Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Rjåhornet, Winter 2008-2009


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Pictures taken before Feb 12 2009 were taken with a Canon EOS 300D + Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS USM F 4-5.6. More recent pictures have been taken with a Canon EOS 450D.

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Flash slideshow 2009

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My normal route:

My normal route to Rjåhornet

My normal route to Rjåhornet
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Feb 12 2009: Bakkehornet on skis

Nine days ago, I ascended Rjåhornet on foot in 46 minutes, barely touching snow. But now, winter has definitely come to Sunnmøre. The snow depth at sea level is 40cm (at least), which is a bit intimidating when you plan to ski a 600m mountain. I went to the Leikong trailhead just after work, trying to get as much out of the daylight as possible.

I got a bit depressed when I started skiing. I couldn't see the skis at all, and progess was slow . Before 10 minutes had passed, one of my heel supports had broken. 5 minutes later, I ran into a problem with one of the poles. And skiing was just very, very, very strenuous.

It took me one hour to get to Bakkehornet (327m). A major snow shower was moving in from the ocean, and I knew exactly what things would be like up on the mountain. My tracks would vanish instantly and I wouldn't be able use to the headlamp. I decided to get as high I as I could before it got real nasty, but it didn't get far before one of my bindings snapped.

I could do nothing but turn around and descend on one ski. The descent turned out to be awesome balance training, and it didn't go too bad until I got down in the forest. I'm a complete stranger to skiing with one of the skis on my backpack, and when I passed the first proper spruce with branches 1,5m above the ground, I was very surprised when I found myself up in the air, coming to an abrupt halt. I arrived at the trailhead shiny white from top to bottom, just before the snow shower set in and darkness fell.

Winter..

Winter..
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1. Leikong trailhead 2. Liadalsnipa 3. Ulstein & Ørsta peaks 4. Heading up Bakkehornet 5. Hillehornet 6. Skoratinden, Vanylven 7. Deep snow 8. Liahornet 9. Winter token 10. Pink-red sky 11. Still on the way up Bakkehornet 12. Cool colors 13. View from Bakkehornet 14. Total breakdown 15. Back at the trailhead, kind of happy

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Dec 11 2008: Rjåhornet on skis

This was simply an astounding evening, very very much like Jan 22 in the beginning of the year. The moonlight lit up the landscape in a way that could make you marvel. On this evening, I decided to ski Rjåhornet. I didn't need any light on the way up. Just below the summit, I passed an abandonded snowscooter. At least no one could be seen on the mountain. It was a bit mysterious. Perhaps the engine had broken down.

The descent was awesome. After-dark skiing was completely different from skiing in daylight. It's difficult to describe exactly how it was different, but as I didn't notice cornices until I was on top of them, I had to relax in a different way. Just let the skis flow, and float along, so to speak. It was altogether a magificent trip. 

View towards Ørsta/Volda

View towards Ørsta/Volda
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1. View towards Ulsteinvik 2. View towards Ulsteinvik 3. Abandoned snowscooter 4. View towards Ulsteinvik 5. Leinøya 6. On top of Rjåhornet 7. Sollia 8. Skoratinden, Vanylven 9. Sandegga, Vanylven 10. View on the way down from Rjåhornet 11. Looking up the mountain

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Dec 10 2008: Bakkehornet

Full moon and brilliant weather. But I had forgotten that more snow had fallen in the mountains, and I didn't bring my gaiters. Moreover, I was heading into thick fog (!) and lost all sense of direction. On top of Bakkehornet (327m), I decided to turn around. The good news is that the next after-dark trip will be on skis..

Krøvelseidet

Krøvelseidet
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1. View towards Ørsta 2. Krøvelseidet between Ørsta and Volda 3. Leikanger school 4. Intense moon 5. Irritating fog 6. Haddal and Ringstaddalen 7. At the trailhead

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Nov 29 2008: Rjåhornet

It seems like I'll be visiting this mountain quite often from now on. The trailhead is only 4 minutes (by car) away from my house. It's been four days since I moved to Gurskøya, and I've been up to Rjåhornet, after dark, two times already.

Rjåhornet could very well be my new Ulriken or Sukkertoppen. Only time will tell. In any case, it's a rather cool place to be after dark. It's the 2nd highest independent top (after Sollia) on Gurskøya island, so the views are quite good. Very cool is also that the hike gives me 600 vertical meters, and good exercise along the way. Even cooler, is that I have 4 other 600m+ tops within 5-10 minutes drive.

I brought along my Pila torch and went crazy with it on the summit. Both on this hike and the day before. I'll be paying attention to the local newspapers from now on (chuckle..)

For starters, here are some pics from my 2nd after-dark hike to Rjåhornet.

View from Rjåhornet

View from Rjåhornet
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1. Wide-angle view from Rjåhornet 2. Ulsteinvik 3. Myrvåg

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