A nice revisit to a local majesty…
Peaks visited:
| Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP |
| Lauparen | 1434m | 801m | Stordal, Ørskog, Vestnes, Norway | WCP |
If we’re able to make it happen, buddy Jørgen Moen and I try to do a nice summer hike somewhere between Ålesund and Molde. Jørgen lives in Bergen, but go back to his home town Molde every now and then. Our last hike went to Ystetinden and Remmemstinden in July 2016.
Today, Jørgen sent me a message and asked if I had a chance to do a hike on a short notice. As I was working in the Ålesund office, the travel wouldn’t be that far. We talked about Lauparen the last time, so today it would be Lauparen – from Grytalisætra.
Lauparen is located on the Stordal – Ørskog – Vestnes border and is also the highest peak in Ørskog.
We had both been there before. I remembered my hike from July 2006 quite well (you don’t forget this peak easily), but it was many years since Jørgen had been there and he looked forward to a revisit.
We met by the road to Grytalisætra and took one car up the toll road. We were on the path by 4pm.
It was yet another gorgeous day. It was almost like we had forgotten how bad weather felt like. And the temperature was still “off the charts“, by Norwegian standards. Hence, it would be a hot day for Karma. She hadn’t really been her usual self lately, but I assumed it was because of the hot weather. Little did I know that she had a bad infection that surfaced (literally) a week later. Poor little girl. But the loyalty is endless it seems. She would probably have walked until she fell to the ground.
I remembered a few things from my 2006 hike quite well. One of them was the “endless” and boring 5km transport leg into Trongbotnen. But the view from lake Grytavatnet compensated a great deal and from here, it would only be *uphill*.
It’s around 400 vertical meters up from the Svartvassegga col between Lauparen and Grytavasstinden, and they’re steep! Just the way I like it.
We passed a Swedish family on our way up the mountainside. They had lost the path and I had a feeling they would never make it to the top.
Another thing I remembered from 2006 was that I took a wrong turn, and when I got back on track, there was a really cool “stairway“. I didn’t remember exactly how it looked like, and I started wondering if I would have a challenge there – with respect to the dog.
When we got to the “stairway“, it wasn’t very complicated. Karma likes to go her own ways, which I don’t approve of, but after a short negotiation, she agreed to come my way. Much easier for everyone.
We reached the summit 6:30pm – 2,5 hours after heading out. Very nice to be back!
And the view was just as great as I remembered it to be…
Eventually, the Swedes came and we had a nice chat before Jørgen, Karma and I began our descent.
We both could swear that the distance from lake Grytavatnet to the trailhead was twice as long as the ascent route. But eventually, we reached the car – 4h:45m after leaving. Thanks for the hike, Jørgen! Hope to see you again next year!
Trip statistics: 13,5km, 1050 vertical meters, 4h:45m
Pictures from the hike:
