Awesome post-Easter week!
Index
| Date | Peak/Place | Height | PF | Location | WCP |
| 18.04.2022 | Lisbetnøbbi | 650m | 114m | Gol, Norway | |
| 18.04.2022 | Vidhovd | 1060m | 110m | Hemsedal, Norway | – |
| 18.04.2022 | Amlaholten | 508m | 265m | Sogndal, Norway | WCP |
| 19.04.2022 | Fløtravarden | 869m | 59m | Gloppen, Norway | WCP |
| 19.04.2022 | Snøfjellet | 1006m | 239m | Gloppen, Norway | WCP |
| 20.04.2022 | Sollia | 661m | 661m | Herøy/Sande, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| 21.04.2022 | Sulafjellet | 776m | 776m | Sula, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| 22.04.2022 | Skolma | 636m | 483m | Hareid/ Ulstein, Norway | WCP |
| 23.04.2022 | Djupvikhaugen | 98m | 29m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | |
| 23.04.2022 | Rjåhornet | 600m | 107m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP |
| 24.04.2022 | Eidskyrkja | 1462m | 1037m | Volda, Norway | WCP |
Lisbetnøbbi (650m), Apr 18 2022
Monday: It was time to check out from our rented cabin at Høvrelia, Sør-Aurdal. It had been an incredible Easter vacation, but we were not sad to leave. We have developed this “skill” where we visit what there is to visit in the time we have at our disposal. So, when we leave, there is nothing left to do…
As this would be a transport day (back to Sogndal), we had all the time in the world and would make sure Karma wasn’t bored to death in the back of the car. We hadn’t even left the mountain region we had spent Easter in, before we found the first hiking goal for the day – Lisbetnøbbi (aka Lisbetnuten) above Gol.
The map indicated a path from Gol and a path from Vindfallet. In my head, this meant a round trip hike. We found the trailhead just above the centre of Gol and hiked up the forest along an excellent forest trail.
We both enjoyed the hike up the forest, and it reminded me about the Amlaholten hike (Sogndal). I made a mental note about proposing that we also should hike Amlaholten when we got to Sogndal. It would not come as a big surprise to Anne, as we normally hike that top when we return from our Christmas and Easter vacations in eastern Norway. Why break the tradition?
The forest ridge offered a couple of steep and fun sections, but not anything that Karma couldn’t handle. And after a while, we had some good views too.
On top of the forest ridge, we found the “Lisbetnuten 601m” signpost. But this wasn’t the high point, and hence we moved on.
We got confused about the onward path and went off-trail to the high point. Maybe we should have followed the “Vindfallet” signpost. It was probably that path we joined just before arriving on the high point.
From the high point, we could see Storehorn (aka Storehødn) in Hemsedal. I visited this top back in 2003, on my way to Mt. Blanc (!)
We decided to do a round trip hike and followed the Vindfallet path. Once down at the forest road, we took an off-trail route which took us down to the forest road further down. We went off-trail one more time and joined the forest down even further down. Here, we found a path that took us back to the starting point – via the transformer station. It was a most excellent hike!
Trip statistics: 5,4km, 430 vertical meters, 1h:38m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the walk:
Vidhovd (1060m), Apr 18 2022
Monday: From Gol, we took RV52 towards Hemsedal. Along the way, I mentioned to Anne that there was a pf100 top called Vidhovd that would be nice to visit one day. Why not take a detour and see where we could start from – the next time we pass through?
So, we took the Lykkja exit before Hemsedal and went onto a gravel road just before lake Storevatnet. In the morning, Anne had been keen on yet another ski-trip while I was not. I think the 35km ski-trip the day before had something to do with it. In any case, I got my will and we hiked Lisbetnøbbi in Gol. But now, we had snow all around us and Anne started seeing the contours of a ski-trip.
We followed a terrible muddy road to Blomeslettene and beyond – until we reached snow. As we now were only 1km northwest of the top of Vidhovd, there was no doubt. We would go skiing!
We followed prepared tracks for a little while before we sat course for the top.
The snow was soft, and Karma struggled in the forest. But she seemed very determined to make it to the top!
It didn’t take long to reach the high point. Very happy to have yet another pf100 top “in the bag”
We enjoyed the Hemsedal views for a little while before returning the way we came up.
Trip statistics: 3,2km, 120 vertical meters, 1 hour
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the trip:
Amlaholten (508m), Apr 18 2022
Monday: We made it across Hemsedalsfjellet mountain pass without further stops and took the ferry that brought us close to Sogndal. That’s when I proposed that we should hike Amlaholten. Anne bought the argument “because that’s what we do after vacations in eastern Norway” and then we were on our way.
But this hike would be slightly different from the others, as this time we trawled the cliffs (off-trail) for viewpoints. And we found some!
It was probably the best transport day I can remember, and my girls looked happy too!
On the way down, we “challenged” ourselves on a tree that we felt would break any second. It didn’t…
Trip statistics: 4,8km, 300 vertical meters, 1h:26m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the trip:
Snøfjellet (1006m), Apr 19 2022
Tuesday: This was the official end to my Easter vacation, as I would return home to Sunnmøre. But not without visiting Snøfjellet on Utvikfjellet! This is now almost a tradition, as I did the same trip home from Sogndal Apr 11 2021…
We were almost alone on the mountain. It was probably the combination of Easter being over and late afternoon…
We stopped by Fløtravarden (869m) on our way up. We were also here March 11 earlier this year…
The route to Snøfjellet was perfectly prepared, as always…
I really enjoyed myself, and I think Karma did too – even if there wasn’t much bush around to attract her interest. I was skiing on mountain skis. My Randonnée skis wouldn’t run perform well on this soft snow anyway.
We got to the top, Karma waited for her treats, and I did my round of pictures. And then it was time to head back down…
I don’t look forward to the day when Karma doesn’t want to do this anymore. She’s turning 10 this year but is still running like crazy. Not as fast as she used to, but still fast. I’ll worry about her retirement when the time comes.
In the meantime, we will enjoy each trip as if it was our last…
Trip statistics: 11,9km, 480 vertical meters, 1h:65m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/ Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the trip:
Sollia (661m), Apr 20 2022
Wednesday: Back home, and after work I decided to go to Moltudalen and hike Sollia – the highest top on the island where we live (Gurskøy). I had been to Sollia two times this year, on skis, but not from Moltudalen. Today, we would barely see snow…
We followed the normal route until we were at the foothills of the upper part of the mountain. From here, I decided to go off-trail. Karma always finds an extra gear (she gets a couple of years younger) when she realizes we are about to enter unknown terrain…
Maybe I do to…
This time, we visited both Sollia tops. After all these years, I still don’t know which is the higher. I think they’re equally high.
On our way down, we also took an off-trail route, but this time it was to avoid the (soft) snow.
A beautiful hike!
Trip statistics: 8,3km, 470 vertical meters, 1h:48m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the trip:
Vardane on Sulafjellet (776m), Apr 21 2022
Thursday: Today I went to our Ålesund office and after work, I was determined to ski Sulafjellet, no matter how far I would have to carry the skis.
I was way too late in the season though. The magic of skiing this mountain is also to ski down the entire forest road from Rollonhytta. That’s just awesome. But today, I realized I would have to carry the skis all the way to Rollonhytta – taking some of the magic away.
But eventually, we reached snow – before Rollonhytta. The snow was rotten as heck and Karma went straight through. Still, that didn’t seem to bother her.
As I could not see any established foot trail up the mountain, I was free to ski wherever I felt like. If I had seen a trail, I would go there – giving Karma an easier ascent.
But Karma impressed me today and reached the top without any signs of boredom or discomfort.
This top doesn’t only offer a nice walk or a nice ski-trip, it also offers tremendous views…
But it was already late in the afternoon, and we had to get home. Karma would be hungry by now and wasn’t slow when she realized that descent was in progress…
I had been worried about the soft snow, but the skis were flowing smoothly on the snow and the couple of hours of effort resulted in 5 minutes of pure magic…
Part of the game is missing the ferry by one minute. Like today…
Trip statistics: 11,3km, 730 vertical meters, 2h:40m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the trip:
Skolma (636m), Apr 22 2022
Friday: After work, I decided to hike Skolma from Flø. It was a hot day when I left home, but when we got to Flø, we had a cold, cold wind against. The heck?
I like being at Flø and I like hiking to Skolma, but the 1,8km along the beach road isn’t always so fun. But eventually, we got to the mountain path.
On our way up, we passed “the rock” that Karma always checks out. This time, I figured she could check it out from the very top. Getting her up involved some degree of exposure to the steep drop next to it, but I had faith in her decision making and she didn’t let me down this time either.
When we got to the top, I understood where the cold wind came from, as sea fog was pouring in from Breisundet. I wondered if the entire outer region would be covered in this fog, but that didn’t happen. It was very local.
Then it was time for treats and pictures…
The view isn’t bad from up here!
I wanted to do a variation that I hadn’t done before, and on our way down we descended directly to lake Ytrefløvatnet. I feared a bush nightmare, but we found a steep and nice birch forest.
It’s been a while since I visited this lake and I found inspiration to come back and try new variation of routes in this area.
Friday dinner would be late today…
Trip statistics: 11km, 630 vertical meters, 2h:24m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the trip:
Djupvikhaugen (98m), Apr 23 2022
Saturday: Today was all about ticking off overdue activities in the house, and in order to not get too restless, we started this Saturday by talking a walk across Djupvikhaugen…
Trip statistics: 1,9km, 85 vertical meters, 28 mins
Rjåhornet (600m), Apr 23 2022
Saturday: After having done most of my planned tasks back home, I decided to go to Rjåhornet and add some more sticks to the trail from Djupvika to Rjåhornet. Come May, Rjåhornet would be a part of the “Stikk Ut” program, and we’re probably going to get many visitors not familiar with the local terrain. My job is to make sure they get safely up and down, in sunshine, fog or darkness…
In the upper part of the mountain, there was so much snow left that the sticks were not visible at all! Quite unusual for this part of the country at this time of the year!
It’s definitely worth while taking the trip up here, as the view isn’t half bad!
After reaching the top, we returned to the trailhead 100% off-trail, which involved terrain I never want to see again…
Trip statistics: 6,7km, 600 vertical meters, 2h:07m
Pictures (Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the trip:
Eidskyrkja (1482m), Apr 24 2022
Sunday: Today, I wanted to ski Eidskyrkja – formerly the highest mountain in Volda municipality. I like to ski from Skinnviksetra (340m), but there are some challenges involved. If I’m too early, the snow on the glacier can be hard. If I’m too late, there won’t be any parking left, and Karma will struggle in soft snow below the glacier. Today, I tried something in the middle and were ready for skiing at 11:49am.
There was barely any parking space left, so I felt this was perfect timing. The snow near the trailhead was soft, but if Karma stuck to the main track, she would be OK.
We soon caught up with other skiers and one of them commented that we seemed to be in a hurry. I wasn’t, but then it occurred to me that it used to be a goal to reach the top in less than 1,5 hours. That would surely not be something we could accomplish today, so I just excused myself with being “very eager to get up and enjoy the views”
I feel quite slow, compared to just 4-5 years ago, and so I was curious if I we were able to get top the top in 2 hours. But that would be something to check once back home. Now, we would just move steadily upwards and enjoy the day.
When we got to the glacier, I felt that the regular avalanches were a TAD bigger than they used to be at this time of the year.
The steepest part of the glacier was a bit tricky, as my worn out *plastic* skins were not giving me a grip, and I had to climb using the steel edges. Karma had socks, and I kept a close eye on her. At first sign of a slip, those socks had to come off!
But we got to the top of the hill and could enjoy the final leg to the top.
This is an awesome viewpoint! The Sunnmøre alps will naturally capture your attention, but the view towards the Jostedalsbreen glacier is also quite nice. Especially if you know what you’re looking at.
I politely asked a woman if she could take a picture of me and Karma, and she was happy to…
After a round of pictures (and treats) it was time to head down. I had expected the upper part of the glacier to offer nice skiing, as I had that feeling going up. But the snow was quite hard, and I had to stop every now and then to count my teeth. Karma was outrunning me up there!
Back in the steep part, I decided to take it easy as I hadn’t brought my helmet. I took Karma’s socks off so she could control her own destiny and she was all over the place. Except for the last part, where I felt I could let the skis run fast again.
The part from the glacier and back to Skinnviksetra offered fantastic skiing, but the snow was already so soft that Karma was a bit helpless unless she stuck to the ascent track. Eventually, she understood that, and things went much smoother.
I was very happy about having completed my 14th trip to this fine top. Karma doesn’t quite that many ascents, but perhaps half? I’ve lost count.
As for the time to the top: 1h:38m. Which was a surprising bonus!
Trip statistics: 9,8km, 1150 vertical meters, 2h:25m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the trip:
