Bo Rune Tore, his brother and a group of their friends came and visit me and Claire in the Sunnmöre Alps for a few days. Most of the same crew where here last year but then we got rained out and had to escape to Sogndal. This year we had better luck.
Day 1
Bo Rune Tore and co. met us at the Austefjord to climb and ski Eidskyrka. It’s a great peak for ski touring. There is a small road the takes you up to 390m which is pretty much above the tree line. From here it is about 1150m to the top which gives you a top of the line view over the Sunnmöre Alps.
It was everyones first day so the main focus was not to get blisters and to see that everybody’s equipment was working. The bonus was Blue sky, no wind and perfect powder pretty much all the way down.
We finished the day with beers and a great dinner that Bo Rune Tore had prepared.
Day 1
Bo Rune Tore and co. met us at the Austefjord to climb and ski Eidskyrka. It’s a great peak for ski touring. There is a small road the takes you up to 390m which is pretty much above the tree line. From here it is about 1150m to the top which gives you a top of the line view over the Sunnmöre Alps.
It was everyones first day so the main focus was not to get blisters and to see that everybody’s equipment was working. The bonus was Blue sky, no wind and perfect powder pretty much all the way down.
We finished the day with beers and a great dinner that Bo Rune Tore had prepared.
Another day with a blue sky. Today the objective was Skårasalen. A perfect roundtrip that finishes in a north east facing bowl that goes straight down to the fjord for 1200 vertical meters with an average angel of 25-30 degrees.
The tour starts with 5 kilometer on a road. It takes you up the beautiful Bondedalen. After that the climbing starts. From here its about 1200m and about 1450m in total from the car. It was a warm day and it was roasting in the sun on the south face. When we got to the col at 1200m the weather changed. The wind picked up and it got freezing cold. After being too warm in my t-shirt I was now cold with all my clothes on. It’s funny how the weather works in the mountains.
The summit is the highest point in the area so the view was tremendous. After signing the top book and few quick shots with the camera we were all happy to start skiing down. The snow was excellent. Very dry and very cold and very fun. When we got down into the bowl it got even better. This north east facing bowl has high steep walls that protects it from both wind and sun. I felt like there was about 20 cm of surface hoar (Rime frost crystals that forms on the surface of a snowpack on a cold clear night). I think this is one of the most beautiful descents in Norway.
When you reach the fjord there is a trail that brings you to an isolated farm that you only can access from the water. From here we took the ferry back to our house.
We had all brought a beer to top of the day with the idea of drinking it on the ferry on our way home looking at the line we had just skiied. Which is exactaly what we did!
The tour starts with 5 kilometer on a road. It takes you up the beautiful Bondedalen. After that the climbing starts. From here its about 1200m and about 1450m in total from the car. It was a warm day and it was roasting in the sun on the south face. When we got to the col at 1200m the weather changed. The wind picked up and it got freezing cold. After being too warm in my t-shirt I was now cold with all my clothes on. It’s funny how the weather works in the mountains.
The summit is the highest point in the area so the view was tremendous. After signing the top book and few quick shots with the camera we were all happy to start skiing down. The snow was excellent. Very dry and very cold and very fun. When we got down into the bowl it got even better. This north east facing bowl has high steep walls that protects it from both wind and sun. I felt like there was about 20 cm of surface hoar (Rime frost crystals that forms on the surface of a snowpack on a cold clear night). I think this is one of the most beautiful descents in Norway.
When you reach the fjord there is a trail that brings you to an isolated farm that you only can access from the water. From here we took the ferry back to our house.
We had all brought a beer to top of the day with the idea of drinking it on the ferry on our way home looking at the line we had just skiied. Which is exactaly what we did!
Day 3
This was the bad weather day with poor visibility and strong wind gusts and a bit of snow. I thought that if there was not too much new snow a couloir could be a good option for the day. I had spotted one form the road the other day that I thought could be good for today. We went to have a look but when we got there both the wind and the snowing had increased a lot. I told them that the avalanche danger was probably to high but they wanted to go had have a look anyway. They wanted to have an adventure.
The tour up was beautiful. A bit surreal, like the winter you would imagine in Narnia. The birch trees were heavily covered in snow and it was snowing so wildly that we could only see about 50 m ahead. The stillness created by the soundproof blanket that the heavy snowfall provided was broken by the roar of avalanches selfreleasing in the rough weather. Even before we left the car I had decided not to attempt to ski the couloir but the conditions were even more crazy than I had foreseen. We continued up to where we could see that couloir and paused to embrace the landscape and the weather. The ski down was better than expected.
A few hours later when we were sitting in a hot tub overlooking the fjord with a 18 year old Laphroaig in hand, and porpoises swimming in the distance, life seems pretty good.
This was the bad weather day with poor visibility and strong wind gusts and a bit of snow. I thought that if there was not too much new snow a couloir could be a good option for the day. I had spotted one form the road the other day that I thought could be good for today. We went to have a look but when we got there both the wind and the snowing had increased a lot. I told them that the avalanche danger was probably to high but they wanted to go had have a look anyway. They wanted to have an adventure.
The tour up was beautiful. A bit surreal, like the winter you would imagine in Narnia. The birch trees were heavily covered in snow and it was snowing so wildly that we could only see about 50 m ahead. The stillness created by the soundproof blanket that the heavy snowfall provided was broken by the roar of avalanches selfreleasing in the rough weather. Even before we left the car I had decided not to attempt to ski the couloir but the conditions were even more crazy than I had foreseen. We continued up to where we could see that couloir and paused to embrace the landscape and the weather. The ski down was better than expected.
A few hours later when we were sitting in a hot tub overlooking the fjord with a 18 year old Laphroaig in hand, and porpoises swimming in the distance, life seems pretty good.
Day 4
Last day. The blue ski is back. The fresh snow is everywhere. And so was the avalanche danger. I decide to do a tour with less than 30 degrees angle. We went to Sandfjället. The snow the absence of wind the blue sky the people, it all made it in to a perfect day. The pictures speak for themselfs.
Thanks guys. For a great day and a great week.
Last day. The blue ski is back. The fresh snow is everywhere. And so was the avalanche danger. I decide to do a tour with less than 30 degrees angle. We went to Sandfjället. The snow the absence of wind the blue sky the people, it all made it in to a perfect day. The pictures speak for themselfs.
Thanks guys. For a great day and a great week.