Totally Epic!
| Peak/Place | Height | PF | Location |
| Søre Raudfonndalstind | 1046m | 58m | Ørsta, Norway |
Saturday: This was a big day for me. Finally, I were to complete the string of tops between Romedalen and Langedalen valleys in Ørsta. Provided that I would be able to reach the top of Søre Raudfonndalstind…
Raudfonndalstindane consists of a bunch of tops, but there are three main tops – the north top, the south top and the middle top. Today, I was aiming for the south top.
Very few tops in this are are easy tops and I had a feeling about what I could expect…
We drove to Mosætra, and Anne, Karma and I followed the path on the east side of the valley river.
All sorts of plans were on the table; 1) Anne and Karma would continue to Årskogdalen and I would pick them up later, 2) Anne and Karma would continue to Årsetdalen and I would pick them up later and 3) Anne and Karma would either wait for me in the valley or 4) return to the car.
We parted at Høgeheida. From here, I had ~450 vertical meters up to the ridge between Midtre and Søre Raudfonndalstind. It was a route I remembered from my previous hike to Midtre Raudfonndalstind (where Karma had to wait while daddy was scrambling his way to the top)
If these tops tickle your fancy, I could also reveal that the hike/scramble between Sveddalstinden and Nordre Raudfonndalstind was one of the most fun trips I’ve taken.
I did remember that Søre Raudfonndalstind was quite steep, so I had brought an ice-axe. This turned out to be a very smart choice.
When I reached the watershed ridge, I wondered how I should ascend upwards. The grassy parts looked steep and so I decided to scramble up along the rocky part of the ridge. On my way down here (later on), I didn’t find the grass so steep after all – well acclimated.
After the first scrambling section, the route traversed over to a different ridge and shortly after, I stood on the first top. One down, three to go. To be honest, at this point – I didn’t think I would be able to get to the top (top #4). The terrain ahead of me looked ugly…
Getting off top #1 required some caution, as I had to climb across a rock with loose parts.
The descent into the saddle was also “interesting” as I wasn’t able to find handholds to get into the saddle without taking a short slide. No drama, though.
Top #2 offered the crux of the route. I had to climb a short section where I would need to hold on to grass. The grass didn’t look solid, and I considered my future for a minute or two before I smacked the ice-axe into the grass and pulled myself up. No guts, no glory…
Getting down from top #2 was not so fun. There were no real footholds and I had to trust bush and roots.
When I reached top #3, I was most certain that the high point was out of reach. I had a super-narrow and exposed ridge ahead of me and I couldn’t see how I could get up to top #4 – the high point.
But the ridge was the easiest so far, as hand- and footholds were plenty.
And then I noticed that I could just walk around the steep section of the high point and arrive on top from the back side. And then I was on top of Søre Raudfonndalstind! I called Anne and learned that she would be waiting for me down in the valley.
Returning was a much simpler matter. The only place where I really had to focus was where I once again had to trust that my axe had a firm grip in the grass.
As mentioned earlier, I took a slightly different route down to the saddle between Søre and Midtre Raudfonndalstind and then I could pick up the pace and return to Anne.
I found her and Karma at “Vakjarhuset” – an old watchpost for – bears!
We returned to Mosætra along the path on the other side of the river and stopped by Bukkedalshølen to enjoy some fruit and the small lake itself.
For me, this was a most awesome day in the Sunnmøre alps!
Trip statistics: 11,5km, 780 vertical meters, 4,5 hours
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone8) from the hike:
