Easter vacation: day 5
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 14.04.25 | Beltenuten | 1314m | 126m | Nore og Uvdal, Norway | MAP |
Monday: The main plan was to go on a ski-trip today. We didn’t have high hopes the night before, as the rain was pouring down on our rented cabin in Jønndalen. But it cleared up and Monday morning was gorgeous.
I had planned to also work the first 3 days in the easter week, but with one bar on the 4G reception, that was simply out of the question. As such, I got a forced vacation.
The goal for the ski-trip was clear – Beltenuten, from Solheimstulen. We expected to carry the skis for a while. The distance to the top wasn’t too bad. If we just went straight up the mountain, we were just looking at 4-5km to the top. Provided that the snow carried Karma’s weight, that should not be a problem for her.
But a plan is a plan until it’s no longer a plan. We ended up following other skiers, following the mountain road along Krukeåe river.
After 30 minutes and 1,6km, we could put the skis on. Now, it was just tempting to follow the road upwards. The direct line through the forest didn’t look very inviting, and we figured that it would be overall easier for Karma to follow solid tracks.
Near the end of the mountain road, we had a direct attempt on the mountain, but the snow was hard as ice.
Instead, we decided to go with the flow.
At lake Kruketjønne, we went for the mountain for a second time.
But after a while, it felt wrong. There was too little snow and Beltenuten was still far away. We decided to head back down to the snowmobile track and head for lake Fiskeløktjønne.
The lake provided easy progress. We stopped and evaluated Karma’s condition, knowing this would be a longer trip than planned. She looked OK and seemed happy to be on firm snow again.
We decided to take another evaluation at the far end of the lake.
At the end of the lake, Karma still looked OK and now we only had 2km+ to go. We agreed that we would be standing on top of Beltenuten today.
After an uneventful ascent (we parked the skis just below the top), we stood on top of Beltenuten, 2h:40m after leaving the car.
We had though that this would be the easiest top (with a prominence of 100m or more) to ski, but given the route we took, Simlehovde (1353m) would have been a shorter trip.
Oh well. We were happy about Beltenuten and could enjoy a well-deserved break.
Karma got waffles…
And I enjoyed taking pictures. There wasn’t really much standing out in the horizon, but there were at least two unmistakable landmarks. The first was Gaustatoppen – 53,3km away.
The second was the long Hallingskarvet massif.
Then it was time to head back down. We had the option to take the shortest route possible back to Solheimstulen, but that involved terrain we weren’t familiar with. With snow hard as ice, that could be a problem. So, we decided to return the way we came.
Karma wasn’t leading anymore. But that wasn’t expected either. Just a week ago, a walk around the block was like Mt. Everest. Before the Easter break, I actually didn’t think she ever would be standing on a mountain top again. But luckily, I was wrong.
When we got back to lake Kruketjønne, it was suddenly crowded. The “masses” came from the south, I have no idea from where. But there was a “convoy” of people back to Solheimstulen. It was very awkward to have Karma on a leash, as she fell in behind me. So, I let her just tag along behind me.
In case someone wanted to criticize me, all I could do was to apologize, inform them that the dog had been through two major surgeries this year – cancer and uterus removal, the last one only 3 weeks ago. It was a miracle that she was even on the trail. She’s 12,5 years old, have a hip problem and I could personally guarantee that no animals or people – remotely – were in any form of danger.
All in all, a superb trip!
Trip statistic: 17,7km, 495 vertical meters, 4h:40m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max/Samsung Galaxy) from the trip:
