Waiting for “Gyda”, see her coming and see her going
| Date | Peak/Place | Height | PF | Location | WCP |
| 10.01.2022 | Sletteheidane | 542m | 44m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| 11.01.2022 | Leinebjørnen | 271m | 108m | Herøy, Norway | WCP |
| 12.01.2022 | Huldrehornet | 271m | 113m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| 13.01.2022 | Spinning | – | – | Herøy, M&R, Norway | – |
| 14.01.2022 | Haddalshornet | 611m | 103m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP |
| 15.01.2022 | Lidaveten | 592m | 439m | Volda, Norway | WCP |
| 16.01.2022 | Laupsnipa | 562m | 380m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| 16.01.2022 | Tuva | 63m | 36m | Ulstein, Norway |
Sletteheidane (542m), Jan 10 2022
Monday: The extreme weather “Gyda” was on its way later in the week and I decided to go for one final ski-trip before the “atmospheric river” (a lot of rain) would wipe out all the snow.
I decided to ski to Sollia (highest point on Gurskøy island) and while the trip started out ok, I was a bit worried about the snowdrift on the neighbour top Røddalshorn.
Already on the first ridge I realized that the wind could a problem and that Sollia might be out of reach. I am talking dog welfare here. I could easily have managed the trip in strong wind but I don’t think the dog does not need that type of experience.
If it hadn’t been for the wind, this would have been a really nice trip to Sollia.
But the wind was a problem. Worse was the snowdrift and the turbulence. My eyes got soaking wet and made it hard to see anything.
So, I changed the plan and aimed for Sletteheidane instead. It would be a much shorter trip and if need be, we could “escape” straight down to the forest. OK, that would be a cumbersome place to be but we would be in the clear.
The top of Sletteheidane was not a pleasant place to be. Karma took immediately cover and looked forward to get off this top as fast as possible.
It remained unpleasant until we got down to the Skardet pass. From there on, it was OK. I normally free Karma of her suit and socks before getting into the car, but today she would go in as she were and wear it all into the shower…
Trip statistics: 6,2km, 465 vertical meters, 1h:38m
Leinebjørnen (271m), Jan 11 2022
Tuesday: It was raining cats and dogs all day and I had to dig deep to find motivation for going on a hike. Eventually, the motivation came along and I drove to Leinøya to hike Leinebjørnen.
To my great delight, it stopped raining when we got there and we could do the entire walk without a single drop of rain. The wind told me that more of it was coming – soon.
Trip statistics: 4,4km, 300 vertical meters, 1h:13m
Huldrehornet (271m), Jan 12 2022
Wednesday: “Gyda” was officially here and at first I had no plans to make the acquaintance. It was pouring down outside. Not in a hard way, more like a constant spray shower that you could only see because of the wind.
But in the end I decided to hike to Huldrehornet. Alone. Karma didn’t even show interest in the local round around the block.
The Huldrehornskogen forest is quite sheltered from bad weather but I had an idea what was waiting on top. And sure enough, once I sat my foot on top – whoa!
It was impossible to keep my phone steady, even with my back against the wind and the phone close to my body. I was **soaking wet** when I returned to the car.
Trip statistics: 2,9km, 250 vertical meters, 55 minutes
Spinning (on a bike), Jan 13 2022
Thursday: I plan to do some spinning this year. I’ve had the bike in the living room for a couple of years and it has been standing there idle. A big waste, really. I am NOT going to tell you about each time I get on this bike, but today was the perfect day to get started.
The extreme weather “Gyda” was still raging and my clothes from yesterday’s hike to Huldrehornet were still wet. It’s not that I don’t have other clothes. It’s more of painting a picture of how wet it was outside.
I enjoyed the 10km on the bike, watching TV while at it. I wasn’t tired, just bored. Better not lose motivation already the first time around…
I’ll be back on the trail tomorrow, though…
Haddalshornet (600m), Jan 14 2022
Friday: The extreme weather “Gyda” was gradually fading away and took almost all of the snow in the local mountains. But on this Friday when it was supposed to be clear all day, we got a series of hail showers that painted the mountains – if not white – at least semi-white.
