Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal
Røddalshorn east top, Dec 14 2008
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Røddalshorn east top
(Click for larger image)
Until proven otherwise, Røddalshorn is to me a mountain with a west top (562m) and an east top (563m). According to Økonomisk Kartverk - the east top is called Rauddalshornet and the west top has no name. Between these two tops are Båtefjellet (558m) and Grøthornet (559,5m). According to Norgesglasset 1:50,000 - the whole mountain is called Røddalshorn. I had already been to the west top, and the GPS then reported 568m, significantly higher than the alleged higher east top. In other words, I had unfinished business on this mountain.
On the last day of the "full moon week" in December, I took the trip up the east ridge, after-dark. This was a new route to me, but the moonlight made routefinding easy enough. I had to plod through deep snow across the meadow, but once on the ridge, the amount of snow decreased proportionally to the gained elevation. And the view became more and more beautiful.
View from the east ridge
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I reached the top 7:20pm, after having ascended 400m in 55 minutes. If there is a summer path across the meadow, I expect there will be many hikes up to Røddalshorn, being just a 7-minute drive away from home. I was very eager to get a GPS reading, and after recording average elevation for 10 minutes, the GPS reported 561m with an error margin of +/- 2m.
561m was surprising reading. One gets quite familiar with the GPS over the years, and if the 563m elevation is correct, I would have assumed a reading of 565m. So, is the east top lower than the west top? Hard to say. When the snow disappears, I will go back and forth between the two tops, and measure thoroughly.
But all these technicalities aside, it was wonderful to be up here. Despite the cold wind. Not a soul in sight, of course. Where are all you guys and gals? On other mountains, hopefully. This is just too good to miss out on!
On Røddalshorn
(Click for larger image)
