2018 Week 12

Afternoon hikes and ski-trips

Peaks visited:

 

Peak	Height	PF	Location	WCP
Saursegga	516m	93m	Sande, Norway	WCP
Gjøna	531m	163m	Sande, Norway	WCP
Eikenakken	123m	123m	Ulstein, Norway	WCP
Huldrehornet	271m	113m	Herøy, M&R, Norway	WCP
Rjåhornet	598m	105m	Herøy, M&R, Norway	WCP
Leinebjørnen	271m	108m	Herøy, Norway	WCP
Leinehornet	366m	366m	Herøy, Norway	WCP
Grøthornet	569m	56m	Hareid, Norway	WCP
Hjørungneshornet	185m	157m	Hareid, Norway	WCP
Kongsvollen	683m	200m	Hareid/Ulstein, Norway	WCP

SAURSEGGA & GJØNA, MAR 19 2018

Monday;  the hike across Saursegga and Gjøna is one of the finest walks on the Ytre Søre Sunnmøre islands. And when the weather is rough, the walk can be quite dramatic. There’s not many places to hide when the weather hits you with full strength.

I had noticed throughout the winter that there is far less snow on this mountain, compared to the mountains on the center of the island. As such, it was quite natural to choose hiking boot over skis today.

It was a snow shower day, and combined with a fairly strong wind, it would be best not to be in an exposed place when the showers came along. As the wind came from the north, I figured I could find shelter on the south side of the ridge. However, the ridge is quite steep in places, so we could be unlucky.

We didn’t reach proper snow until we were high on Saursegga, approx. 400m. Which is totally weird, as I could have skied from Leikongsætra (160m), only 9km to the east. The weather stayed stabile until we reached the col between Saursegga and Gjøna. Then I noticed a shower coming in from the north, at a high speed.

Fortunately, there is shelter below Gjøna, and we stayed there until the shower has passed. The turbulence was quite strong, so we were both covered with snow afterwards. We hurried up to the top and back to Saursegga, where I started to relax. Another memorable trip to this part of the island!

The trip: 6,9km, 730 vertical meters.

Pictures from the trip:

 

EIKENAKKEN, MAR 20 2018

Tuesday; rain, rain and rain. I was dead tired after work and had zero motivation for hiking. But, the dog had to get its walk, so I aimed for the lowest top I could find – in the closest neighborhood – Eikenakken on Eika island.

At the trailhead, I suddenly decided to make the hike a bit more interesting, by walking the forest ridge from north to south, and then follow the road back. For Karma, the exercise was more of the mental sort, rather than the physical. There is a lot of deer on the island. Lots of interesting smells…

I enjoyed the silence. I enjoyed thinking about things I don’t have time to think about during a normal day. Then someone fired a rifle shot. Not once, not twice, but like 50-60 times, one minute apart. And it was close too. Karma got slightly “edgy”. When we reached the road on the south side of the island, I could see it was one of the cabin owners and his family, shooting down by the shore. I’m sure they enjoyed it. I didn’t…

The trip: 7,2km, 380 vertical meters.

Pictures from the trip:

HULDREHORNET, MAR 21 2018

Wednesday; more rain, more wind, but my fatigue after work was the same as the day before. It was a week of intense programming. I didn’t even have time to visit the office in Ålesund. Starting at 7am, finishing at 4pm, totally wacked in the brain. Good thing I have Huldrehornet close by. It’s not very high at all, but it is at least a walk.

The wind was really strong, but I managed to stay in shelter most of the round trip hike. Staying on top was unpleasant, so we only stayed a minute. Enough for a couple of pictures and treats for Karma…

In the evening, I had to drive all the way to Olden (1,5 hour drive one way) to pick up Anne, returning from “boot camp” at Hovden (very, very far away). At least the drive home went fast, as Anne filled me in on the latest and greatest in ABC (airway, breathing and circulation) and avalanche rescue techniques.

The trip: 4,5km, 250 vertical meters.

 

RJÅHORNET, MAR 22 2018

Thursday; I only had a couple of hours between work and dinner with my colleagues in the evening. Enough time to visit Rjåhornet – another one of my local mountains. Karma and I headed out from Leikong, and instead of following the normal route, I tried something different. That was clearly a wrong decision. The route was both cumbersome and offered deep, rotten snow.

As we approached the top, the snow turned from rotten to icy. Probably within an hour or two, the ice would have become a serious problem (slide). But right now, I was able to crush through it. It looked like a planet of ice up there. It’s always nice to get to the top of this mountain. I really love it.

The trip: 5,9km, 600 vertical meters.

Pictures from the trip:

LEINEBJØRNEN & LEINEHORNET, MAR 23 2018

Friday; Anne left for Sogndal during the day, and when it was time to log off from work and take the dog out, the weather wasn’t half bad. But I had no energy left and I wanted to avoid the snow at all cost. Leinøya was one of the places that offered a no-snow experience. As I hadn’t been to Leinebjørnen this year, I pictured a nice round trip hike which also included Leinehornet.

Nothing much exciting happened during the walk, but I met a young man on Leinehornet, whom I walked down with. We had a good talk that span across mountains and politics. Very enjoyable!

The trip: 7,7km, 500 vertical meters.

Pictures from the trip:

GRØTHORNET, MAR 24 2018

Saturday; I had a faint plan to drive to Gjemnes (a long drive) to bag some new tops, but I woke up to the sound of rain. No way I would drive 3 hours (one way) to hike tops in rain and rotten snow. So, I decided to try to hike Skolma from Brandal instead. I reckoned the chance of making it was 50/50. Rain showers, combined with a strong wind is OK with me, but Karma doesn’t like being whipped. And we’re talking serious whipping!

We headed out from sea level in Brandal, hiked up Ytredalen valley and fought our way through a messy forest (fallen trees everywhere) and rotten snow above the forest. We reached the top of Grøthornet, and Skolma was now only 1,4km away. The problem was that I felt there was another shower moving in, and there was absolutely no shelter along the way. I decided that we should turn around, and it turned out to be a very good decision.

On the way down, I decided to try my luck with the ridge dropping steeply down to Brandal. And then I found that there was a marked route down this ridge – Saudebønakken. This was a very enjoyable descent, even if the next rain shower had come upon us.

The trip: 6,1km, 570 vertical meters.

Pictures from the trip:

HJØRUNGNESHORNET, MAR 24 2018

On the way home from Brandal, I stopped by Ovrasanden and took a few pictures of a nice rainbow. Then, we continued to Hjørungavåg where we hiked up and down Hjørungneshornet. A very, very uneventful hike…

The trip 2,4km, 180 vertical meters.

Pictures from the ascent:

KONGSVOLLEN, MAR 25 2018

Sunday;  what a way to finish a somewhat rugged weather week! I decided to pay Kongsvollen a visit, even though the avalanche danger was high. I planned to ascend a route I have never done before, but from a distance, I deemed it safe. If I was lucky, I would be able to descend the “Bukketrappa” route, making it a very nice round trip altogether.

I started from where the bridge crosses the river in Ringstaddalen. My plan was to go straight up, but I knew that the forest part would be utterly strenuous, due to the deep and rotten snow. On any other given day, I would have felt that this was extremely cumbersome, way beyond FUN! But I had a very good work session in the morning, reaching my goals before taking Easter vacation. And now I had all the time in the world, and not a trace of stress in the body. As such, every step was just enjoyable – and one step closer to Bukketrappa – which I was very, very curious about. A steep, narrow ridge with cornices. Me and a dog…

We had a mix of sunshine and snow all the way to the top. It had been a very nice walk, despite the hard work through the forest. When we got to the start of the Bukketrappa route, I figured that this would be doable. Careful steps, the first five minutes. Then it was just a matter of cruising down the ridge.

The walk out the ridge was incredibly strenuous, because of the rotten snow. At least once per minute, I was in snow well above my knees. Karma also had to “swim” from time to time. Without gaiters (I couldn’t find them), I soon got wet feet, and by now, they were really, really cold. I had to stop every now and then just to drain the socks. Eventually, we returned to the car, and I could think back on a very memorable hike!

The hike is smmarized on this HD video clip:

The trip 8,4km, 570 vertical meters.

Pictures from the trip: