Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Skolma & waves, Nov 26 2011


To the main Skolma/Sneldelida/Smørkinna/Veten page (maps, route descriptions, etc.)

 

My trip, as seen inh Google Earth

My trip, as seen in Google Earth
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The day after the storm named "Berit", I watched rain showers come and go from my kitchen window. And more snow had fallen in the mountains. The house defined my comfort zone, and the zone was strong!

It was a perfect day to work on of my to-do lists, being the westcoastpeaks backlog, or (hark...) house stuff. Moreover, my right foot was still in pain and it's been like that for more than a month. It is probably in serious need of some rest! Yup, I had 1000 good reasons to stay indoors today.

And that's when I felt the "panic" come along. Indoors??? OMG!!! Within seconds I decided to take a bike trip to Flø (22km) and hike Skolma (4km and 636 vertical meters to the top). Given the rain and the wind, it would probably a trip that I would not forget in a while. Serves me right, considering a day indoors!

I decided to wear sneakers, and my feet were soaking wet by the time I reached Ulsteinvik. I stopped by a sports shop and got neoprene cover for biking shoes. With some effort, they also fit regular sneakers. The gaiters helped against the wind, but I was nevertheless wet from top to bottom by the time I reached Flø. I felt for moving along, but I couldn't pass the molo without taking pictures. The storm might be over, but the waves lingered on...

 

Waves at Flø

Waves at Flø
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After taking a lot of wave pictures, I moved on to Ytreflø and left my bike behind the rock the climbers call "Varme" (the climbers warm up on this rock before bouldering harder ones...). On the way up Ytreflødalen, I met Jostein Flø and 2 kids, doing trail maintenance. We had a nice conversation, and when I told him that I knew Erling, he also knew who I was. Being someone who appreciates a good path, I applaud all you folks who put so much effort into building and maintaining paths!

Getting a bit cold, I had to get moving and although my clothes protected me from the cold wind, the sneakers only made my feet colder by the minute. I wasn't merely being stupid - the plan was to test what Gore-Tex sneakers were good for, and now I know.

Above 500 meters, I reached snow. It wasn't much of it, but just enough to my make my feet even colder. I stayed on top for a couple of pictures, before turning around.

 

On top of Skolma

On top of Skolma
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On my way down, the rain showers had now turned into a more constant form. When I reached my bike, I did not look forward to the 22km trip back to Myrvåg. Arriving in Ulsteinvik, I could hardly feel my toes anymore and stopped to change socks. If I hadn't brought a pair, I would have bought a pair!

I was back home after 4,5 hours, 51km and 800 vertical meters. I was so cold that I probably resembled the Dumb & Dumber guys, arriving at Aspen. But after a long, warm shower, life was good again and it was all worth while!

 

Flø memories

Flø memories
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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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Rugged waters outside Flø

1. The bike and hike route 2. Arriving at Flø 3. Grasøyane Fyr 4. Hanging around on the molo 5. Slam! 6. Foam attack! 7. Surfers paradise 8. Splash! 9. White-tailed 10. More splashes 11. Beautiful 12. Grasøyane Fyr 13. It is rough out there 14. Moro molo stuff 15. Moro molo stuff 16. Raising its head... 17. Impact! 18. Ouch! 19. Further up the shore 20. I got wet here 21. View towards Godøya 22. More waves 23. It does not seem to stop... 24. Building... 25. Bam! 26. A serious opponent!

The Skolma hike

27. View up to Skolma 28. Ytreflødalen 29. View up 30. A nice walk along the edge 31. On top! Freezing cold! 32. Godøya 33. Grøthornet 34. Signalhornet 35. Descending Skolma 36. Sukkertoppen and Ålesund 37. Locals in Ytreflødalen

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