A temporary change in the weather
Peaks visited:
| Peak | Height | PF | Location |
| Kvamsfjellet | 1474m | 124m | Vinje, Norway |
| Enghovda | 967m | 48m | Vinje, Norway |
| First day | Previous day | Next day | Last day |
Tuesday: The weather on the second day on Hovdeøyi on Møsvatn didn’t turn out to be AS gorgeous as the day before, but there were no complaints. It started out great, though, and we had our eyes set on Kvamsfjellet (1474m) We would surely find our way up there, even if no route stood out when we looked at the mountain from the cabin. We just had to assess the terrain as we progressed…
After breakfast, we headed out from Hovdeøyi, aiming for Kvamsfjellet…
After a short (2,3km) crossing on the lake, we reached the mainland near Førnes.
We skied up to Austre Førnes and heard a dog barking. Someone was obviously there…
Even though we had a route in mind, seen from a distance, it looked very much different up close. But we noticed tracks from a snowmobile, heading into the valley between Staulsnutan and Grånlinuten and we decided to follow them. After a while, it was apparent that the tracks were leading us up the mountain.
Not that we needed the tracks. I was somewhat disappointed that they were there. The terrain itself made it easy to navigate, through one small valley after the other…
Eventually, the snowmobile tracks ended and we were left to our own navigation. We aimed for a lake (1350m) east of Kvitetjønn and followed the terrain wherever it made sense.
It was a quite windy by now, and it was not the best day to forget to bring my Gore-Tex jacket, but at least I had the wisdom to bring a down jacket as emergency backup.
After a while, we got the summit in view.
We reached the top 2h:15m after heading out from Hovdeøyi. Given the fact that the lake is on 919m elevation, the rise up to 1474m isn’t terrifying…
The original plan had been to descend along a different route, but because of the wind, we decided to head down the way we had come up. At least, we wouldn’t waste time in making decisions…
When we returned to the cabin, we proceeded to the church on the island. It’s quite interesting – there’s like one farm, a couple of cabins and a church on the island!
Møsstrond church was originally part of the mainland, but after they regulated the lake in 1903, the land the church was built on, became an island in the Møsvatn lake. I guess that there’s not many churches in Norway at a higher elevation…
After a 1 hour break at the cabin, I got restless and decided to ski to the 2nd of the 3 islands – Mellomøyi – and the high point Enghovda (967m).
The distance between Hovdeøyi and Mellomøyi is only 0,5km, so the trip across the ice went fast. And so did the ascent up to the high point.
Unfortunately, Enghovda doesn’t have a primary factor of 100 meters or more, so I had to settle for 1 new top today. But the 2019 tally had risen from 4 to 5, given the ascent of Kvamsfjellet. Only 95 to go! Better stay positive!
Trip statistics: 20,7km, 750 vertical meters, 4h:45m (both trips in total)
Pictures (Canon 80D) from the trips:
Den Lange Haugen Austmed Vatnet
Late afternoon, we decided to take a ski-trip to a small hill with a very unusual name. Translated into English, it would mean something like “The long hill by the east side of the lake“.
When we opened the cabin door, there was another dog standing there. We guessed that it belonged to the farm on the island, and it looked friendly. After some initial bitching from Karma’s side, she decided to tolerate the newcomber, which also decided to come along on the ski-trip!
So we skied to this very anonymous hill, just have been there…
On the way home, the dogs seemed to get along quite well and when we returned to the cabin, the other dog took off and we never saw it again…
Gorgeous photos!