Finally, my first NEW pf100 top in 2019…
Peaks visited (Click on the Peak name link to go directly to the chapter):
| Peak | Height | PF | Location |
| Bjørnaholten | 1085m | 35m | Årdal, Norway |
| Skrednosi | 1202m | 52m | Årdal, Norway |
| Vedabakknosi | 1262m | 112m | Årdal, Norway |
Another gorgeous day, and today I would not return from the mountains until I’ve had my first pf 100 top in 2019.
I carefully studied the map to find a top that met some important criteria; 1) a top that would motivate Anne, which could potentially have a bad day in terms of energy level, 2) within reasonable driving distance, and 3) offered snow. I ended up with Vedabakknosi north of Seimsåsen in Årdal.
Seimsåsen is an area we visited in Jan 2014. I still remembered the crazy tunnel which suddenly got really steep halfway through, as a result of an engineering blunder.
We drove from Sogndal, took the Mannheller – Fodnes ferry, drove to Årdalstangen, drove through Seimsdalstunnelen, through Seim and through the crazy Offerdalstunnelen. Shortly after the western end of the tunnel, we turned onto the road leading up to the Seimsåsen parking.
The normal approach to the mountain is to follow the cross-country track and gradually ascend to Bjørnaholten. Anne and I decided to ski straight up from the parking.
We went through a short and nice birch forest, and the snow was rock hard. Which was great for Karma, but not so great for me, with slippery plastic skins. But the forest section was short and in no time at all, we were on the mountain.
And the views improved by the minute…
After a little while, we reached the top of Bjørnaholten, where we met a women who had some good suggestions about round trips.
We proceeded towards Skrednosi, and the Indre Sogn mountains offered a dramatic scenery around us.
On the way up Skrednosi, the view towards Hurrungane grew more and more amazing.
2019 seem to be a good year for the Ptarmigans…
From Skrednosi, we had a good view towards the main goal – Vedabakknosi, and we moved on to get there.
We stopped for lunch below Vedbakknosi, as we came across a nice place already dug out by other skiers. And then we headed up the final hill to the top.
The view towards Hurrungane was still pretty awesome, and especially towards Store Austabotntind…
After “celebrating” my first pf100 top in 2019, we started discussing our descent route.
Anne wanted to descend in Slettedalen. That would mean 2km uphill along the road, back to the car. But I’m always in favor of round trips, so I agreed. My mind had so far been on a parallel route across the plateau, but Anne’s idea seemed better.
And what great skiing we had, into Slettedalen!
The descent down the valley was also incredibly fun, thanks to the firm snow that didn’t get soggy until we were almost back at the main road.
And back at the main road, I volunteered to go and get the car. When I reached the trailhead, I noticed that the Seimsåsen cabin was open and they served waffles and coffee. When I returned to Anne, she wanted us to go Offerdal (down by the fjord) to have a look, but I decided to surprise her and drove back to the trailhead without telling her why. She was indeed happy when she realized that coffee and waffles were on the menu. And that I was paying!
Altogether a wonderful day!
Trip statistics: 16,4km, 800 vertical meters, 3h:55m
Pictures (Canon 80D) from the trip:
