Førde – Naustdal detour, on my way home
Peaks visited:
| Peak | Height | PF | Location |
| Hallbrendsnipa | 801m | 131m | Førde, Norway |
| Byrdafjellet (Einevollsheiane/ Solbakkeheia) | 530m | 103m | Naustdal, Norway |
| Russeneshøgda | 178m | 170m | Naustdal, Norway |
HALLBRENDSNIPA, MAY 13 2018
Sunday; it was time to return to Sunnmøre (from Sogndal), but I decided to take the long way home – via Sande (south of Førde). The plan was to hike 3-4 tops in that region, but I was depending on finding a petrol station where I could fill air into a heavily leaking tire. It turned out that the self-service petrol station in Sande did not offer air. So, I had to figure out a new plan.
But first and foremost, I needed to get air into the tire and the closest place was Førde. After visiting the petrol station, I discovered that I had missed out on one of the tops surrounding Førde – Hallbrendsnipa. That error had to be corrected!
The obvious place to start was in one of the hair-pin curves above Førde, and follow the forest road towards Hallbrendstølane. The map on my phone showed two paths up the mountain. This should be a walk in the park…
We (Karma and I) headed up the forest road and at the first fork, we went to the right – towards Hallbrendstølane. There were locals at one of the cabins, and they said there was a path just behind the cabin, but it would be hard to find.
Indeed. I didn’t find it and decided to hike off-trail up the forest. That was a fairly easy task and I joined a well worn path just before the summit. I enjoyed the views for a little while before I decided to head back down.
I decided to take the well worn path down, assuming it would lead me back to the trailhead. There was more snow on this side of the mountain, but it wasn’t a problem. I had cross Stølselva twice. Both times without getting wet. Eventually we reached the forest road and followed it back to the trailhead. A nice hike!
The trip: 7,1km 610 vertical meters, 1h:38m
Pictures from the trip:
BYRDAFJELLET (EINEVOLLSHEIANE, SOLBAKKEHEIA), MAY 13 2018
Still Sunday; from Førde, I headed westbound on 611 along Førdefjorden. When I passed Naustdal, I checked if the local petrol station could offer air for my tire. If they couldn’t, I decided to drive back to Sunnmøre. But, they were properly equipped and I could continue my journey to the west.
I continued towards Øyaskardet – the pass between Naregga and Byrdafjellet. Based on the map, this looked like an easy hike, as there was a path up the ridge towards Orkja.
I parked in front of the tunnel (on the south side) and headed up a tractor road. In the first fork, I took another tractor road up to the right, which was a mistake and a map reading error on my part. I should have continued straight ahead for another 0,2km. When the tractor road ended, I was approx. 100 vertical meters below the ridge and decided to just go off-trail (above picture). That worked OK.
After fighting some bush, I found the ridge path and followed it for a little while before going off-trail in the direction of Byrdafjellet. I’m not sure what the correct name is. The map says both Byrdafjellet and Einevollsheiane, and Økonomisk Kartverk says Solbakkeheia on the high point. Despite the many names, this does NOT seem to be a popular top…
Near the high point, I noticed a fox ahead of me. We stared at each other for a little while, until it decided to take off. I rarely see foxes in the mountains, so it was a nice moment.
There are three 530m contours on the top. I visited all three to be on the safe side, but it seems the westernmost top is the high point. Upon descent, I decided to return along my ascent route – which meant I never found out where the path started.
The trip: 4,1km 380 vertical meters, 1h:15m
Pictures from the trip:
RUSSENESHØGDA, MAY 13 2018
Still Sunday; with two new tops so far in the day, I was hungry for more and decided to drive all the way to the Russenes peninsula where Førdefjorden is at its narrowest. The road was paved and OK until I reached Kleiva. Then it continued as an OK gravel road.
I parked just south of Litlevatnet – and headed into the forest. I did NOT expect a path up this forest hill, but definitely a deer track. And once I got to the southeast ridge, I could follow deer tracks all the way to the top – which is not marked in any way.
We took the same route back down and drove to Naustdal for air refill in my tire. I was pretty tired of this leakage and looked forward to Monday – where I could get this fixed at the local garage. The drive back to Sunnmøre was much more enjoyable than it usually is – with three new tops “in the bag”
The trip: 1,6km 115 vertical meters, 31 mins.
Pictures from the trip:
