A little bit of skiing, a little bit of hiking…
Peaks visited:
| Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP |
| Helgehornet | 626m | 545m | Volda, Norway | WCP |
| Geitnausa | 456m | 102m | Ålesund, Norway | WCP |
| Haddalshornet | 611m | 103m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP |
| Leinehornet | 366m | 366m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| Remøykammen | 184m | 41m | Herøy, Norway | WCP |
| Storevarden | 430m | 430m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP |
Helgehornet (626m), Feb 11 2019
Monday: A new week and it would definitely begin with skiing. A good dump of snow had fallen during the night and day. Anne was still on Summøre and suggested that I could take a solo ski-trip while she would look after Karma.
I gladly accepted the offer and decided on a nearby mountain – Helgehornet – so I wouldn’t be away for too long.
I parked by Helgehorntunnelen and headed up the forest road. The snow was just lovely and I was already looking forward to the descent.
When I left the road and entered the forest path, I made a mental note to take it easy when coming down. The corridor was narrow and my skis were quite fast.
Above the forest, Helgehornet came into view. At first glance, the mountain looked calm. But as I began my ascent, I could see that there was a small inferno up there. I seriously hoped that the inferno had passed by the time I reached the top.
The snow was no longer lovely and I had bumpy ride down awaiting. The good news was the inferno had passed and the weather was not too bad when I arrived on the summit. I found shelter behind the building on top.
As I began my descent, it got dark and I had to ski down with my headlamp on. The combination of rugged snow and limited visibility wasn’t optimal, but I managed to get back to the forest without taking any falls. The route down the forest was just lovely, and I was a pretty happy dude when I returned to the car.
Trip statistics: 6,6km, 550 vertical meters, 1,5 hours
Pictures (Canon 80D) from the trip:
Geitnausa (456m), Feb 13 2019
Wednesday: While there was plenty of snow in the Ørsta/Volda region, there was not a whole lot of it in Ålesund. Warm weather had moved in over the coastline and the results came quickly. Actually, it was borderline hiking or skiing. But I decided to go for skis, and did not regret it.
The forest road was all ice, and I didn’t particularly look forward to descending here. On the positive side, it allowed for a quick and easy ascent to the upper forest.
The Cat ski vehicle had left its mark in the forest, and it didn’t look nice where there was little snow left.
Above the forest, there was VERY little snow (it’s normally the other way around), but just enough to get me to the top with the skis on.
And then it was time for the usual Ålesund picture.
On the way back, I daydreamed a little about my skiing options in the future, when I don’t have a dog to take care of. With her shoulder problems (SD), running down a 1400m mountain is just not an option…
Trip statistics: 7,6km, 405 vertical meters, 2h:35m
Pictures (Canon 80D) from the trip:
Haddalshornet (611) , Feb 15 2019
Friday: Anne had returned to Sunnmøre again, but was too tired after extensive traveling to join me for an afternoon hike. I decided to go to a Haddalshornet (a very short drive) and not be gone too long.
The plan was to go from Havåg, straight up, smack, bam, back down. But on my way, I decided to go from Aursnes, which is a longer route. It takes me just below the hour to get up along that route.
After the initial forest part, Haddalshornet seems quite far away when you first get it in view.
I tried to keep a good pace, which eventually became difficult due to the VERY STRONG WIND! It’s seldom I experience this kind of wind in sunny weather. But it was the “fight for every step” type of wind.
We arrived on Haddalshornet 1h:04m after heading out. At least 5 of those minutes were lost due to the wind.
I always try to avoid going back the way I came at all cost, and chose to descend to Havåg. Which meant that we had to do 2,4km along roads to get to the car. But it couldn’t be helped. Round trip hikes are the best! I reached the car in the dark, but due to the road, the headlamp never came on.
Trip statistics: 9,5km, 705 vertical meters, 2h:12m
Pictures (Canon 80D) from the trip:
Leinehornet (366m) , Feb 16 2019
Saturday: If I had lived in a place where there were numerous tops I hadn’t been to before, I would be up early morning and on my way. I have a great “drive” when it comes to visiting new tops, but when there’s hardly any tops in my local region left, the “drive” to spend 5-6 hours in the car for one or two new tops isn’t so strong any longer. 20 years in this trade has probably taken its toll.
Hence, I was more than happy to join Anne for an easy hike across Leinehornet on Leinøya. Anne is very enthusiastic about hiking on the coastline, which is totally understandable. Especially since she lives 100km away from one.
My normal route across Leinehornet starts at Voldsund and follows the west ridge to the top. It’s a route we both enjoy, and it offers a nice view towards the other coastal mountains.
There was still some snow on top, and I never miss the opportunity of a good snowball…
We descended along the south ridge and then followed a nice forest path that runs just above the houses.
Once we reached the main road, we crossed it and went down to the shore.
It always feels good to start out in spring, feel a touch of winter and head back to spring…
Trip statistics: 4,1km, 370 vertical meters, 1h:41m
Pictures (Canon 80D) from the trip:
Remøykammen (184m) , Feb 16 2019
Still Saturday: Leinehornet doesn’t offer the vertical meters I feel I need on a daily basis, so I talked Anne into coming along for a quick walk up Remøykammen on Remøy island.
I had been up there a couple of times before, and also along the east ridge, but I had never started at the foot of the east ridge. I was curious to see where the path began.
We stopped and asked two women and were told that the path begins where I expected it to begin.
It was a short and easy hike up the ridge.
On the coastline, there’s always something to rest your eyes on…
After a round of pictures, we called it a day and headed back home. I had gotten my daily “dose” of 5-600 vertical meters and was quite content.
In the evening, we went to Ålesund with our friends Lena and Terje for a sushi afternoon at Zuuma. Very enjoyable!
Trip statistics: 1,7km, 175m vertical meters, 45 mins
Pictures (Canon 80D) from the trip:
Storevarden (430m), Rjåhornet (421m), Feb 17 2019
Sunday: The hiking and skiing week also ended on the coastline, as we decided to visit Storevarden on Nerlandsøya.
We took the usual route upwards – along the mountain service road and then the main trail to the top. The weather wasn’t outstanding, but it wasn’t bad either.
There was just a thin layer of snow on top. Which is not unusual for the coastline even in mid-February.
We both felt for a round trip hike, so we sat course for Rjåhornet.
From Rjåhornet, we had a very nice view towards Skorpa island the Keipen peak. We’ve both been there, thanks to a good colleague (Vidar). One needs private transportation to get to this desolate island.
Afterwards, we followed marked and unmarked trails back to the trailhead. A nice and easy hike!
Trip statistics: 8,7km, 535 vertical meters, 2h:27m
Pictures (Canon 80D) from the trip:
