More nice sunsets…
Peaks visited:
| Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP |
| Vardehornet | 600m | 60m | Ørsta/Volda, Norway | WCP |
| Hatlaåsen | 124m | 71m | Ålesund, Norway | WCP |
| Røddalshorn | 563m | 100m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| Leirvågfjellet | 254m | 231m | Sula, Norway | WCP |
| Rjåhornet | 598m | 105m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| Garnestua | 653m | 415m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP |
| Mosvarden | 553m | 50m | Hareid, Norway | WCP |
| Skafjellet | 573m | 82m | Hareid, Norway | WCP |
| Holstadhornet | 531m | 98m | Hareid, Norway | WCP |
Vardehornet (600m), Nov 18 2019
Monday: On my way home from Sogndal to Sunnmøre, I kept thinking where I should walk the dog. The weather was disappointing – fog and light rain/snow. As I approached Volda, I still hadn’t made up my mind but made a sudden decision to drive up to Klepp and just start walking from there.
The time was 3:40pm when we headed out from Klepp and it would be dead dark one hour later. As such, I expected to use the headlamp.
I decided that we should hike up to Vardehornet. Melshornet would be a too long of a hike. After all, I had to get up 5am the next morning for my regular Tuesday trip to Ålesund.
We followed the forest path upwards. It was nice. There was little snow on the ground, but enough to make it feel bright.
After the forest, we had one long hill ahead of us before we could reach the top.
And when we reached the top – 4:30pm – it was quite dark and I had problems seeing the beaten path ahead of me. The camera however, have much better eyes than me…
We continued across the top, descended down to lake Dinglavatnet and followed the mountain service road back down. We returned to Klepp 5:09pm, but thanks to the snow, I didn’t have to use the headlamp.
Trip statistics: 6,7km, 430 vertical meters, 1,5 hours
Fjordstien, Hatlaåsen (124m), Nov 19 2019
Tuesday: After an intense work day in Ålesund, I was dead meat and had to settle for a moderate walk with the dog. I had recently learned about the new “Fjordstien” (fjord path) project – a path that eventually would run along the entire Borgundfjorden – from Bogeneset to Moa. But the path wasn’t finished and I wasn’t sure where it started and where it ended. I decided to check it out.
I found the start of the path at Bogeneset and looked forward to the hike. The path looked pretty much as I had expected it to look like.
This path also offers some nice views towards the Sunnmøre alps and the Sula mountain.
After ~3,5km, we reached the end of the path, and I could see that work was in progress for the continuation. As we were close to the hospital, I decided to return to Hatlane-Bogeneset via Hatlaåsen.
The path up Hatlaåsen was incredibly icy, and it was getting quite dark, but out of pure principle – I refused to switch on the headlamp. I won’t do that until there is no other option.
From Hatlane, we took a direct route back to the fjord path and returned to Bogeneset just minutes before I would be forced to switch the light on. Nice hike! I look forward to exploring it again when it’s done. Preferably while jogging…
Trip statistics: 8km, 200 vertical meters, 1h:35m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone8) from the hike:
Røddalshorn (563m), Nov 20 2019
Wednesday: Today, I decided to do a round trip hike across Røddalshorn on Gurskøya. The plan was to head up the normal route from Leikongeidet, descend into Røddalen and return to the main road via Egga. As I didn’t have reflective vests for me or the dog, we would have to hike off-trail between the main road and Gyrinakken back to Leikongsætra.
For the first half of the ascent, I had to choose between an icy path or next to the path on hard crust snow. I chose the snow, Karma chose the ice.
But as we got higher, we moved onto proper snow. And – we also got a glimpse of that beautiful shine after the sunset.
High on the mountain, there was a whole lot of snow, soft and packed mixed.
It was quite dark when we reached the top (4:03pm) but I hoped that – because of the snow – I could complete the round trip without switching on the headlamp.
The hike over to the ridge above Røddalen was strenuous because of packed snow. And when I got to the edge and could look down into the valley, I could see no obvious route down. It was altogether much steeper that I had thought it would be. So, I cancelled the idea and decided to follow a parallel route down instead.
This route was OK for me, but terrible for Karma. The snow had an icy crust, and I assumed it would be painful for her. I tried to break trail best possible and hoped she would get the idea and walk in my footsteps, but she didn’t seem to suffer much and ran happily alongside.
Again, it was dead dark when we finally returned to the car (4:47pm), but the headlamp never came on. Nice hike! I enjoyed it, regardless of the cumbersome parts.
Trip statistics: 4,8km, 430 vertical meters, 1h:23m
Leirvågfjellet (254m), Nov 21 2019
Thursday: Still addicted to the sunsets, I traded a longer walk and higher top (in the dark) for a low top and a short ascent. Leirvågfjellet was a natural candidate, especially because I could now check out the last path that still haven’t visited.
I parked at Sundsmyra like always, and then we headed up the mighty icy path straight up the mountain. No time for pictures until we reached the top!
