Some really nice after dark hikes
Peaks visited:
| Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP |
| Aksla | 188m | 188m | Ålesund, Norway | WCP |
| Osberget | 134m | 36m | Ulstein, Norway | |
| Geitnausa | 456m | 102m | Ålesund, Norway | WCP |
| Huldrehornet | 271m | 113m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| Årvikveten | 458m | 205m | Sande, Norway | WCP |
| Nautøya | 45m | 45m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | |
| Herøya | 20m | 20m | Herøy, M&R, Norway |
Aksla (188m), Dec 4 2018
Tuesday: It’s a bit strange to begin the week report with Tuesday, but I decided to skip the Monday hike due to “commuting” from Sogndal to Sunnmøre and not very inspiring weather.
But on Tuesday, the weather was not bad and after work (in Ålesund) I took Karma for a walk on Aksla. A thin layer of snow was just picturesque.
Today, I decided to try a variation to the route that I hadn’t done before. From the dams east of Fjellstua, I followed the road down to Vannspringdalen and center of Ålesund, before heading towards the park and the 418 steps up to Fjellstua.
The view from Fjellstua this afternoon wasn’t half bad…
Then we returned to Gangstøvika via Rundskue (the highest point on Aksla) while enjoying the quiet afternoon, combined with the fresh snow and lights along the trail.
Trip statistics: 8,1km, 400 vertical meters, 1h:56m
Pictures (Canon 80D) from the hike:
Vikeskardet & Osberget (134m) , Dec 5 2018
Wednesday: More snow had fallen, but not enough to go skiing. After work, I drove to Ulsteinvik and Bugardsmyrane to see where the path would take us today.
First, it took us up the Killer Hill (Mørdarbakken)…
Then, we proceeded along the new path to the Vikeskardet pass, where we could see Hasundhornet all lit up by the Ulsteinvik lights.
We followed the path down to Gamleeidet and then the path that runs just above the upper houses, back to Bugardsmyrane. We stopped by Osberget and enjoyed view towards Ulsteinvik before calling it a day.
Trip statistics: 7,3km, 430m vertical meters, 1h:55m
Pictures (Canon 80D) from the hike:
Geitnausa (456m), Dec 6 2018
Thursday: After my work day had ended in Ålesund, I drove to Spjelkavika and parked at the bottom of the slalom hill (Turheisa). The hill wasn’t quite ready for slalom yet, and I decided to try my luck with a snowy hike to Geitnausa.
You can always count on that someone has broken the trail along the lit part, but I assumed I would have to break trail up the forest. And I was right.
It was nevertheless a nice plod. I had finally completed the seasonal transition to enjoy hiking in the dark. And who knew, perhaps I could get a nice picture, given the right setting (and lack of wind).
There was definitely no lack of wind on top of Geitnausa, but I was committed not to leave the top without a picture of Ålesund. I found a sheltered spot below the top, dug a camera hole in the snow and hoped for the best…
A round trip hike was not tempting with this amount of snow, so we retraced our steps down the forest.
Trip statistics: 7,6km, 500 vertical meters, 2h:08m
Pictures (Canon 80D) from the hike:
Huldrehornet (271m), Dec 7 2018
Friday: The (fairly) nice weather had passed and back was the rain. I did NOT feel like hiking after work – in the rain and the darkness, but eventually pulled myself together and did a reasonably long walk with Karma. We went up to Dyrkyrkja first, then crossed Lidafjellet before reaching the top of Huldrehornet.
I tried to take a picture of Myrvåg (where I live), but with the wind, it was a difficult task.
Trip statistics: 7,1km, 320 vertical meters, 1h:50m
Pictures (Canon 80D) from the hike:
Shortly after returning home, Anne arrived from Sogndal. This evening, we were invited to the annual “Saudehaud” dinner at our friends Lena and Terje. It was the usual merry bunch of 10 people. A very nice tradition. If you don’t know what “Saudehaud” is, it’s a sheep’s head (also known as “Smalahove“). I admit it looks bad, but it tastes heavenly. Eating the eye is optional, but I always do…
Årvikveten (458m), Dec 8 2018
Saturday: It got a bit late before we returned home after yesterday’s “Saudehaud” dinner, and thus, we had no plans to drive far and hike high on Saturday.
After thinking about different destinations, I decided that I wanted to show Anne the “Frey” radio station from WW2. This is a place that Bjørn Skoge had previously taken me to, and now I wanted to take Anne here.
We drove to Årvika and left my bike by the old soccer field by Rusten. Then we drove to Oksavik and parked the car. From here, we followed the tractor road upwards.
After approx. 1km, we left the tractor road and headed up the forest, towards the old radio station. I noticed that the route was now marked. I couldn’t remember seeing any markers on my previous hike up here.
And then we got there, well hidden below a steep cliff. It’s nice to see that the cabin is maintained by local enthusiasts.
After leaving our signatures in the visitor’s protocal, we went down to the tractor road and followed it upwards until it ended. Then we followed a vague path up to the high ridge between Fyre and Keipen.
After stopping by Keipen, we went south and got on the ridge that would take us across Torsethornet and to Årvikveten.
Our stay on Veten was short. It was almost 3pm and we were running out of daylight. We took the normal forest route back to Rusten and it was quite dark by the time we got there (15:30).
The car was now a 2,5km bike trip away, and I was really happy that I had brought the bike (and a headlamp)! Anne and Karma waited at Rusten in the meantime.
Trip statistics: 9,9km, 620m vertical meters, 2h:35m
Pictures (Canon 80D) from the hike:
Nautøya (45m), Dec 9 2018
Saturday: Today, we decided to expore Nautøya (aka Notøya) – a small island between Gurskøya and Leinøya. I was pretty sure that I previously had been to the island high point, but could find no notes that could prove it.
The weather forecast suggested that we could expect any sort of weather, and as such, it was tempting to stay close to sea level.
We parked near the entrance to the island and headed (off-trail) towards the first hump. Not lacking a better word. We’re talking real humps here…
But keeping track of which hump was the highest wasn’t easy. The map outlined two 40m contours, but neither one of them was the high point. We don’t take light on these things. Stuff that matters, etc.
The high point was 82m NW of the westernmost 40m contour, and now that the high point was in the bag, the rest of the hike was a bonus 😉
Next, we headed down to the shore and had big fun trying to NOT fall into the sea…
And we had some nice moments along the way…
Finally, it was time to get back onto the island and we crossed two more humps before we were back at the shore on the westernmost point of the island. From here, we followed some interesting routes northbound…
We then decided to visit Herøya island, and entered the island across the bridge.
We did a loop around the island, and stopped at the outdoor theatre where the “Herøyspelet” takes place on an annual basis. Anne decided to be this year’s attraction.
Afterwards, we followed the main road back to the trailhead. A fun hike!
Trip statistics: 6,9km, 300m vertical meters, 2h:40m
Pictures (Canon 80D) from the hike:
