Including an emotional hike to Risnesnipa
Peaks visited:
| Peak | Height | PF | Location |
| Lammetufjellet | 120m | 120m | Fjaler, Norway |
| Einingsfjellet | 258m | 235m | Fjaler, Norway |
| Sørbøheia | 360m | 197m | Hyllestad, Norway |
| Teigesåta | 441m | 397m | Hyllestad, Norway |
| Rossvikheia | 298m | 178m | Hyllestad, Norway |
| Katlenova | 266m | 238m | Hyllestad, Norway |
| Risnesnipa | 777m | 679m | Hyllestad, Norway |
| Kolgrovheia | 497m | 394m | Hyllestad, Norway |
When I discovered this picture album 1,5 years after the trip, I didn’t remember anything from this weekend. How intriguing! And when I started looking at the pictures, it all came back to me and it was just “my kind of weekend“. So here goes the trip report…
Anne found a cabin for rent in Sørbøvåg, near Angelvika along Åfjorden in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. We checked in on Friday afternoon and I couldn’t wait to get going on Saturday. This region was a candy shop for a peakbagger!
The cabin was very nice and the first thing we noticed was an apple cake! How thoughtful is that?
LAMMETUFJELLET, SEP 9 2016, FJALER
On Saturday morning, we drove west to the island Lammetu to visit Lammetufjellet. The top if only 120m high, but it doesn’t have a single friendly side! Not knowing anything about where to go, we drove to Haugen to get some information from the locals.
We were told there was a route up in the southwest couloir. A rope was mentioned, so we decided to leave Karma in the car. We started out from near the Lammetun Kystfort and when we got closer to the couloir, we understood where the ascent route was. And it didn’t look dog-friendly!
On our way up the boulder in the couloir, we passed a cave. It had a narrow entrance and after a short descent, we found a small lake inside the mountain. We chose not to explore it further, as it was dark, dirty and slippery in there…
Out of the cave, it was time to become familiar with the section that had a rope for protection. It was strange for once to find a rope where it was actually needed. Normally, it’s not needed or it’s too steep and a rope shouldn’t be there (as ropes are seldom maintained). But I don’t think we would have taken on this very slippery section without this rope.
Once on the plateau, we headed north to the high point and could celebrate the first top this weekend!
We took the same route back to the trailhead and Karma, who was overjoyed to see us again. And since we were here, we might as well take a look at the Kystfort (Coastal Fortress).
LAMMETUN KYSTFORT, SEP 3 2016, FJALER
This is an impressive bunker system from WW2, October 1941. You can read about it on www.lammetun.no (Norwegian text, but you can translate it)
Pictures from Lammetu:
EININGSFJELLET, SEP 3 2016, FJALER
Our next stop was Einingsfjellet on the mainland, just east of Lammetu. We found the trailhead by the end of the south ridge. The path took us up to the pass between Kletten and Einingsfjellet and then followed the south ridge upwards.
The info board at the trailhead indicated a “steady climb”. And it was exactly that!
From our top #2 today, we could enjoy the view towards Lammetu…
We could see from the trailhead info board that there was a path down the east ridge (“Den gamle skulevegen“). We decided to head down along this way and then deal with the main road back to the car. Anne was convinced that we would get a lift. I was thinking “yeah, right”. This area isn’t exactly the center of the universe…
When we got to the main road, it didn’t take long before a car was coming, I decided to stay out of sight while Anne was sticking her thumb up. And sure enough, the car stopped and not too many minutes later, Anne came driving back in my car. A nice 3,5km round trip, not including the hitch-hiking part…
After the hike, we stopped by Olavskrossen in Korssund, in addition to taking a closer look at the oil platform – clearly not in production right now…
Pictures from the Einingsfjellet hike:
SØRBØHEIA, SEP 3 2016, HYLLESTAD
After two nice hikes, we returned to the cabin. Anne wanted to go fishing and I didn’t. So I took Karma and drove to Indregil (just west of Sørbøvåg) to hike Sørbøheia. While driving, it started pouring down!
Fortunately, it stopped raining when we reached the trailhead. The forest path was easy to follow…
1,5km later, Karma and I reached the top and celebrated new top #3 this Saturday. We took the same route back down.
Pictures from the Sørbøheia hike:
TEIGESÅTA, SEP 3 2016, HYLLESTAD
Now that I was “on a roll“, I figured there would be enough time for one more hike before Anne would want me back. Teigesåta seemed like a good candidate, having just seen it from Sørbøheia. It was 2,2km to the top, but it shouldn’t take long if there was a good path. And I hoped the fog would lift…
The trailhead was really hard to find, and I had to search in the forest to find it. Once I found it, it was easy to conclude that this path doesn’t get many visitors on an annual basis…
When we got above the forest, things got easier and I didn’t need any path. It was just a matter of heading towards the top.
