A strenuous ski-trip across the Runde tops
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 11.02.24 | Rundevarden | 333m | 333m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 11.02.24 | Sandshornet | 245m | 57m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 11.02.24 | Rundebranden | 294m | 141m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
Sunday: When I woke up this morning, it was cloudy and I felt the light was too flat for enjoying skiing. But then I noticed that there was a light in the direction of the coastline. Even if it was cloudy above, it would at least be nice to see blue sky.
I decided to go for a ski-trip across the Runde tops. Skiing on Runde isn’t really a thing, other than on a bucket list, due to the little amount of snow during winter.
I had skied Rundebranden a couple times before, but I had never skied across all the tops. It didn’t even occur to me that this planned round trip could be a challenge for Karma.
“Karma really struggled on Runde” is something I thought I never would say to Anne on the phone.
But she did.
As we approached lake Litlevatnet, I actually thought Varden was a no-go and that we would have to settle for Rundebranden instead. But when I found that the ice (barely) supported our weight, we could cover some distance without working hard for it.
The ice made all sorts of complaining noises as we went along and on lake Storevatnet, the ice broke under us. I assume that these were shallow lakes, and we were in no fear of falling into the water. But the rumble from the entire lake was a bit scary.
Rundebranden was far away now. If we only would end up with one top today, it would be the island high point – Varden.
There was no easy route up the mountain, so I just picked the route that looked steepest, yet skiable.
It was really, really nice to reach the ridge. The hardest part was over.
Not far to the high point now…
Karma had the wisdom to find easier ground…
And then we were up! Yes!
I didn’t really take time to enjoy the views. If I say I do, it’s just a cliché. I know the views inside and out and I don’t have to enjoy them over and over again.
But we had one more top to do. Or 3, depending on how you count.
We sat course for the Sandvatna lakes and the descent went fairly OK for the both of us.
I had hoped for tracks along the ridge across Frøystolen and Sandshornet. We met a couple on cross-country skis, but the track didn’t support Karma’s weight. She really struggled but showed no signs of wanting to give up. I hope that I have the wisdom to know what she’s capable of before it comes to that point.
After passing Frøystolen (210m), we sat course for Sandshornet (245m).
We had only one hill left to do – up to Rundebranden.
Karma was still going strong although she had several kilos of snowballs inside her suit. I stopped several times to try to get them out, but they were glued to her hair.
Finally, and I really mean finally – we reached the top of Rundebranden. My 3rd time (I think) on skis.
The descent would not be epic, as there was much less snow on this side of the island. But that didn’t matter. Now, I just looked forward to getting down and get the suit off the dog.
Karma didn’t display a lot of energy when we began our descent, but when we reached the footpath from Goksøyr, she ran like crazy. And the snow got better as soon as we got off the top.
All in all, a strenuous trip for the both of us, but also big fun!
Trip statistics: 10km, 640 vertical meters, 3h:07m
