Norwegian Mountains,
Nordland/
Nord-Trøndelag

Romsskåla (588m), July 4 2010


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Romsskåla

Romsskåla
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Anne and I were on our way from Sunnmøre to Brønnøysund, where we would base-camp at my mom's place for two weeks. We had spent a night at Stav Hotel and explored the Malvik back-country the evening before. On our way up north (along RV17), we stopped by Sør-Gutvika to visit Knut Rydgren - a professor at the Sogn og Fjordane University College - who has spent many-a-summer up here. We hoped that Knut would join us for hike up to Romsskåla, and as Knut's speciality is botany and biology, I hoped to learn a thing or two about the local plant life.

We were warmly greeted by Knut and his family, and Anne and me were invited for a nice dinner. Afterwards, we drove up to Nord-Gutvika to pay Romsskåla a visit. I had already looked the mountain up on the internet and found that a fun route up Liss-bindalsaksla started at Nord-Gutvika. Knut had been to Romsskåla before, but never along the route I suggested. We parked by the Osen bay and headed out 3:40pm. And the route ahead looked fun!

 

The route up Liss-bindalsaksla

The route up Liss-bindalsaksla
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The scramble up to the ridge was the most exposed point of the entire route, and soon we could enjoy a nice hike/scramble up the Liss-bindalsaksla ridge. I had always regarded Romsskåla as a rounded and gentle mountain, but the west side was nothing of the sort. But knowing the Nordland mountains, I wasn't really surprised. Knut found the route ... interesting, but wasn't in a desperate need for anything more rugged...

 

Anne on top of Liss-bindalsaksla

Anne on top of Liss-bindalsaksla
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The rest of the hike up to Romsskåla seemed just too easy, so I talked the others into scrambling up a series of fun ledges. Anne and Knut were of course busy discussing the local plant-life - on the detail level. Me, on the other hand, peak out at identifying a cloudberry (before it becomes a berry...) However, flowers are interesting, and they are represented in the picture section below, on an average above the normal...

We reached Romsskåla summit 5pm - 1h:20m after heading out. Romsskåla was indeed a fine viewpoint. To the north were numerous familiar mountains in the Vega, Vevelstad, Brønnøy and Sømna municipalities. I recognized several of the Bindals mountains to the east, with Heilhornet standing tall above the rest. With a small exception for Leka, identifying the nord-Trøndelag mountains was a more difficult task...

 

 

Heilhornet and neighbours

Heilhornet and neighbours
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A round trip seemed approapriate. At least we would then avoid the awkward section above the trailhead. We sat course towards Holdåsfjellet and aimed for a ridge above Nordgutvikvatnet. The valley to our right was named Storbindalen on the map, so it was only reasonable to name the ridge "Storbindalsaksla"...

From the look of it, it seemed like a rather "dull" ridge, but it didn't take long before we ran into a cleft. And the ridge kept offering one (pleasant) surprise after the other...

 

Fun stuff on Storbindalsaksla

Fun stuff on Storbindalsaksla
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We returned to the trailhead 6:27pm - approx. 2h:50m after leaving. It was nice to finally do a hike on the south side of the Røingen fjord. And I will most definitely visit Leka. Perhaps already next year. There seem to be a lot of interesting stuff on that island. We parted with Knut and sat course for Brønnøysund. The 2010 summer vacation was on!

And finally - a representative from the Austra flora...

 

Pincushion plant

Pincushion plant
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Pictures

The pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 550D + Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS USM F 4-5.6.

 
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Up Liss-bindalsaksla

0. Trip tracks 1. Heilhornet and neighbours 2. The Liss-bindalsaksla ridge 3. Take-away? 4. Nord-Gutvika 5. Steintinden on Leka 6. Scramble for the practice... 7. A slightly awkward section 8. On the ridge 9. Torghatten 10. Up Liss-bindalsaksla 11. Knut touching the void... 12. Fun terrain 13. A good start to the vacation! 14. Optional scrambling

To the summit

15. Leka 16. Torghatten 17. Sundsvika 18. Our further route 19. Vega 20. A fun section ahead 21. Anne leads on 22. Picture text is wrong. Should read Kvaløyfjellet 23. Good for the mind, heart and soul 24. Easy terrain from here on 25. Fjellpryd - Diapensia lapponica - Pincushion plant 26. Greplyng - Loiseleuria procumbens - Trailing Azalea 27. Hvitlyng - Andromeda polifolia - Bog-rosemary 28. Fjellsmelle - Silene acaulis - Moss Campion 29. Molte - Rubus chamaemorus - Cloudberry 30. Fjellpryd - Diapensia lapponica - Pincushion plant 31. Heilhornet 32. On top!

Wide-angle view from Romsskåla

33. Wide-angle view from Romsskåla

Descent

34. Leka 35. Litlhornet, Kula and Heilhornet 36. Holmsfjellet (Holmshatten) 37. West coast peaks... 38. Our descent route 39. Rosenrot - Rhodiola rosea - Roseroot stonecrop 40. Skogstjerne - Trientalis europaea - Chickweed Wintergreen 41. Engsoleie - Ranunculus acris - Meadow buttercup 42. Skogfiol - Viola riviniana - Commom Dog-violet 43. Hornfjellet - zoomed in 44. The first (pleasant) surprise 45. Where did this one come from?? 46. Hornfjellet 47. More clefts 48. The shortest route is always best... 49. Knut has an excellent style 50. View up the mountain 51. We are off the ridge 52. Our ascent route 53. Litj-bindalskjerka grotto? 54. Balderbrå - Matricaria inodora - Scentless mayweed 55. Engsmelle - Silene vulgaris - Bladder Campion 56. Our ascent route

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