Returning to Sunnmøre and some good hikes
| Date | Peak/Place | Height | PF | Location | WCP |
| 21.03.2022 | Loen | – | – | Stryn, Norway | |
| 22.03.2022 | Blåtind | 697m | 697m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP |
| 22.03.2022 | Haddalshornet | 611m | 103m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP |
| 23.03.2022 | Veten (Hidsegga) | 556m | 320m | Sande, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| 23.03.2022 | Grøthornet | 458m | 20 | Sande, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| 24.03.2022 | Solavågsfjellet | 263m | 210m | Sula, Norway | WCP |
| 25.03.2022 | Sandvikshornet | 352m | 13m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | |
| 25.03.2022 | Øyrahornet | 417m | 42m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| 26.03.2022 | Årvikveten | 458m | 205m | Sande, Norway | WCP |
| 27.03.2022 | Rjåhornet | 600m | 107m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| 27.03.2022 | Fløstranda | – | – | Ulstein, Norway | WCP |
Transport day, Mar 21 2022
Monday: I got a late start from Sogndal, and as I wasn’t in the mood for hiking or driving in the dark, I used the remaining daylight for driving and only stopped in Loen to walk Karma near Hotel Alexandra. It’s a stunning place, with the fjord, the hotel, the gondola, the Via Ferrata and last but not least – Skåla (1848m)
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the walk:
Blåtind (697m), Haddalshornet (611m), Mar 22 2022
Tuesday: This was a beautiful afternoon, and it was due time to visit Blåtind – for the 1st time this year. The weather in January and February was too bad to bring the dog up there but today would be the day!
We started out in Ringstaddalen, and I chose the steepest route – as it was the only route that was snow-free in the hillside above the valley.
Eventually, we reached snow and I was happy to notice that it was firm and carried my weight. The snow wasn’t rock hard and there was no danger of a sliding in the upper part of the mountain.
It was good to be back on Blåtind, but now what? Klungsdalen was in the shadow, and I didn’t fancy descending the steep valley on hard snow. So, I decided to proceed to Haddalshornet and hoped that the west flank had softer snow.
The snow on the east side didn’t quite carry my weight as the sun had been warming up the snow most of the day. But thanks to snowshoe tracks, I was good.
I had this nice feeling of spring throughout the hike, but at the same time I was wondering what April has in store for us. The only predictable thing about the weather on the coastline is that it’s unpredictable.
Then it was time for the descent. I always get goosebumps when the snow is hard, and I don’t see the terrain between myself and the fjord (a 600m drop).
The snow was hard, but not icy. After taking it really, really easy the first 30-40 vertical meters, I could finally let go and I believe I made a new personal record (distance) in sliding on my feet.
A very nice walk, indeed!
Trip statistics: 7,6km, 760 vertical meters, 2h:27m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 8) from the trip:
Veten/Hidsegga (556m), Mar 23 2022
Wednesday: The lovely weather from yesterday was history. Say hello to overcast and a furious wind.
I don’t know why, but I very often end up on Hidsegga when the weather suggests I should go somewhere else. The wind was already strong at the trailhead, but I hoped that we would be somewhat sheltered on the steep route up from Hidsneset.
That turned out to be a correct assumption and the wind didn’t really hit us hard until we were on the summit ridge.
The wind on top was somewhere above 20 m/s and it wasn’t pleasant to be exposed to it. But without precipitation, wind is seldom a problem. Unless it’s a full storm. Then it can get slightly – cumbersome…
I decided to continue towards Grøthornet. I noticed that Karma was slanting, due to the wind. But none of us took much notice of it.
Again, we ended up on what’s now beginning to be our normal route across Hidsegga. Up from Hidsneset, across Veten, Grøthornet and Trolltua.
It’s a very nice walk – along paths all the way.
Trip statistics: 8,2km, 655 vertical meters, 2h:07m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the trip:
Solavågsfjellet (263m), Mar 24 2022
Thursday: Time to take a trip to the Ålesund office. It was raining cats and dogs in the morning, but like always, I packed my bag for hiking after work. It’s a psychological thing. While the weather can be really depressing, I always try to stay positive – thinking it will clear up in the afternoon.
And it did! I chose to drive to Solavågen and hike Solavågsfjellet and hopefully cover some new ground during the hike.
I got my new Iphone 13 (Pro Max) today and decided to try it out on this hike. It’s a beast, compared to my old Iphone 8. Still, it felt good. Good, as in a piece of expensive computer hardware.
The “new ground” part today was to continue along the shore trail – past the route I normally follow up the forest. It was fun until we got to a steep section that looked like a showstopper. But, we managed to get up.
Eventually, we joined the path I normally follow and a bit later we were back on top of Solavågsfjellet, aka Trollhaugen. I took some pictures with my Canon EOS RP and some pictures with my new Iphone and looked forward to comparing them when I got back home.
From the top, we took the usual descent route and, on the way, the Sulesund ferry harbor, I noticed an oil rig in the Vartdalsfjord. That’s not a common sight!
Back home, I started comparing the pictures. The zoom function on the Iphone was just very poor compared to my system camera. The Iphone was however much better at balancing shadows and highlight but that may be because I always use single point focus on the Canon. Note to self – try out multi point focus. Furthermore, the Iphone pictures looked more “pixelized”. My conclusion after this – very unscientific test – was that the pictures were far better than what I would get from my Iphone 8, but they didn’t blow my mind.
