Midtre Raudfonndalstind, July 9 2016

A wet and airy walk with the dog…

Peaks visited:

Peak Height PF Municipality Location
Midtre Raudfonndalstind 1005m 35m Ørsta GPX
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Midtre Raudfonndalstind is the lower peak in center

The purpose of this trip was solely to become acquainted with Raudfonndalstindane – a small group of peaks on the mountain ridge between Langedalen and Romedalen. The group consists of Søre, Midtre and Nordre Raudfonndalstind. These tops are found between Sveddalstinden and Høgehornet/Mannen. As I chose to bring my dog Karma along, I had no plans to make it up to any of the 3 Raudfonndalstindane peaks. This was purely a research mission. Besides, the forecast promised rain…

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My route from and to Mosætra

From Ørsta, I took the toll road to Vallasætra and followed the path on the west side of the river. I had been to many peaks in this area, but I had never walked up Langedalen.

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Heading into Langedalen

After 3,5km, I crossed the river and began my ascent towards the pass between Midtre and Søre Raudfonndalstind. This is an uncomplicated ascent, even on slippery grass and rock.

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Aiming for the low pass in center

I topped out on the ridge at approx. 920m. Fog was sweeping across the tops, but now and then I got a good look at the tops surrounding me. Søre Raudfonndalstind looked steep, but seemingly doable without a rope. Yet, I didn’t know if I was looking at the actual summit. There are 3 tops up there and I didn’t know which one was the highest.

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Søre Raudfonndalstind

One thing was for sure, Søre Raudfonndalstind was not dog terrain, so I continued in the direction of Midtre Raudfonndalstind. We followed a narrow ridge, which in places was jusr wide enough to get the dog across.

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On the way to Midtre Raudfonndalstind
We came to a point where the ridge makes a sudden drop. I got a glimpse of the ridge up to Midtre Raudfonndalstind and saw that it was doable without a rope. I anchored Karma to a rock and decided to go for the top.
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On the way to the summit, looking down on Karma

In order to get into the saddle, I had to go back a few meters where I could scramble safely into the saddle. The route up was unproblematic, although a bit airy near the summit. And finally, I was on top of one of the Raudfonndalstindane peaks. I didn’t know at the time that I would stand on the exact spot 12 days later, but that’s another story and a different blog post.

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Nordre Raudfonndalstind seen from Midtre Raudfonndalstind

The idea was, as mentioned earlier, to do some research. But just as I began my ascent, it started to rain, and it rained HARD. My extra clothing was in the backpack, which I left with Karma – to let her know that I was coming back. At one point, I thought it was snowing. It was raining horizontally, and I got super-cold!

 I scrambled back down, got my rain gear back on and left the mountain ridge as fast as I could. Down in Langedalen, the temperature was higher and it stopped raining. I decided to return along the path on the east side of the river – leading me to Mosætra. A bridge connects the Mosætra and Vallasætra cabin areas.
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On my way down the mountain, looking up

I was back at Mosætra 3:38pm- 3h:38m after leaving it. I felt really good about having been up there, and felt that a revisit to these mountains wasn’t too far away in time. And that feeling turned out to be very true…

Pictures from the trip: 

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