Easter: Apr 15 2019 – Laksanutane, Åndeskarnutane, Hovdenuten

Fantastic place, weather and snow!

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The best Easter vacation, ever!

Peaks visited:

Peak Height PF Location
Laksanutane 1353m 183m Vinje, Norway
Åndeskarnutane (Nordre Eggeskardnuten) 1455m 105m Vinje, Norway
Hovdenuten 1020m 101m Vinje, Norway

First day Previous day Next day Last day

Monday: Our first ski-trip from our rented cabin on lake Møsvatn (Telemark county) became longer than we had expected it to. The plan was just to ski to Laksanutane (1353m), which we figured to be a decent ski-trip.

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On our way to Laksanutane

From the cabin, we got onto the frozen lake and headed to the west, aiming for a place that looked like it would give us a nice ascent up the forest part.

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On the mainland. Hovdeøyi in the background

The snow was rock solid, without being icy. It was just perfect, as the weather. What a day!

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My oh my, how nice…

We decided to pass point 1275m on the south side, having been “fooled” by the impression of somewhat steep terrain, seen from a distance. By now, it felt as we could ski just about anywhere…

On our way up, I kept looking at Åndeskarnutane (or at least the high point). Wouldn’t it be nice if …

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Åndeskarnutane, aka Nordre Eggeskardnuten

We were closing in on Laksanutane high point, and everyone in the group was OK!

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Everyone is OK!

And eventually, we reached our first top in this region. Good spirit all around!

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On top of Laksanutane!

During our stay on top, I was able to successfully “sell” the idea of visiting Åndeskarnutane on the way back. Initially, Anne offered to wait for me at the foot of the mountain, but I had my hopes that she would come along.

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In the valley between Laksanutane and Åndeskarnutane

We had a nice descent into the valley between the tops, and then headed for Åndeskarnutane, aka Nordre Eggeskardnuten. And sure enough, at the foot of the mountain, Anne decided to come along. We found a nice and easy route upwards.

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To Åndeskarnutane

It was really nice to reach the top. If I ever were to reach my annual goal of 100 new mountain tops (primary factor > 100m) this year, this Easter would be make or break. And now my total tally for 2019 was 3 (!)

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On Åndeskarnutane

The descent offered some really nice skiing even if we only had mountain skis. I cannot emphasize enough how nice the snow was!

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Big fun!

We descended via Hestabotn and Haugestaulen before being back on the lake. Too bad we didn’t descent a little further south, then we would have passed Himmelsynnettane. What a stunning name. Doesn’t really translate, I think. “Heavenly view nights” doesn’t really say it…

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Descending from Åndeskarnutane

There was NO WAY I would return to the cabin without having visited Hovdenuten – the high point on Hovdeøyi island. And Anne came along, once more.

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En route to Hovdenuten on Hovdeøyi

3 new tops on the first day here. I could not have hoped for a better start of the vacation…

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On Hovdenuten, with the tops we just visited, in the background…

Trip statistics: 20,3km, 850 vertical meters, 5h:46m

Pictures (Canon 80D) from the trip:

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