Trip statistics: 5,1km, 350 vertical meters, 1h:27m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the trip:
Sandvikhornet (352m), Øyrahornet (417m), Mar 25 2022
Friday: These two tops have one thing in common – I’ve attempted both of them earlier this year but turned around due to bad weather.
The plan was to hike Øyrahornet first, but because of a crazy wild river we sat course for Sandvikhornet instead.
On our way, an eagle took a big interest in Karma. And it’s fair to say that Karma took a big interest in the eagle also. I just hoped the eagle wouldn’t be stupid. It wouldn’t be able to lift 30kg and it would definitely have fewer feathers afterwards…
At Sandvikhornet, I was still keen on visiting Øyrahornet and so we headed in that direction. Which meant that we would have to cross the same river. The upside was that we found a snow bridge. The downside was that it looked like it would collapse any second. I asked Karma to stay behind, then tested it on my way across. I concluded that if only Karma would follow my footsteps, she would be OK. And she did…
I was a bit amazed how GREY the weather could be, without it raining…
Trip statistics: 6km, 455 vertical meters, 1h:38m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the trip:
Årvikveten (458m), Mar 26 2022
Saturday: I hardly slept due to headache. I’ve just started on a new project which has a tight deadline, and I can feel that my neck is tense again. After a few hours of working – making some progress – I felt better and could start thinking about walking the dog.
I didn’t have a plan. I just wanted to WALK. Finding new paths and covering new ground (off-trail) would both be upsides and I figured the best chance for this was to drive to Larsnes and make my way to Årvikveten – one way or another.
I decided to hike the route I did the 1st time Mar 28, 2021 – from Råkja, then via Kvalen and to the fork southeast of Grøthornet. From this fork, there is no direct route to Veten. I would either have to hike via Svedehornet or on the south side of lake Nyksvatnet. Last year, I hiked (off-trail) on the north side of lake Morkavatnet. This time, I took the south side – along a vague path.
I then decided to ascend to the pass between point 414m and Veten. But before reaching the pass, we continued steeply off-trail to the top just north of Veten.
Here, we came across a white hare that was quite exposed on dark ground. Due to the climate changes, some animals haven’t been able to calibrate their camouflage and I guess this hare was one of them.
Eventually, we stood on top of Veten, and I started thinking about how we could return to the car via variations to the normal route to Drageskaret.
Down by lake Langvetevatnet, I couldn’t remember hiking along this lake before and decided to do so. Parts of the lake was covered with ice.
From here on, we just continued off-trail, via Nonstua before we eventually reached Knottahornet. At this point, I was pretty sure I would follow the path down to Drageskaret and return to Larsnes via the old road.
But, once on the Drageskaret path I found myself just crossing it, looking for a vague path near Fossane. I didn’t find this path until we weren’t too far away from Larsnes. This was however a very nice ending to the hike. Karma’s nose was up in the air all the time and the strong scent of deer was omnipresent.
Trip statistics: 10,5km, 680 vertical meters, 2h:57m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the trip:
Rjåhornet (600m), Mar 27 2022
Sunday: After breakfast I worked for a couple of hours, just to get to the place I wanted to be at, come Monday. Afterwards, I drove to Djupvika to add more sticks to the Rjåhornet route.
14 sticks plus tools in the backpack was a heavy load, but this time I wouldn’t be carrying them up the mountain, as they were needed in the lower part.
After deployment, we continued towards the top (without the backpack), really feeling the wind.
It felt much way more cold than it normally does. After a while, I realized it was because I didn’t have the backpack. Or more precisely – I didn’t have a hip belt. Without it, the wind blew straight up under my jacket.
We didn’t stay on top for long. On the way down, Karma seemed a bit downhearted, and I think it’s because she so used to round trips. Going down the same route isn’t the same fun. I could sympathize and if it hadn’t been for the backpack waiting to be picked up, we would have taken a different route.
Today, it was practical to bring the Iphone instead of the Canon. Looking at the pictures, I still can’t really say they blow my mind. Maybe I’m missing the magic settings…
Trip statistics: 6,2km, 580 vertical meters, 2h:18m
Pictures (Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the trip:
Flø beach, Mar 27 2022
Sunday: As Karma seemed a bit sad from missing a round trip hike on Rjåhornet, I decided to make her day a little bit better and drove to Gåsneset and walk along the Flø road – all the way to the sandy beach at Flø. And then it struck me – I had my bike in the back of the car. Why not use it?
Karma is well trained in the art of running next to a bike, which came in handy today – with the road very close by the path. She looked very happy! After a couple of kilometers, I could park the bike and enjoy the beach without having to think about cars.
I took several pictures and tested the portrait mode. It looked cool on the phone, but I’m not sure how I could make use of it after exporting the pictures to my PC. If anyone knows of a free or cheap tool that could merge the images and represent the 3D-effect, please let me know.
It was truly windy, but the waves weren’t dramatic. Not the kind we’re used to out here when the going gets tough. Still, biking back to Gåsneset was truly hard – with the wind against. And Karma looked downhearted again – going back the same way. Oh well…
Trip statistics: 5,1km, 85 vertical meters, 45 mins
Pictures (Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the trip:
