Lots of skiing and after dark pictures
Peaks visited:
| Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP |
| Stemnehornet | 190m | 43m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP |
| Svarane | 191m | 43m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP |
| Høgåsen | 240m | 240m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP |
| Geitnausa | 456m | 102m | Ålesund, Norway | WCP |
| Sukkertoppen | 314m | 314m | Ålesund, Norway | WCP |
| Rambjøra | 132m | 109m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| Tylderingen | 1104m | 241m | Sogndal, Norway | WCP |
| Storehaugfjellet | 1173m | 990m | Sogndal, Norway | WCP |
Stemnehornet (191m), Svarane (190m), Høgåsen (240m), Jan 14 2019
Monday: There were some really violent hail showers today, and going to higher ground with a dog would be dog abuse. So I decided to take a round trip hike on Dimnøya island. We would only be above the forest on the Stemnehornet – Svarane – Høgåsen leg, but we could always wait out any shower on top on Stemnehornet and make a run for it.
But the hike started by visiting Uglesætra, a truly remarkable place.
Developed by someone with time on his/their hands…
There was an OK layer of fresh snow, and it felt nice break the trail and leave footprints. We continued around lake Slokevatnet and sat the course for Stemnehornet.
When we reached the top of Stemnehornet, the sky was clear. It was now or never.
By the time we reached Høgåsen, it had started snowing, which is only nice if the wind isn’t evil.
We took the normal route down from Høgåsen, but then I decided to explore the forest some more, and ended up on an off-trail journey that eventually took us back to Stemnehornet. That was not the plan, but OK. We then returned to Uglesætra, and by now it was pitch dark.
When I arrived at work the next day, my colleague Morten (who lives on Dimnøya) told me he had been out walking in the forest the night before and observed tracks following a peculiar route. Done by a man and a dog. Not a small dog. When he observed that the person had been running between Stemnehornet and Svarane, he knew who the person and the dog were…
Trip statistics: 9,1km, 585 vertical meters, 2,5 hours
Pictures (Canon 80D) from the hike:
Geitnausa (456m) , Jan 15 2019
Tuesday: After my working day in Ålesund had ended, I drove to Spjelkavika to ski Geitnausa. A decent amount of snow had fallen, which certainly required skiing. The only problem was that there was no sole below, just rock.
The lit trail was of course broken by skiers and hikers. Anything else would be shocking news.
But when it was time to leave that trail, we were looking at virgin snow.
It was a really nice trip up the forest. Karma seemed to both struggle and enjoy herself at the same time. She’s got stamina, and I wasn’t worried.
It was really beautiful to be out as the darkness was coming along, and those 10 minutes where it’s still some daylight and the lights around are glowing, are just magical.
Eventually, we topped out of the forest and had the summit in view.
The big bonus was to try the camera to stay stabile and get a shot of Ålesund.
Skiing down had to be done in a careful manner, as I didn’t want my skis reach EOL on this particular trip.
Trip statistics: 7,5km, 405 vertical meters, 1h:58m
Pictures (Canon 80D) from the hike:
Sukkertoppen (314m) , Jan 16 2018
Wednesday: The primary goal of going to “Mt. PI” (did you catch that one?) this afternoon, was for the pictures. Secondary, to walk the dog.
After maneuvering through the city traffic during rush hour, I wanted to “get paid” with some cool pictures. But, as we came out of the forest, there was light snow in the air.
But the snow shower passed, and when we reached the top I could pull the camera out of the bag and knock myself out.
After a little while, another snow shower came in from Breidsundet and there was no reason to stay up there any longer.
I managed to get one last nice shot before heading down. Nice hike!
Trip statistics: 3,8km, 280 vertical meters, 1h:17m
Pictures (Canon 80D) from the hike:
Rambjøra (132m) , Jan 17 2019
Thursday: The weather was NOT NICE, but I still had to walk the dog. I could have taken her around the block, but that’s just not who we are…
It was too much snow to hike, but too little to ski. That could be what they call a predicament. The problem was (still) that there was no sole under the snow. Well, it’s not a big problem going up, but when you’re going down and have to make turns, you don’t want to hear scratch noises under your skis.
I’ve never skied across Rambjøra before, and I don’t think I’ll do it again unless there is a sole..
Trip statistics: 4km, 180m vertical meters, 1h:12m
Tylderingen (1104m), Jan 19 2019
Saturday: Friday was travel-to-Sogndal day, and I really don’t like to miss a day of hiking or skiing. But sometimes, there’s just not enough time. But today, I would be going above 1000m elevation for the first time in 2019.
Extra bonus was to get company from Anne and Tom Dybwad – Mr. Tylderingen himself. And, his dog – Tina, plus Karma, of course. We met at Fretland (as agreed) and headed out together.
A few days earlier, I saw Tom posting pictures from a ski-trip to Tylderingen. I commented, asking if I could expect a broken trail on Saturday. He replied that we could go together. And as a significant amount of snow had fallen the night before, the trail had to be broken (again). Two women headed out before us, but we soon caught up with them. The trail breaking job fell on me. Which was not quite what I had expected when I commented his post. But it was all good, I enjoy breaking trails as long as it doesn’t kill me. Which this trip certainly would not!
The dogs had a strenuous day @work as well. But Tina knows this mountain better than most people and Karma is just strong!
The peaceful forest was slightly disturbed by a helicopter which was part of some event at Hodlekve. Probably something to do with search and rescue practice.
It was a nice trip up the mountain. The weather was slightly rugged, but we’ve all been here in much worse conditions!
And eventually, we reached the top!
The descent was nice. It would have been nice just blazing all the way down in one go, but we had to wait for the dogs, of course.
Once below the wind, we stopped for a quick lunch.
On the way down, we met lots of people going up. All grateful for our tracks!
Trip statistics: 6,7km, 600 vertical meters, 2h:40m
Pictures (Canon 80D) from the hike:
Storehaugfjellet (1173m) , Jan 20 2019
Sunday: Anne and I drove up to Sogndal Lufthamn Haukåsen (the local airport) to go skiing above 1000m for the 2nd day in a row.
Anne was convinced that there would be tracks up the mountain service road, but I had my doubts. And I turned out to be right…
Breaking trail was no big effort and we had a nice trip up the service road. And I really, really looked forward to skiing down here. The snow was perfect.
An interesting happening was two black grouses lifting off from the side of the road. As we all (Karma included) were staring in their flight direction, none of us noticed the third one, hiding in the snow on the road! Karma had actually passed the bird (we’re talking centimeters here) when it decided to take off. Karma was totally lost in her own world for the next 15 minutes…
Eventually, the top came into view.
The icy road markers made me think about Greece and Athens…
We found shelter below the towers (mindful about falling ice) and had a nice stay on top.
Then we headed back down. The upper part didn’t offer great skiing, but the rest of the service road gave us a fantastic descent!
What a fantastic end to a nice week of hiking and skiing!
Trip statistics: 7,3km, 720 vertical meters, 2h:55m
Pictures (Canon 80D) from the hike:
Flotte omtaler!