Kirketaket (1439 m.a.s.l.)

Kirketaket is a spectacular mountain for skiing, and the fantastic view over the Romdalsfjord and Romdal Alps is a big reason to visit. The Kirketaket Mountain was in 2004 voted among the top 10 mountains for Alpine touring by the magazine Fri Flyt.

The skiing up to Kirketaket is a fantastic nature experience. At the top, you have a view over "the whole world". The Romsdal mountains to the east and south, the Romsdalsfjord and the Romsdal coast to the west, and the Nordmøre mountains an Nordmøre coast to the north. But best of all; you have more than 1000 metres vertical skiing waiting for you. More and more Telemark-, Board- and Randonee-enthusiasts leave their tracks in the snow at Kirketaket.

The skitrip to the top of Kirketaket will take you between 3 to 5 hours. You start at the Shooting Range (Skytterbana) in Isfjorden. Follow the ski track up to Stormyra. Cross Stormyra and continue to the left towards Bruhaugen, a popular goal for families with children. Continue through the forest, and follow a small forest path towards Skarsetra. Just before you arrive Skarsetra, take up to the right to Steinberget. Here, it is steep and heavy, but easy to cross upwards. 

Then you follow the ridge at Steinberget, approximately 900 m.a.s. At the east side of Steinberget, you need to go over a small ridge before gliding down towards the west edge of Kirketaket. Follow the west edge until you can ski into the main mountainside of Kirketaket. Here you must cross up to the top, 1439 m.a.s. Leave the skis a few meter below the top. At the west side of the top edge, you have a cairn with a book, here you can write your name and some words about the ski trip.

The skiing down is fantastic, you can ski more than 1000 vertical metres down to Kavliheia at 400 ma.s. From here you glide down to the startingpoint at Øvre Kavli.

Warnings:

Do not exceed the edge at the top of Kirketaket. Never continue longer than the cairn. There are always snowdrift, never walk longer than you see rocks. Do not walk so far towards the edge that you do not know what you have below your feet. There are also danger for avalanches at Kirketaket. Make sure you are safe, and consider the weather and the risk of avalanche. Seek advices from local skiers, or maybe the best advice is to hire a ski guide!

Check the latest updated avalanche forecasts for Romsdal here:  varsom.no 

The weather circumstances and snow conditions can soon change. Always pay attention to the risk of snow avalanches when planning for your ski touring experience. Ski touring in Romsdalen requires competence in analyzing the data from weather and avalanche risk reports and forecasts. For your own safety seek sufficient information in the planning process. Read about the mountain and consider the avalanche problem in the area you are in. A warning is an aid, not a facit. Always make your own reviews locally.  You customize your own risk in vulnerable areas by choosing when, where and how you go. Make the safe choice!

We always recommend to bring a ski guide, for your own safety, and because the guides knows where to find the best snow, in all kind of weather. The ski guides in Romsdalen are high skilled, acting professional, and have valuable experience and local knowledge. Some of the ski guides have fulfilled the NORTIND certified guide program, and are trained to high, international standards for working with people in challenging mountain terrain. Look for the NORTIND and IFMGA autorization emblems on the guide companies' pages.

Useful maps and readings:

Romsdalsfjella, Hiking map for Romsdal. Målestokk 1:80 000.

Recommended book to read before ski touring in Romsdalen is "Ski touring in Romsdalen" by Halvor Hagen.

Belonging map to Ski touring in Romsdalen:  "Kart til skifører"  by Halvor Hagen.  

Can be purchased in the local book store Romsdal Libris in Åndalsnes, and at Norsk Tindesenter - the Norwegian Mountaineering Centre.