Rasletind

Rasletind
Rasletind
	Rasletind seen from southeast, February 2004
Highest point
Elevation	2,105 m (6,906 ft)
Prominence	110 m (360 ft)
Coordinates	61°23′43″N 8°41′52″E / 61.39528°N 8.69778°ECoordinates: 61°23′43″N 8°41′52″E / 61.39528°N 8.69778°E
Geography
Location	Vang, Vågå, Øystre Slidre (only the eastern summit), Innlandet, Norway
Parent range	Jotunheimen
Topo map	1617 IV Gjende
Climbing
Easiest route	Hike, Skiing

Rasletind is a mountain with two summits in Norway, the highest at 2105 m above sea level. It is located on the border between the municipalities of Vang and Vågå, in Innlandet county, but the northwestern corner of the municipality of Øystre Slidre reaches the summit of Øystre Rasletind. It is the southeasternmost summits in the Jotunheimen mountain area. It is situated on the western side of the high mountain plain of Valdresflyi. It is the eastern end of the long east-west-trending Kalvehøgde massif. The summit can be observed from most of the mountain areas south and east of Jotunheimen.

Øystre Rasletind seen from Steindalen valley to the southeast.

The mountain has two summits, named Øystre Rasletind and Rasletind (Øystre meaning Eastern). The name probably derives from the Norwegian word for rumble "rasle" - the sound of stones falling down. The south wall of the summits is steep, so this makes the rumble-theory even more plausible. The name is also found in the tarn south of the summits and the smaller summit on the south end of the plain south of the summits is called Raslet.

Both summits are so close to the main route - later national route 51 - across Valdresflyi, so that it has been impossible to establish who was first to reach them. They are among the most easily available 2000-meter-summits in Norway.

The mountain is among the southernmost 2000 m peaks in Norway and is made of the extremely hard gabbro rock. The gabbro in Rasletind is of the normal "gray-with-black-specs" variety which can easily be observed on the slopes that are covered with snow most of the year and gives no support to lichen colonies. The view from the summits is one of the best in southern Norway. On a clear day, you can see almost as far as Oslo. You can see the Rondane range to the east-northeast and the Dovrefjell range to the north. Due south you see the summit of the beacon of Øystre Slidre, Bitihorn, and you also see the lakes of Vinstri and Bygdin.

View from the main summit in the northerly direction.

The Eastern and Western summits can be reached after an easy hike, which, dependent on the choice of directness of the route will be of varying steepness. The following is a brief description of the trip. From the Youth Hostel at the highest point of National Route 51, hike directly towards the eastern summit. There are traces of a path on the wet meadowes on the south shore of lake . Shortly after you leave the small lake, the very even route starts to climb, and you will not be able to see the summits any more.

Walk in a northwesterly direction until you reach the shoulder of the Raslet mountain. From here you can choose to hike directly towards the steep southeastern ridge. This ridge needs no equipment to be climbed, but it is steep. The easier choice is to hike towards the pass between the Eastern summit and the small summit on its eastern ridge. From here it is a rocky, but an easy hike to the summit. From the extremely flat eastern summit, it is easy to spot the route to the main summit. This short hike is no challenge except that it is rocky.

The greatest number of people climb the hikes in April and May after the National Route 51 has opened again after winter. On a sunny Saturday or Sunday you will never walk alone, and the number of alternative routes is higher than in summer. Many peakbaggers continue to the Kalvehøgde summits.

References[]

Norske fjelltopper over 2000 meter by Morten and Julia Helgesen - Glittertind forlag (Publishers)
Jotunheimen bind 1 (volume 1) by Erik W. Thommesen and Gunnar Wigerust - Valdres forlag (Publishers)
Naturgeografi by Hans Christian Kullerud and Hasse Raastad - Aschehougs forlag (Publishers)
Interviews with several hikers visiting the summits 1984, 1996, 2005 and 2006