Mom gets a proper high…
Peaks visited:
| Peak | Height | PF | Municipality | Location |
| Nordre Høyholmstind – east top | 1015m | 705m | Vevelstad | GPX |
Summer vacation 2016 continued…
Although the official map refers to the two tops on this massif as Høyholmstindan (plural), I prefer to call them Nordre Høyholmstindan. I have often heard that Saltkartinden and Stortinden – and even Hornstinden – are referred to as Søndre Høyholmstindan. Nordre Høyholmstindan has two distinct peaks; the eastern top is 1015m and clearly the highest. The western top seems to barely exceed 1000m but has no exact height on the map. It’s a shame that they do not have individual names. This report describes our trip to the eastern top at 1015m.
After breakfast the next morning, we drove to Horn and took the 08:50am ferry to Andalsvågen. On the ferry, we met Asta Høyland (mom and I are FB friends with Asta) – also going to Høyholmstinden. From Andalsvågen, we drove the trailhead at Ytrehaugen (approx. halfway between Andalsvågen and Forvik). As we needed some time to prepare our backpacks, Asta decided to get going.
The path was not marked in the beginning, which was a bit strange. The path showed on the map, and there was also a map at the trailhead. But it was not marked. We had seen Asta walk to the left of the red barn, and then along the outskirts of the crop field and head into the forest (through a gate), which was really helpful. Once in the forest, the path was visible and shortly after, the first red paint appeared.
The terrain got gradually steeper but the path was still easy to follow. We passed a very distinct rock, high above Sandosbekken (creek) and my natural instinct told me to do something exposed. But as I didn’t quite trust the rock, I decided to leave it alone.
The path now turned south and traversed over to Drogsåa (creek) where we could refill our water bottles. We continued south until we reached one more creek, and from here on the direction was southeast – straight towards Høyholmtinden’s north ridge. The map calls this ridge Brenndalstinden. I’m not sure what Brenndalstinden really is. The name suggests it’s a peak, but the only peaks up here are the two Nordre Høyholmstindan peaks.
We aimed for a pitch of snow that seemed like a good route up to Brenndalstinden, and we could see Asta up there. If the snow had been hard, we would have to look for another route up the mountain. But today, the snow had a soft crust and was easy to walk on.
Soon, we were on Brenndalstinden and could see Høyholmstinden above us. The snow on the ridge would not cause any problems. And mom was still going strong. We would definitely reach the top today!
Then we talked about Høyholmstindan’s western top. Asta had not been there, and was surprised when I told her that I came across that top in August 2008. She didn’t think it was possible to go that way. But if you like scrambling the route between the two tops is just fun.
After a good stay on top, it was time to head back down. We took the same way down, but stopped to have some fun down by the big boulders below Brenndalstinden.
At Drogsåa, Asta told us she would lay down in the grass and enjoy the mountain (and more coffee) a little bit longer. The rest of us went back down to the trailhead and arrived at the car 2:50pm – 5h:15m after heading out.
