Getting familiar with the south-west ridge
Peaks visited:
| Peak | Height | PF | Municipality | WCP |
| Snøhornet | 1309m | 716m | Ørsta/Volda, Norway | WCP |
Snøhornet (the Snow Horn) is located near the town Volda on Sunnmøre (Norway), and is not among the most popular tops in this region. But, it offers nice terrain for hiking and stunning terrain for skiing when the snow conditions are favorable.
Prior to this hike, I had been up here twice before – on skis. The first time (2007) was an unforgettable trip. The second (2012) time will never earn legendary status…
June 5 2017:
Both previous trips started by the tunnel near Koppen by Austefjorden. This time, I wanted to try the route from Aldalen. I could see a path on the map. It was just a matter of finding it. I had to ask some cabin owners and they explained where I would find the trailhead.
I found it in a curve just before the bridge across Hjartåelva. After a short hike along a path, we joined the gravel road going into the bowl. I noticed a pink stick and assumed that the forest path began here. That was a correct assumption.
It was a nice hike up to the Skjøråsen ridge. From here, I got Snøhornet in clear view.
The path turned south and Karma and I passed point 490m to the south. From here, we aimed for Snøhornet’s southwest ridge.
Soon, we were looking at a very steep drop on the ridge, but found that the path curved gently up to the ridge, on the north side.
Once we were ON the ridge, I figured that the rest of the ridge was a walk in the park. We passed a couple, sitting down, enjoying the day. I had thought I would be alone up here. Then I met a girl, out with her dog. She had turned around just before a cliff, and when I looked at the cliff from a distance, it didn’t look trivial.
But upon closer inspection, I found two routes up the cliff and shortly after, I could see the rest of the route up the ridge. It looked easy.
From time to time, I stopped to enjoy the Austefjord view. I know this region pretty well by now, but I never get tired of the views.
Eventually, we ran into snow. After all, it was only early June. In the southern Norway mountain regions, June is still spring.
I know that the plateau on Snøhornet is vast, and I was curious to see where I would end up, respective of the summit cairn. To my surprise, I was walking straight towards it.
And finally, after 1h:50m, 5,3km and 1150 vertical meters, we could touch the cairn. The views are MIGHTY FINE from up here…
I normally like to round trip hikes, but I didn’t see any option which didn’t involve several kilometers along roads, so I decided to return the way we came.
We returned to the car 3h:5m after leaving it. This was a very positive experience. I really liked this route, and would not mind a bit to do it again one day. But first, I will take a closer look at the north ridge…
Pictures from the hike:
