In the Lærdal – Årdal mountains
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | MAP |
| 22.08.21 | Loppenosi | 1621m | 282m | Lærdal/Årdal, Norway | MAP |
Sunday: On this beautiful Sunday in August, we sat course for Filefjell – one of the mountain ranges dividing eastern and western Norway. Today, we would be visiting Loppenosi, and given the mountain road (not open to the public) we brought our bikes for easier access.
We started out from the large parking area between the Smeddalsvatnet lakes and headed up the mountain road.
This is a great area for both hiking and skiing. A few years ago, we skied to Berdalseken from the same trailhead.
Following a mountain road isn’t that much fun, but at least it allows for quicker access to the mountain. And now, the interesting question was – where do we begin hiking?
After 6,5km of biking, we found a convenient ascent route – close to the drain from Fagerskartjørnane.
Once we had passed 1400m elevation, the hiking was easy, and we could just enjoy the walk up the mountain.
Rocks had to be climbed…
Gradually, we got better and better views.
And finally, we got to the top of Loppenosi…
I enjoy this terrain. I will be back several times to hike mountains in the neighborhood.
In the distance, we could see Jotunheimen peaks, rising above lake Bygdin.
We decided to descend the west ridge. We didn’t know if it was possible, but we would find out…
It was steep terrain, but with some route-finding, the descent was easy enough.
Once back down on the mountain road, we had 2,4km back to the bikes.
At the trailhead, we spent some time having fun by the river.
A fine day in the Lærdal – Årdal mountains!
And back in Sogndal – celebration at the Vågal restaurant…
Trip statistics: 6,8km on foot, 13,3km on bike, 790 vertical meters, 4h:26m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 8) from the trip:
