Norwegian Mountains - Route Descriptions

Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Rjåhornet on foot, Mar 23 2007

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

Goodbye winter, hello spring. Forgotten are all the rainy hikes this winter. A high pressure was moving in across Norway, and I would be out to enjoy it. I worked in Ulsteinvik this Friday, and decided to visit Rjåhornet after work. I didn't have a clear perception about the amount of snow, and brought snowshoes as back up.

I found the Moldtugarden trailhead right away, and the dog (Troll) and I were on our way 15:25PM. A wet path discouraged Troll from walking, and he entered the packpack. Once on the ridge to Bakkehornet, I got Rjåhornet in view. The southeast ridge didn't hold too much snow, and I decided to leave the snowshoes next to a rock.

The ascent up the mountain was uneventful. A few places, I had to walk in deep snow, but that was a mere detail. In front of the final hill, Troll volunteered to walk, and he seemed to enjoy the firm snow with only a thin layer of wet snow on top.

We reached the top 16:50PM, and were rewarded with a tremendous view. Of course, the dog gave a rats' ass about the views, but I didn't. Taking good pictures from the summit involved moving from one point to another, because of the ugly building (and all its wires) on top.

Upon descent, Troll surprised me by going -full pace- down the upper hill, and the distance was 300 meters when he stopped. He seemed surprised not to find me there. Old dogs can show odd behavior sometimes. Troll walked all the way down, but had to work hard in the wet snow. He seemed OK when I put him in the passenger seat 17:55PM, but when he entered the house later in the evening, he was limping. Strange...