On the way down, I talked to Anne on the phone and found that she was doing good by herself down by the fjord, and that I could one more top if I wanted to. I had to think about that for a fraction of a second…
Pictures from the Teigesåta hike:
ROSSVIKHEIA, SEP 3 2016, HYLLESTAD
Rossvikheia seemed like a neat top to visit. The drive down to Hyllestad would surely take longer time than the hike itself (3km in total)
I parked at the south end of lake Akslavatnet and followed a path up the west ridge – soaking wet after rain.
I liked the terrain above the forest. Lots of slabs and the path followed the slabs. Easy hiking!
What a great day so far. 5 new tops, albeit the effort and height wasn’t really mind-boggling. I decided that there was just enough time for one final top before Anne would get hungry and start thinking about dinner.
Pictures from the Rossvikheia hike:
KATLENOVA, SEP 3 2016, HYLLESTAD
Katlenova looked like a cool top, with its steep cliffs above Åfjorden. This would be a perfect end to a busy day…
The hike would be short (2,2km in total) and I didn’t expect any issues even if I had to go off-trail. I drove to Lia and headed out northbound.
I quickly found a forest path that took me up to the plateau, only to meet a jungle of juniper bush.
Once past the bush, I had to deal with bog…
And then it started to rain again. But we made it to the top and I was more than happy with returning back to the cabin…
Pictures from the Katlenova hike:
RISNESNIPA, SEP 4 2016, HYLLESTAD
Sunday morning, the weather was gorgeous and our target was Risnesnipa in Hyllestad. This would be a very special hike for me…
In March 2001, I drove from Bergen to hike Gygrekjeften and Risnesnipa. I had a tourist brochure; “Welcome to Hyllestad” – which showed 4 routes up and down the mountain. I headed up Nipestien – and soon ran into steep terrain with ropes. I put my dachshund “Troll” in my backpack and climbed up. I must have got a bit lost, as I soon found myself climbing for real – and now without ropes.
Gygrekjeften was icy all over and I reached the top using two rocks serving as ice-axes. I could not descend the way I came up, and made it over to the other side (near Risnesnipa) – hoping I would be able to descend there. But all I could see was ice. Morale dropped to rock bottom, and I turned around shortly after starting my ascent of Risnesnipa. I was actually convinced I was only yards away from the summit when I turned around, but the fact was that 0,7km away!
It was a bit late in the day, the temperature was -10 deg C. and I had little battery left on my cell phone. I had to make a decision and called my mother and asked her to call the Police. It was not a phone call she expected or enjoyed, but 15 minutes later, the Balestrand Police called me back and said they would come for me. “Hell no!”, I replied. I could not bear the shame. I was equipped for spending the night outdoors, but told them that if they could find someone who knew where I could descend, that would be really appreciated.
A bit later, a local guy called me and asked me if I had tried the route close to the ropes. No – I hadn’t even considered looking there. But I was certainly willing to try. I had to return close to 3km to find the “crack” in the mountain he was talking about, and sure enough – it was actually possible to get down the icy route. I was so happy when I was back in safe terrain and promised myself I would never get stuck like this again. And 17 years later, I’ve stayed true to my promise.
So when Anne and I parked at Hovland – to ascend the route that was impossible back in 2001, I was PACKED with feelings inside. And FINALLY – I would stand on top of Risnesnipa!
The route up the mountain went along a nice and well marked path. And with the gorgeous weather – WHAT a contrast to the 2001 hike!
Once on the plateau, the terrain got rocky and I hoped we weren’t going to run into difficult sections, considering the dog. Which was NOT the same dog as back in 2001…
But there was nothing to worry about. Karma handled the only slightly steep section with flying colors.
Of course, I had to tell the 2001 story to Anne.
We then went over to an amazing viewpoint.
After a short and NICE stay at the viewpoint, it was FINALLY time to claim Risnesnipa – 0,8km to the northwest!
Finally! After 17 years! What a nice feeling!
We took – more or less – the same route back down. Karma decided to cool off in a pond…
Pictures from the Risnesnipa hike:
KOLGROVHEIA, SEP 4 2016, HYLLESTAD
Anne was content with today’s hiking, but suggested I could end my Fjaler/Hyllestad weekend with top #8. She’s just a sweetheart…
The choice fell on Kolgrovheia – just opposite to the Lifjell plateau. Anne drove me up to the trailhead on the road to Kolgrov. She would kill some time down in Hyllestad and I just had to call when I needed to picked up.
I knew that there was another path down the north side, and I told there that she might have not to drive too far to pick me up.
The path up the forest was nice. The path was easy to follow, and after less than 2km after heading out, Karma and I stood on top of Kolgrovheia and could enjoy the beautiful view towards Lifjell.
There was never any doubt about NOT heading down the north path. Well marked and easy to follow. I gave Anne a call and informed her where to pick me up.
The path ended near lake Kleivevatnet, and just before we reached the road to Kolgrov, we met Anne – who had come to meet us.
It was such a wonderful weekend. Many thanks to Anne for her continuous SUPPORT – which helped me to reach my annual goal of 100 new mountain tops this year too. The total count for 2016 was actually 130 new tops, 211 different tops and 433 visits to tops altogether (counting some regular ones) – in 365 days…
Pictures from the Kolgrovheia hike:
