This week I climbed an ear! The Øretoppen has a twin-peak that looks like two small ears of a mouse and it is this analogy that also gave the name to the mountain. Øre in Norwegian is the ear. With an altitude of 465 meters it is the third highest mountain in the municipality of Sør-Varanger and with a total climb of 700 meters on the way back and forth, I almost get the feeling of hiking in the Alps.
In the beginning, the way leads through a birch forest. But soon I’m in open landscape and I get the first glimpse of the mountain even if the top is still far away on the horizon.
I continue climbing uphill and after half-an-hour I reach a small valley. Suddenly, ptarmigans pop up in front of us. It isn’t easy to get close enough to these birds while having a dog on the leash that is eager to hunt them down.
After approximately two-thirds of the way, it is going downhill again. On some parts the way is quite muddy and flooded from the melting snow. When I look at my shoes, I know that it is going to be shoe-cleaning-day tomorrow.
The last part of the way is the steepest. But luckily, there are some snowfields left that Taiga uses extensively for cooling down. And I use these breaks for catching my breath.
At one o’clock in the morning we are at the top of the mountain and are enjoying the view. Kirkenes and the Bøkfjord can be seen while looking south-west and in the north, we can see straight to the Varanger-peninsula.
View to Kirkenes 
View to Varanger-peninsula 
While we are on our way back, the sun is climbing higher into the sky. But also some clouds appear and both of them create a beautiful play of colours.
Moreover, it is totally calm. The surfaces of the lakes are like mirrors reflecting the passing clouds. Before I go down the last downhill to the parking place, I’m overlooking the landscape once more. On the horizon, I detect the transmitter mast of Lyngberget, the mountain I climbed last week.
