Finally!!!!
Peaks visited:
| Peak | Height | PF | Location |
| Kopphornet | 1139m | 25m | Ørsta, Norway |
| Nordre Klovtinden | 1258m (est.) | 23m (est.) | Ørsta, Norway |
| Klovtinden | 1274m | 264m | Ørsta, Norway |
Two months after psyching out on this Sunnmøre monster”, I was back. This time together with Ole André Lukkedal, Johnny Aarseth, Øyvind Bunes and Eivind Bjørge. I knew Johnny from Gjuratinden, but I had never met Øyvind and Eivind before. But I liked their names. My middle name is Øyvind and my father’s name was Eivind.
I met Ole on the – very memorable – Gjuratinden trip, and we also climbed Kvanndalstinden and Torshammaren together – Aug 30 2014 – 4 years ago and the last time I climbed. Today, Ole and I would be one team, while Johnny, Øyvind and Eivind would climb as the other team.
Ole had signed up to lead this climb on Sep 22 – as part of the Peakbook Summit VII gathering. As such, he needed to become familiar with the route. Which was good fortune for me, as I thought my only chance had slipped two months earlier…
We met at the Skårasalen parking 09:40am this Sunday morning, and after saying hello, we were ready to hike 10 minutes later. I took them up the forest route that Odd Arne, Arnfred and I descended two months earlier, and I noticed that someone had been marking the route since then.
The weather was OK, and we hoped that we wouldn’t get any rain. We kept a good pace up the mountain, passed across Kopphornet and reached Nordre Klovtinden 1h:47m after heading out. Which was only 2 minutes faster than Odd Arne, Manfred and me back in July. But we also stopped for lunch back then..
Klovtinden was just as ugly as the last time, but now I was mentally prepared. But what about physically? I hadn’t climbed in 4 years, I’m definitely not younger and there was a hard pitch awaiting for those who don’t do this on a regular basis. But ok, without pain, no gain, etc…
Johnny, Øyvind and Eivind was the first team out. Ole and I stayed on Nordre Klovtinden, watching them go. Johnny led the team and didn’t seem to struggle much with the route.
I watched him through the zoom lens, hoping to gain a tip or two about handholds, but watching and doing are two different things.
Eventually it was time for Ole and me to move on. We scrambled down to the saddle and went up to the normal point for belay. I had to get a repetition of the normal commands, but soon realized that our voices would drown in the strong wind.
Not only was the wind strong, it was cold too. When it was my turn to climb, I was quite shocked about the first pitch (which I didn’t see from my belay). I fumbled around for handholds, determined to move with a minimum level of style. But when my hands started to get cold, and I STILL hadn’t figured out the moves, I got impatient and had to push on. To hell with style, there were people on this mountain who wanted to get home to dinner…
I had to leave a friend (device) behind, as my hand was too cold to get it out of the crack. Morale in free fall…
I didn’t think the first pitch was easy at all, and what I thought was the crux higher up, was much easier than the first pitch. But I got up to Ole by the rappel point, without any fall, so the self esteem wasn’t totally wrecked.
Ole wanted me to continue up to the top, and the belay was of the kind that would prevent me from falling all the way down to the valley. In the event of extreme clumsiness…
I was wearing climbing shoes for the climb, and they’re not very good in a mix of mud and grass. So I was not overwhelmingly happy about the situation when I reached the top and joined the others. Eivind was waving his gloves, indicating that gloves is a smart thing to have. Well I did have gloves. Woolen gloves. Not suited for climbing, but lesson indeed learned…
Ole arrived on top and we could take a group picture.
Rain seemed to be moving in, and we decided to get going. But there was enough time to enjoy the views…
Johnny’s team went down first while Ole and I organized the rope (60m half rope). I had asked for a belay from the top, as I didn’t feel too secure there. I guess Ole had preferred that I just climbed down, but he didn’t complain.
On our Kvanndalstinden climb 4 years ago, we had real problems with the wind and the ropes upon the rappel, and here we go again! The rope just didn’t want to fall down the rock face and we had to do it the hard way – as you go.
My lack of recent practice also resulted in that a strap from my backpack got tangled up in my prusik. I could only laugh from my incompetence. That said, I might not have laughed if I had started my rappel without noticing it first…
But eventually I got started and suddenly remembered how fun this part of the climbing is. And I got down without screwing it up. Big bonus! Ole came shortly after and we joined the others on Nordre Klovtinden.
We returned the way we came (more or less) and reached the car 5,5 hours after leaving. Many thanks to the guys for great company and a great trip, and many extra thanks to Ole who got me up to a place I don’t really belong.
Trip statistics: 7,7km, 900 vertical meters, 5h:30mins
Pictures from the hike:
