Hikes in the local region
Peaks visited:
| Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP |
| Instehornet (Rotsethornet) | 653m | 200m | Volda, Norway | WCP |
| Leirvågfjellet | 254m | 231m | Sula, Norway | WCP |
| Varden | 330m | 28m | Skodje, Norway | WCP |
| Rødlandstua | 355m | 287m | Skodje, Norway | WCP |
| Orkja | 948m | 470m | Jølster, Norway | WCP |
Rotsethornet, Sep 2 2019
Monday: After work, I drove to Volda to hike Rotsethornet with Karma. Only a 20 minute drive from Gurskøy takes me to a whole different mountain region, compared to the Ytre Søre Sunnmøre islands. Very cool.
I decided to go up the steep part, well knowing that there would be a pitch where I would have to find an alternative route to Karma. The most difficult part of the rope/ladder section is just a bit too cumbersome to haul a dog across. For my taste, that is. I should have probably just unleashed her and let her handle herself, but on the other hand – it was slippery after rain.
Already on the easy slabs, things went sideways for her…
The awkward section was bypassed a bit left of the ropes and ladders and 10 minutes later, we were back on the path to Rotsethornet.
Rotsethornet is a really nice viewpoint and I always enjoy being up here.
We continued across Instehornet – which the highest top on this mountain. There were rain showers in one direction and clouds in another. But we were in the clear.
Sunnmørsalpane was particularly gorgeous on this afternoon…
We descended the normal route to Rotevatnet and hiked along the forest road back to the trailhead by the Rotsethornet tunnel.
Trip statistics: 7,5km, 640 vertical meters, 2h:20m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the hike:
Leirvågfjellet, Sep 3 2019
Tuesday: The inspiration for hiking after work in Ålesund was all-time low. So, I had to dig hard to find that inspiration and concluded that the thought of possibly finding a new route would do it.
We started out from Sundsmyra – my usual starting point. The hike up to the top is short, but steep.
On top, I met a guy and I asked him for any round trip options. He gave me two and they were both on the map. I should have checked on beforehand of course…
We continued across this small mountain, along a forest path that took us down to the road to Kvarvsneset. From here, we followed the road until it ended, and the along a forest path back to Leirvågen. After some walking on paved roads, we returned to Sundsmyra. Next time, I will try the path from Kvarvsneset to Sundsmyra.
Trip statistics: 5,8km, 300 vertical meters, 1h:21m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the hike:
Varden, Rødlandstua, Sep 4 2019
Wednesday: It was raining when I left work in Ålesund, which was a shame because the day started out on a gorgeous note.
For the second day in a row, I had to dig hard to find inspiration. Again, the prospect of a new route saved the day and I decided to drive to Mørkeset to hike Rødlandstua from the north. I knew that I had done a hike from thereabout many years ago, but couldn’t remember where it was.
When we got to Mørkeset, I concluded that I had never been here before, found the trailhead, parked the car and headed out in the direction of Varden/Rødlandstua.
The first part of the route was steep and took us up to Sætra. Whatever that was in the past, it’s now a modern “Gapahuk”. From here, we had a good overview of Mørkeset.
The wet and boggy path took us up the forest and up to Varden.
From Varden, we crossed the plateau on a wet, but OK path and went up to the high point on Rødlandstua.
I had considered the option of a round trip hike, but given how wet I was, I abandoned the idea and returned the same way we came up. It was not an epic hike, but we got a hike, which was a victory in its own right…
Trip statistics: 5,2km, 430 vertical meters, 1h:22m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone8) from the hike:
Orkja, Sep 6 2019
Friday: We had planned to spend the weekend on the Selhamar hut in Stølsheimen (see separate trip report), but first I had to get to Sogndal. As the weather was quite OK I decided to do a quick hike up and down Orkja.
What I particularly like about this mountain is that it’s almost 1000m and I can get up and down within the hour. If I put some pace on…
The last time I went up here, the path was nice and dry. Today, it was wet, wet and wet.
Not only is this trip a very good exercise, but the mountain also offers some most excellent views…
It was tempting to do a round trip hike – down the south side of the mountain, but that meant 1,6km along the gravel road and I really just wanted to get to Sogndal. So, we headed down the same way we came up…
Trip statistics: 3,4km, 500 vertical meters, 1 hour
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone8) from the hike:
Stølsheimen weekend, Sep 7-8
Saturday/Sunday: See separate trip report