Terrible snow, stunning light!
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 26.02.24 | Sollia | 661m | 661m | Herøy/Sande, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
Monday: When I went out for the morning walk with Karma, I could see that a good dump of snow had fallen through the night, but only above 200m elevation. As the weather wasn’t so good, I just thought to myself that I’d be walking the dog in my local forest this afternoon.
But, during the day, the weather got better and better and after work I decided to go for a ski-trip to Sollia.
This would mean I would have to carry the skis for a while, but hopefully – it would be worth it.
When we finally reached snow, it was just terrible, but the light was amazing!
In terms of hard work, I rated this trip 5/10 for Karma. Someone else had skied here earlier in the day, but it didn’t carry her weight. That said, she seemed most happy outside the track.
I was skiing on my mountain skis, with wide, but short skins. I had touched water, so I felt the snow piling up under my skis. Fortunately, I had brought an extra pair of skins – a Christmas present from Anne that I had yet to unpack.
I decided to save them until we reached the last top before Sollia.
With “terrible snow”, I mean that the snow had a breakable crust, and that coming down this mountain would not be what I call fun skiing. But it didn’t matter much because the only thing I cared about was the light.
Passing top 598m, I switched to my new pair of skins. They were not only short, but also narrow! But, as the main ascent had been done, I was able to get the grip needed.
Karma looked a little bit tired after struggling in the soft snow. But she’s no quitter!
Then we got to the bridge where we cross the drain from lake Holmevatnet. This was our 3rd ski-trip here this year and the bridge has become more and more cumbersome to cross. Today, it was an all-time high. While I struggled to get down to the bridge, Karma was whining. She never does that, so I have no clue what she was on about.
But the whining stopped once we got across and could set course for the top.
When we got to the top, I could “celebrate” my 101st visit to this top. Karma doesn’t have quite that many visits, but she has plenty.
The nice light was now fading quickly, and we basically had the prospect of flat light on our way down the mountain.
But the skiing part was never the main thing for this trip. The skis were just a tool to get up and down. When I started my working day, I had absolutely no idea about ending up on the high point on Gurskøy island this afternoon, so it was altogether a big bonus!
But I forgot about the lottery tickets!
Trip statistics: 9,5km, 555 vertical meters, 2h:41m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the trip:
