ride down to Ytre Standalssætra. I met the owners of the cabin that the Volda climbing club is using. Nice people. I felt a stroke of envy when I left the cabin. What a place, and what a view.

I was back at the trailhead 14:18PM, in good shape for the 14:50PM ferry back to Solavågen.

Pictures from the Mar 24 2007 trip

Morning views, from my front door and from Solavågen

1. Ellingsøyfjorden, front door view (214KB) 2. Ellingsøyfjorden, front door view (112KB) 3. Solavågen, fjord view (313KB) 4. Solavågen, fjord view (184KB) 5. Solavågen, fjord view (173KB)

To Svinetinden

6. View from the trailhead (215KB) 7. Friendly goats (400KB) 8. On the mountain road (227KB) 9. Langenestinden massif (248KB) 10. Snarhornet N (148KB) 11. Ytre Standalssætra (218KB) 12. Rock features near Slingsbys Topp (365KB) 13. View from Ytre Standalssætra (664KB) 14. Storkopptindane (134KB) 15. On the ridge (114KB) 16. The final hill (112KB) 17. The trailhead, seen from the summit (168KB)

Wide-angle view from Svinetinden

18. Wide-angle view from Svinetinden 1132m (431KB)

50mm views from Svinetinden

19. 50mm view from Svinetinden 1132m (1336kB) 20. Molladalstindane seen from Svinetinden 1132m (484KB) 21. 50mm view from Svinetinden 1132m(405KB)

Misc. zoom views from Svinetinden

22. Masdalskloven seen from Svinetinden 1132m (316KB) 23. A skier on Randers Topp (592KB) 24. Slingsbys Topp (201KB) 25. My car at Ytre Standal (197KB) 26. Kolåstinden region, seen from Svinetinden 1132m (459KB) 27. Råna region, seen from Svinetinden 1132m (1163KB)

Descent

28. Looking back on Svinetinden (166KB) 29. Looking back on Svinetinden (177KB) 30. Lake Høgevatnet (141KB) 31. Looking back on Svinetinden (140KB)

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