Motivation to go hiking in the dark after work was really hard to find today. But I was finally able to muster enough energy to get going. I decided to try Haddalshornet, knowing that we might not reach the top due to the weather.
We started out from Havåg and the forest part was quite OK.
When we got above the forest, it was snowing and there was some wind. Not enough wind to make me turn around but it was borderline unpleasant. I was very happy when we reached the top.
I had seen the contour of the top when I drove to Havåg but from top, I didn’t see ANY lights. Which means that the weather had changed on our way up. But was it still changing? And, for the worse? There would be no off-trail adventures now. Just follow the tracks and get off this mountain!
Trip statistics: 6,4km, 600 vertical meters, 1h:50m
Lidaveten (592m), Jan 15 2022
Saturday: The weather was highly unstable but I figured I would give Lidaveten a shot. It’s not a good mountain for Karma to be caught in wind + snowdrift, but we could always turn around if the weather got too bad. At least, the forest section would be totally OK.
Rising above the forest, I could now feel the wind but as long as there was no snow in the air, the wind wasn’t a problem.
The question was – would it stay that way until we reached the top?
It didn’t. In the final hill, the wind brought whipping snow but it wasn’t too bad and we reached the top without much inconvenience. However, Karma went for shelter immediately.
The nice view towards Ørsta and the Sunnmøre alps we normally get from here, wasn’t present today.
We went down the Eideim side. This part of the mountain has a cuople of steep sections and this, combined with an icy path – we had to be careful.
Eventually, we made it down – safe and sound.
We followed the tractor road to the “Gapahuk” and had a nice view across the fjord before heading back to Berkneset.
In the car, on the way home – the weather turned really nasty. I was glad I was not on the mountain then…
Trip statistics: 7,6km, 600 vertical meters, 1h:57m
Laupsnipa (558m), Jan 16 2022
Sunday: The weather forecast for this Sunday was not good, and towards the end of the day it would get worse – another storm with gusts up to hurricane-speed. Meanwhile, I had planned to do a hike across Helgehornet in Volda, followed by a long hike around lake Hovdevatnet. But when I got there, I was met with a WALL of rain and triple-speed on the windshields. I knew this was a shower and that would pass but I didn’t want to sit and wait around.
Instead, I drove to Voldnes to hike Laupsnipa. I could see the top from the road and as long as it stayed that way, we would be good. This top however not a nice place to be in the middle of a snow shower (combined with wind), but like for all mountains on these islands, I have “exit strategies“.
On our way up the ridge, it was a little windy but nothing to worry about.
I was keeping an eye on weather. The only problem was that the weather was not coming in the direction I was looking.
We literally reached the top the very minute a shower from southeast came along – with whipping snow.
It was just a matter of seconds before it was all around us, but I had my exit strategy laid out – a rapid descent to lake Voldnesvatnet.
The “flaw” in this strategy was that we would not be in shelter from the weather, but we would drop from 558m to 385m in literally 5 minutes. And altitude means everything in this kind of weather. By the time we reached the lake the shower was already moving on and we were good.
I took the opportunity to follow a path that I had been wondering about for years. Where would it take us? Not too far from Jøsokdalen valley, I lost the path and we had to find our way down the forest – scaring up a couple of deer while at it.
Trip statistics: 5,9km, 550 vertical meters, 1h:37m
Tuva (63m), Jan 16 2022
Sunday: After the Laupsnipa hike, I wanted to do some more walking. I ended up driving to Aursnes to hike around lake Aurnesvatnet. The path is wet and boggy, but for some reason I enjoy this round.
From the top, we could see Laupsnipa. Everything seemed calm but it was just a matter of time before the storm would set in.
We followed the marked path down to lake Aursnesvatnet.
I always enjoy seeing the lake outlet (1.8m above sea level) into the fjord. Karma seemed to enjoy being here too…
Once back on the old road, instead of following the road back to the car, we went up Hatledalen and returned to the car via the path to Haddalshornet.
Back home, I took 30 minutes on the spinning bike and by the time I had finished, the storm was here. The weather was so unpleasant that one really gives a thought to the privilege of a warm house. If only the electricity stays. The lights are blinking as I am posting this…
Trip statistics: 3,8km, 230 vertical meters, 1 hour
