Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Kjerringa & Trongegylet, June 24 2009


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The route up and down Kjerringa

The route up and down Kjerringa
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On a previous trip to the Flø mountains, I met Erling Flø - whom I talked with for a while. He knows the Flø mountains inside out , and told me about a (very off-trail) route up the north side of Kjerringa. I was curious about this route, and he promised to show it to me one day.

In the meantime, I went back to Flø and hiked the Trongegjølet (Trongegylet) couloir, and also became a bit familiar with the ridge above.  On this ridge, you will find a very distinct rock feature/pinnacle that (allegedly) resembles an old woman. Hence the name Kjerringa - which is also the name of the mountainside facing the coastline.

On this Wednesday evening, Erling and I decided to take the trip. Erling took us to the starting point for the hike on his tractor - saving us from 1,1km (one way) on foot. Erling pointed out the route to me. It wasn't easy to see exactly where he pointed, but I more or less understood where we would be heading up. It looked steep - and interesting..

 

Scrambling at the foot of the mountain

Scrambling at the foot of the mountain
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It didn't take long before I had to (temporarily) put the camera into the backpack. Every arm and leg was needed in order to keep up with Erling. He mentioned something about being a bit off the .. off-trail route, and that the route soon would get easier. Just minutes earlier, the Peregrine Falcon that I photographed on my Trongegjølet hike, came and came to see us; Getouttahere!!!

As Erling promised, we soon got into easier terrain, and we were now heading for the foot of the big wall. The flies were omnipresent, and were a bit tough to ignore. We took a short break at the foot of the Kjerringa pinnacle before we began traversing alongside the steep wall.

 

The big wall

The big wall
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We were now following a deer track, aiming for the edge of the plateau on the north side. A few spots were a bit airy, but not difficult. And then we reached the top of the plateau 9:25pm, exactly 1 hour after heading out.

As Erling hadn't been on top of the Kjerringa pinnacle for years, he wanted to visit this point again. We headed down the upper section of Trongegylet and then scrambled a steep route that took us onto the ridge. I already did this route on the recent Trongegjølet hike, but I didn't know then that I was just below the pinnacle. The final steps to the top were quite exposed - not to mention the pinnacle itself...

 

Erling on the pinnacle

Erling on the pinnacle
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I measured (GPS) the pinnacle to be approx. 365-370m. I have to admit it felt a bit .. strange (in a positive way!) to sit across a razor-sharp rock with a 100 metre vertical drop below and -- chat! I looked at the wall and wondered if it had been climbed. Klivrelaget Ytre Søre has probably been here, accessible as it is.

After a short break on top, we returned to the gully and followed it down. We reached the starting point exactly two hours after heading out. Many thanks to Erling for showing me this fun route! I've got my eyes on a couple of other routes up from Ytreflø, so this was definitely not my last trip in this area.

Descending the pinnacle

Descending the pinnacle
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Pictures

The pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 450D + Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS USM F 4-5.6

 
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To the trailhead

0. Trip tracks 1. Beach at Flø 2. Nerlandsøya 3. Godøya 4. Trongegjølet 5. The route

To the plateau

6. Upwards 7. Vandrefalk - Falco peregrinus - Peregrine Falcon 8. Cruise ship 9. Scrambling 10. In the forest 11. Kjerringa pinnacle 12. Up the forest 13. A rock - caught in flight 14. Big wall 15. Towards the pinnacle 16. Below the wall 17. Engkarse - Cardamine pratensis - Cuckoo flower 18. Skogstjerneblom - Stellaria nemorum - Wood Stitchwort 19. Below the pinnacle 20. The wall 21. Traversing below the wall 22. The pinnacle 23. Flø 24. About to enter the plateau

To the pinnacle

25. The ridge, seen from above 26. The route to the pinnacle 27. Into the couloir 28. On the way to the pinnacle 29. Hole just below the pinnacle 30. Erling climbing the pinnacle 31. On top of the pinnacle 32. On top of the pinnacle 33. First class viewpoint!

Descent

34. Flø 35. Flø 36. Down the couloir 37. Late evening at Flø 38. Seaborne 39. Grasholmane

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