On my way back home…
Peaks visited:
| Peak | Height | PF | Municipality |
| Fossedalshengenipa | 713m | 223m | Askvoll |
| Markahengenipa | 604m | 110m | Askvoll |
| Sjønakletten | 321m | 198m | Askvoll |
| Kletten | 708m | 100m | Jølster/ Førde |
After two fantastic days in the Askvoll region, it was time to wrap up and head back home. As my girlfriend was flying in from Kirkenes in the afternoon, I wanted to be back home by then (as I had to pick her up when she arrived on the express boat at Hareid). And so I was curious to see how much “good” I was able to do on my way back home…
Fossedalshengenipa & Markahengenipa
I had noticed these two tops while visiting Gjelsvikefjellet – on my way to Askvoll two days earlier. Fossedalshengenipa was a very characteristic top and so I decided that this would be the first hike I did today.
I took the Skjerlia exit (the same I took when I visited Gjelsvikefjellet) and when I arrived at Lake Markavatnet, I noticed that there was no gate at the construction road. To be honest, there was a “no driving” signpost, but as it was a Sunday, I concluded that I never saw that signpost. Too overwhelmed by the stunning nature, etc. You know…
I drove up to Lake Grunnevatnet (252m) and parked there. The road continued upwards, but that would be wrong direction. From here, we (Karma and I) followed the path into the Bordbotnen valley.
We followed the trail that runs to Nipebu until we reached the foot of Fossedalshengenipa. From here, we went off-trail and followed the north ridge upwards. From here, I could see our next stop – Markahengenipa.
We reached the summit 10:18am, after 2,9km and 470 vertical meters. From the summit, we had a great view towards Eitrenipa and the Kringla twins. I could also see Nipebu from here – only 1,2km to the southwest. As I had a busy day ahead of me, I didn’t stay for more than the pictures and descended down the north ridge again.
The hike up to Markahengenipa was also short – only 1,4km. The weather was improving by the minute and it was turning into a sunny day. I enjoyed passing Lake 542m and see the snow float around in the lake – a nice symbol of spring changing into summer.
The time was 11:05am when we reached the summit. I had to be back home before 20pm and tried to calculate the driving distance back to Sunnmøre. 4 hours at least! Which gave me 5 more hours for hiking.
We were back at the trailhead 11:44am and I had already my next target planned:
Sjønakletten, 321m
Approx. 3,5km east of the Skjerlia exit, I turned left onto an unnamed road down to Gjelsvika. After 0,6km, I turned right and 0,4km later, I turned left towards Bjørndalen. I followed this road 1km and decided to not drive up to the farm just up the road. I had no idea about any paths up here, but I concluded with “how hard could it be?”
Well, it was hard enough.
A tractor road took me up to the southeast ridge. So far, so good. Then, the nightmare begun. The ridge forest was packed with trees and bush. There was a faint track, but either from a very very small animal, or from deer – some thirty years ago…
I had to wear sunglasses, otherwise I would have been blind by now. The downside was that I didn’t see much in the dark forest. I was worried about Karma, but she was low enough to pass under the lower branches.
Once done with the ridge, there was just chaos ahead…
There was no way turning back now. I just had to see this through. And after many tormenting moments, we finally topped out on the summit ridge and could enjoy an OK walk up to the high point.
If I hadn’t been in a hurry, I would have chosen a different route down. But I chose to retrace my steps (read: GPS tracks) down the forest and the forest ridge. We returned to the car 1 hour after leaving it. It was 3,1km (in total) that I will never forget…
Kletten, 708m
The time was now past 1pm and I had 3 more hours of time for hiking. I decided to visit Kletten above Eikås, which meant I had a good transport leg ahead of me. I didn’t know of any path up to Kletten so I was mentally prepared for another forest nightmare.
I drove to Innsteinstad and hoped by I would find a tractor road that would gently take me up the forest. I started out on one, but after a few minutes we were off-trail in the forest. As I didn’t have any time to waste, I decided to head directly for Jølstraskardet – the pass between Kletten and Eikåsnipa.
Then my girlfriend called me and said that she had an option to take an earlier flight – saving her for 3 boring hours at the airport in Oslo. “Errrr….”
After a short negotiation, we agreed that she should enjoy her new book at the airport and arrive according to schedule. Yes, I admit it. When it comes to peakbagging, I can be pretty serious about it…
Although off-trail, we moved swiftly up the forest, arrived in Jølstraskardet and followed the ridge up the summit. The distance from the trailhead was 2,8km and the time was now 3:02pm. It was time to call it a day and get back home. We were back at the car 30 minutes later…
Kletten is registered as a Jølster mountain on peakbook.org. My personal opinion is that the summit point belongs to both Førde and Jølster and as such, I’m registering this top under both municipalities.
It was a great weekend! From mid-Saturday to Sunday afternoon, I got myself 13 new peaks and had a great stay in Askvoll. Well worth it, even if the driving distance in total was close to 600km…
Pictures from the Fossedalshengenipa/Markahengenipa hike:
Pictures from the Sjønakletten hike:
Pictures from the Kletten hike:
