Moving fast in the mountains, running and speed climbing is as old as humans. The alpinerunner is that athlete who is in the limb of running and climbing, on a terrain that allows nakedness but demands a big backpack of knowledge and experience to navigate the difficulties that mountains offer to climb them safely. As mountain athletes, racing on technical and mountainous terrain is an opportunity to share our passion of moving fast on mountains with other athletes that share the same passion and an opportunity to discover our capacities and new places to practice what we love the most.

Romsdal offers some of the most incredible terrain to practice mountain activities in the world. One of Norway most iconic summits, the prominent mountain Romsdalshorn proudly reaches up to the sky like a tower seen from the valley below. Its first ascent took place already in 1828 when two Norwegian locals, Christen Smed and Hans Bjermeland, found the way up. 

In the late 1800s wealthy British aristocrats who came to fish for salmon but stayed to climb like William Cecil Slingsby and the Danish climber Carl Hall explored deeply the area making first ascents on almost every major summit in the region, using local farmers as guides. In 1881 the Dane Carl Hall finally reached the summit after six unsuccessful attempts. Together with Mathias Soggemoen and Erik Norahagen he stood on the summit where he disappointedly could see the cairn raised fifty years earlier. Hall is remembered for having done the best known second ascent in Norway and having given his name to the route up the mountain from the south. The Romsdalhorn is for ever linked to Arne Randers Heen, called “The King of Romsdalshorn.” Starting in 1928 he climbed the “Horn” a total of 233 times. From the first ascent in July 1965 of the Trollveggen, Europe’s tallest vertical wall, in a historic race between two separate teams. The Norwegian team won by a single day, while a British team reached the top a day later, the big walls of Romsdal and specially the Trollwall attracted climbers from all of the world, specially during the 80’s and 90’s. Since then, Romsdal has been a paradise for bigwall climbers, BASE jumpers, ice climbers and alpinists.

UP: Since the old days, folks in the mountains have been trying to get up as fast as possible from the villages to the summits nearby. Here is a series of uphill runs and climbs in Romsdal villages: ↑ Nesaksla, Romsdalshorn, Store Trolltind, Store Vengetind, Bispen, Trollstigen, Gridset, Veten,

ACROSS: From a summit to another. From valley to valley. The skylines and ridges of Romsdal has inspired for decades climbers to follow its natural features as birds drawing lines on the sky, linking up summits and villages: ⇝ Alpinerun, 7 Summits,

KONKURRANSER / RACES: Sometimes runners from the valley – and abroad – pin a bib in the valley: ⏱ Romsdal Rando – skimo – April 10th, Åndalsnesløpet 5km – May 25th, Romsdalseggenløpet 8,6km – 28km – September 5th, Nesaksla Opp 2km – October 10th.