Skåla and Randsetfjellet, Mar 5 2017

Plan B, but nevertheless NICE!

Peaks visited:

Peak Height PF Municipality
Skåla (Litleoksen) 667m 344m Rauma
Randsetfjellet 525m 212m Rauma
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Big fun on Rødvenhalvøya peninsula

Skåla (Litleoksen)

Sunday morning, and we woke up to another gorgeous day at Hotel Grand Bellevue in Åndalsnes. Yesterday’s ski-trip to Kvasstinden and Smørbottinden still felt just as good as it felt the day before.

The plan for today was to ski Tarvløysa, but a strong wind in the mountains suggested that we should think of a plan B. So my alternative plan was to go to Skåla (Litleoksen) and Randsetfjellet on the Rødvenhalvøya peninsula.

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Plan B: Skåla and Randsetfjellet

We checked out of the hotel and drove to the foot of Tarløysa, where Anne and I agreed that we were in favor of plan B. The mountain was way too windy, and it didn’t seem to be good snow up there either.

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Plan A – Tarløysa – was a no-go…

Then we drove to Bakken in Rødvendalen and up the toll road to Landresætra. From here we followed the ridge towards the mountain. The ridge is called “Ryggen“, which means “ridge” in Norwegian. We like it clear and simple…

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The ridge to Skåla

The route through the forest was a bit cumbersome on skis, but the snow conditions above the forest was just wonderful, and I already started looking forward to the descent.

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On the way to Skåla – superb snow!

We met a woman, enjoying her lunch on her way down. She was wearing snowshoes when she learned that we wanted to visit Randsetfjellet afterwards, we could just follow her tracks. She was also going up there afterwards…

It was less that 2km up to the top, and we were in shelter of the strong wind almost all the way to the top. Perhaps it was Skåla’s bigger brother Oksen that protected us from the wind.

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Arriving on Skåla

But when we reached the summit, the wind was really strong and I was SO glad that Karma was wearing her tricot. That said, she didn’t seem affected by the harsh weather at all…

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Rough weather on Skåla

The great view from the summit came as a surprise to us. Thinking about it now, it shouldn’t, but it did. The fjord view was just amazing.

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View from Skåla

After a short stay on top, it was time for the dessert. The run down the mountain. The part above the forest was fun. The part in the birch forest was GREAT fun. With Karma on my tail all the way…

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A memorable ski-descent from Skåla

Pictures from the Skåla trip:

Randsetfjellet

When we returned to the trailhead, we decided to leave the skis in the car. Big mistake, but we hardly saw any snow on the mountain at all!

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On foot to Randsetfjellet – a mistake!

We followed a tractor road upwards and then signs towards “Randsetfjellet“. This route took us up to the ridge east of the summit. If it hadn’t been for the old snowshoe tracks from the woman we met on Skåla, this would have been a nightmare.

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Should have been skiing here! Definitely!

I had a feeling that we should have gone left in the first tractor road junction, but we followed the signpost. On the way to the top, we met the woman from Skåla, and we learned that there is a round-trip route on this mountain.

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Our 2nd encounter with the woman on snow shoes…

We continued to the high point, and I was super-happy with my new top #14 of 2017. With an annual goal of 100 new tops, every single one counts!

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On top of Randsetfjellet

On the new route down, we were better off on foot than on skis, so all in all it was an OK trip.

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Descending Randsetfjellet

After the trip, we visited the Rødven Stave Church (requested by Anne). I’m not too much into old churches, but … whatever makes her happy…

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The Stave Church @ Rødven

We returned to Sunnmøre on Sunday afternoon, and I was all smiles (at least on the inside) with 4 new tops on my map. We all need something that something that creates energy in our lives, and collecting new mountain tops is what keeps me fueled…

Pictures from the Randsetfjellet trip:

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