Fortunately, there was still some orange and red left on the sky…
Furthermore, the view towards Hjørundfjorden and the Sunnmøre alps wasn’t bad either…
Then we continued across the mountain, along the path to Kvarvsneset. The path was insanely icy, but I managed to stay on my feet.
Just before we reached civilization, we turned right and followed a path under the power line. I had never taken this path before. Good thing the ground was frozen, or this would have been a wet hike. To my despair, the horizon was at its peak in terms of red color when we were in the forest. But OK, no complaints…
The path took us back to Sundsmyra, but we took a trip across Sundnakken – for the first time. From here, we had a good view both towards Sundsmyra and Solavågen. Nice trip!
Trip statistics: 4km, 285 vertical meters, 1h:06m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP):
Rjåhornet (600m), Nov 22 2019
Friday: This afternoon, I decided to hike Rjåhornet on Gurskøya while waiting for Anne to come up from Sogndal. I didn’t expect any gorgeous colors in the sky, and given our late start, nor did I expect to make it back down without using the headlamp. Oh well, it was bound to happen at some point but the good news is that in only a month, the days are getting longer again.
We took the Djupvika route, and for the first time this year, I had to use steel spikes under my terrain shoes if I wanted to survive the hike along the icy path.
It was quite dark already when we started on the final 200 vertical meters.
I was quite amazed by the new EOS RP camera, allowing me to take pictures in (close to) darkness – handheld. I’m mighty pleased with it, except for moon pictures. But that’s probably because of me…
When we reached the summit plateau, I could see a little glow in the horizon. I didn’t expect that today.
On top, Karma did the usual pose, awaiting the summit treat.
And before we headed back down, I got my orange/red sky moment today as well. And now I looked forward to get off the mountain and meet my girlfriend…
Back home, Karma hit the sofa…
Trip statistics: 6km, 590 vertical meters, 1h:38m
Garnestua (653m), Nov 23 2019
Saturday: Both Anne and I were quite busy already from the morning. Stuff that needed to be done, etc. Which included a trip to Ulsteinvik, where we also stopped by Osnessanden.
The time was close to 2pm when we found time for a little hike, and we only have max. 2 hours of daylight left. I proposed to hike Garnestua from Løset, which was OK with Anne.
We headed out just before 2pm and followed the normal path upwards.
But after a little while, I proposed that we should ascend via the east ridge and we had to leave the path to get there. We were both wearing terrain shoes, but Anne had gaiters. I had already quite wet shoes before we got to the ridge.
The ascent up the ridge was OK, but the less steep flats towards the top were snowy and cumbersome.
But eventually we got there. And it took us almost one hour.
It was well worth the effort, though. This was a beautiful place to be.
Then we decided to descend via Flåna and hike across the frozen lake Fjellsvatnet. I had to think about this for a little while. My feet were cold, and we had to walk in a lot of snow just to get down to the lake. But I always strive to do new routes, so…
The descent from Flåna and the hike towards Fjellsvatnet was just as unpleasant as I had feared.
The question was now – would the ice be safe? It was hard to tell, so we decided to walk along the shore just to be on the safe side. All in all, a very enjoyable round trip hike!
Trip statistics: 7km, 500 vertical meters, 2:06m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone8) from the hike:
Mosvarden (553m), Skafjellet (573m), Holstadhornet (531m), Nov 24 2019
Sunday: Today, I suggested a hike that would be a variation to the previous hikes we’ve done to Mosvarden, Skafjellet and Holstadhornet. We would start at Gamleeidet above Ulsteinvik and hike to Mosvarden. From there we would go over to the Skafjellet – Holstadhornet ridge and descend to Hareid. Anne liked the idea and we left one car in Hareid before driving back to Gamleeidet.
The path up from Gamleeidet was incredibly icy. Anne had shoes with built-in spikes, and she probably thought I was a stubborn old man, refusing to wear anything that would give me a better grip. But to my defense – going *up* an icy path is not a problem. And furthermore, I really value the balance training I get.
As we got more snow below our feet, the ice problem was over, and we had a nice and easy stroll up to the top of Mosvarden.
Then we moved on towards Skafjellet and Holstadhornet.
There was quite a bit of snow in the valley between Mosvarden and Skafjellet, and my feel were cold. Actually, my left foot was really cold, as I had stepped through some ice and got my shoe all wet. Of course, it’s not a brilliant idea to do this hike with terrain shoes, but …
It was however nice to get onto the Skafjellet ridge, where we a) got less snow and b) could see Hareid – where our journey would end.
It was quite windy on the tops, and on Skafjellet, it was nice to find shelter from the wind behind the cairn.
Now there was only Holstadhornet left to visit, and we moved on.
When we got to Holstadhornet, we could choose between several paths down, but we chose to follow the normal path down to Hovled.
We visited Håbakknotten before descending into the forest. It was a really nice hike!
Trip statistics: 12,7km, 650 vertical meters, 3:35m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone8) from the hike:
