Afternoon hikes and ski-trips
Peaks visited:
| Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP |
| Rjåhornet | 598m | 105m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| Djupvikhaugen | 98m | 29m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | |
| Melshornet | 668m | 560m | Hareid, Norway | WCP |
| Sollia | 661m | 661m | Herøy/Sande, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| Sulafjellet | 776m | 776m | Sula, M&R, Norway | WCP |
RJÅHORNET, DJUPVIKHAUGEN, APR 9 2018
Monday; finally OK again after having been sick for a week. I thought it would be best to start a bit easy, with a hike to my local mountain Rjåhornet. Although there was still snow on the upper mountain, I decided my try my luck with terrain shoes on the route from Djupvika. That went fairly OK, as other hikers had been breaking the trail already. OK weather, and it was really good to be “back on track” again.
Afterwards, I went across Djupvikhaugen to measure up some distances. The local hiking group (which I am part of) wants to establish a marked path around lake Djupvikvatnet and across Djupvikhaugen.
Rjåhornet: 5,9km, 600 vertical meters.
Djupvikhaugen: 2,0km, 105 vertical meters.
Pictures from the hike(s):
MELSHORNET (HAREID), APR 10 2018
Tuesday; normally, when I work in the Ålesund office, I go for an after-work trip to one of the Ålesund (or neighbour) mountains. But today I preferred to take the ferry to Hareid and visit Melshornet. I started out at Ulset and hoped that terrain shoes would be an adequate choice.
Spring was definitely on its way, and the hike up the forest was very nice. I reached the snow at the foot of the final, long hill, and as there was already several tracks in the snow, I was OK.
I always like coming to Melshornet. The views are really stunning from up here, and especially on a day such as this one.
The descent was less nice than expected. I enjoyed the silence until I heard a terrible noise. I thought it was an ATV going bananas down in the valley, but it turned out to a paraglider with a motor! And once he had passed, the guys down at the shooting range got started. Oh well…
The trip: 6,8km, 570 vertical meters.
Pictures from the trip:
DJUPVIKHAUGEN, APR 11 2018
Wednesday; working from home, and I took an extended lunch break to walk around Djupvikvatnet with Elin – from the local hiking group. The goal was to decide where we should establish the path around the lake. And while at it, we walked across Djupvikhaugen to agree which of the two humps on top should have the visitor’s register. We agreed on placing it on the 2nd highest point. The difference is only 1m…
The trip: 3,7km, 140 vertical meters.
Pictures from the trip:
SOLLIA, APR 11 2018
Still Wednesday; in the afternoon, I felt like going skiing, and chose Sollia as destination. Sollia is the highest point on Gurskøya island, AND the high point of the municipalities Herøy and Sande. The normal starting point is Leikongsætra (160m), and I expected to carry the skis for quite a bit before reaching snow.
With the spring heat, I decided to take my vax-free skis out of the closet (hadn’t used them in YEARS), as those are perfect for wet snow.
I walked almost 0,7km before reaching the snow. At first, they didn’t bite at all, and I thought I was in for a tormenting ski-trip. But little by little, I started to get a grip and finally, they performed as I hoped they would. The thing with Sollia, is that there are a couple of uphills on the way down, which is a nuisance when you’re having skis that require skins for uphills.
So, with these great skis, I could take a different route down, which meant several more small uphills. It was so nice, that I could have been skiing around for a couple of more hours, if it hadn’t been for the hunger. I just had to get back down and have something to eat. Karma had a glorious day on the mountain, running back and forth all the time.
The trip: 11km, 655 vertical meters.
Pictures from the trip:
VARDANE (SULA), APR 12 2018
Thursday; Ålesund day, and today I was definitely going skiing on Sulafjellet. The last time I was up there was Feb 20th. Back then, I carried the skis for 1,5km before I could put them on. Almost 2 months later, I expected to carry them MUCH longer.
But no! On the exact same spot as in February, I could put the skis on. I had brought the vax-free skis, which was a huge success on Sollia the day before. And on the forest road up to Rollonhytta, they worked perfectly.
But when I sat course for the mountain, I felt that there was something wrong. The snow was getting a crusty surface, and I had little or no grip at all. When I reached the steep hill at the foot of the mountain, there was no chance I could get up with skis on. So, I had to walk up. Fortunately, the trail was already broken by other hikers, so the walking part went relatively easy. I was able to put the skis back on, just before reaching the top.
Fantastic weather and fantastic views! The only thing that was not fantastic, was the descent. Against the icy crust, my narrow skis and my skiing ability stood no chance. It was all a matter of survival. But back at Rollonhytta, the snow was still good for my type of skis and the descent along the forest road was incredibly fun. Karma looked tired. She would normally be on the back end of my skis, but she was really lagging behind. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen her tired.
The trip: 12,1km, 750 vertical meters.
Pictures from the trip:
DJUPVIKHAUGEN, APR 13 2018
Friday; yes, it was the 13th, and I woke up in the middle of the night, incredibly sick. The body was trembling and the stomach was in a real bad shape. And then the migraine kicked in. It felt just as on Apr 3, when I had to call in sick – for the first time in many, many years. When my condition hadn’t improved by 8am, I knew I would be in for a hard day. And at 11am, I had to tell my colleagues that I was “out”. In every respect of the word.
I feared that I would stay sick all day and all of the night, like the last time. But at 5pm, like a SNAP, I was OK again. I was convinced that it had to be something I ate the day before. I considered going to one of the 600m mountains, but ended up doing hard labor for 2 hours, along Djupvikvatnet – establishing the new trail.
The trip: 3km, 150 vertical meters.
Pictures from the hike:
APR 14-15 2018
Separate trip reports…
