Norwegian Mountains, Oppland/Hedmark
Rondslottet from Rondvassbu, Sep 12 2009
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The routes from Rondvassbu
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The plan for this weekend was to meet my good friend Lars in Otta, and do a couple of hikes in this region. The main goal was Rondslottet, but as the weather forecast wasn't the best, we had to plan for alternatives. We chose Sjoa Vandrerhjem as our base-camp, practically located between the Heidal mountains and the Rondane massif.
I arrived at Otta first, drove to Sjoa and checked in. Then I returned to the train station at Otta and waited for Lars (coming in from Oslo). 30 minutes behind schedule, he arrived. We went over to the Pillarguri Cafe for a pizza buffet. In the midst of the meal, a quiz started. A guy with a microphone asked questions and the guests tried to figure out the answers. We left the place without finding out what the main prize was..
Sjoa Vandrerhjem turned out to be a nice place. The room was alright, and as the weather seemed to get better, we started preparing for Rondslottet. We were hooked up to the net (imperative!), had cold beer and a lot of catching up to do. Friday turned into Saturday before we found the wisdom to get some sleep..
Settling in at Sjoa Vandrerhjem
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We got up early on Saturday and concluded that the weather warranted a go at Rondslottet. Arriving at Spranget, we could see that the Rondane mountains were more or less fogged in. But it didn't rain, and who knew - perhaps the fog would lift. We agreed that going to Rondvassbu by bike would be much better than walking, made the phone call to Rondvassbu, received the locker code and by 9:12AM, we were on our way.
On the way to Rondvassbu
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Prior to this hike, I hadn't been aware of the bike rental facility, and had dreaded the long walk into Rondvassbu. I had only been to Rondane once before - in 1998 - on a visit to Storronden with my friend Bjørn. That was a (foggy, windy and rainy) day-hike from Oslo. We had brought our own bikes, as there was no rental service back then. And I still remember how incredibly glad I was that we did.
Back to the present; we arrived at Rondvassbu 9:46am, and the place was busy like it always is in autumn. Lots of people were on their way up the mountains surrounding the cabin. We handed in the bikes and were on the "T" trail to Rondslottet/Storronden 5 minutes later.
Lars doesn't hike mountains on a regular basis, so I had been determined to keep a friendly pace. But when I catch up with a group, I just have to pass. Fortunately, Lars doesn't like trailing behind groups either, despite the extra effort it takes to go around. The final group was passed at the Rondslottet/Storronden junction, and now we seemed to be completely alone in the Rondholet valley. We were not, of course, but the thick fog made it difficult to see very far ahead..
On the way from Rondvassbu
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We enjoyed a short rest and water refill in the valley until we saw the large group move in. Lars was still not interested in trailing, so we got moving again. After a long, rocky plod, we arrived at the Storronden - Vinjeronden saddle. The fog had (temporarily) lifted and we had a clear view towards Rondslottet. The ridge up to Vinjeronden seemed long, and the hikers on the ridge stood out as tiny dots. Along with the fog lift came a strong and cold wind, and jackets had to come on.
At approx. 1900m, it started snowing, and by the time we reached Vinjeronden (11:56am) the mountain had indeed a touch of winter to it. A group that was already on the top decided to turn around. Turning around was however not an option for us. Yes, it was cold, yes it was windy, yes it was slippery and yes it was foggy, but I still didn't think the weather was too bad. We could hardly hear each other's voice, so I pointed in the direction of Rondslottet, and Lars nodded back.
On Vinjeronden
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The only real concern was the slippery rocks. An injury on this mountain would put us in a challenging situation, so that had to be avoided at all cost. And the only way to go about this to take it nice and slow. The descent from Vinjeronden was a bit steep, but unproblematic. Ahead of us was a long ridge that vanished into the fog, and this was clearly route ahead. The red "T"'s were helpful, but not crucial. The route is more or less obvious even in thick fog. Once on top of this ridge, we met a woman who was the first person on the top today, and I was curious about how many people we would meet on our way down.
At 12:57pm, we arrived at Rondslottet summit - which was completely fogged in. My first thought was that I really didn't want to trade this weather for sunshine and blue sky. It's a bit hard to explain, but going up a mountain like this - in this type of weather, adds an extra dimension to the hike. I kept the thought to myself, as Lars would probably not understand why I would be shouting "I'm so glad we can't see squat" into his ear...
On Rondslottet
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On the way down, Lars' knees started aching, and the ache developed into serious pain. It was impossible for him to go straight down a slope, so he had to switch back and forth. But he still managed to keep an impressive pace.
We had met 8 more hikers on the way up Rondeslottet. 2 were standing in the saddle below Vinjeronden, and down from Vinjeronden came a man and his dog. I imagine that Storronden was a more attractive mountain on this day. On the way down from Vinjeronden it was snowing more than it did on our way up, but as soon as we descended into Rondholet, the fog lifted and the rain set in. Thirsty as we were, the water in Rondholet tasted heavenly!
Descending Rondslottet
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Back at Rondvassbu, there was simply no question whether we should rent a bike or not. After a nice bike ride, we returned to Spranget 4:10pm, 7 hours after heading out. The total distance was 26,2km and the total vertical gain was 1400m. We returned to Sjoa for a rest (after all, we're not youngsters anymore), before driving to Otta to get dinner. Then back to Sjoa for to brag on Facebook, and to drink beer and coffee avec. An excellent end to an excellent day...
On the way back to Spranget
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Report from next day: Søre Svartkampen
