A good mix of hiking and skiing
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 17.04.23 | Ursfjellet | 563m | 213m | Skodje, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 18.04.23 | Vardane, Sula | 776m | 776m | Sula, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 19.04.23 | Rjåhornet | 600m | 107m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 20.04.23 | Heidane | 649m | 51m | Volda, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 20.04.23 | Hornet | 695m | 182m | Volda, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 21.04.23 | Fløtravarden | 869m | 59m | Gloppen, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 22.04.23 | Krekahøgdi | 1512m | 123m | Lærdal/Årdal, Norway | – | MAP |
| 22.04.23 | Krekanosi | 1555m | 156m | Lærdal/Årdal, Norway | – | MAP |
| 22.04.23 | Biskopsnosi | 1555m | 156m | Årdal, Norway | – | MAP |
| 23.06.21 | Amlaholten | 508m | 265m | Sogndal, Norway | WCP | MAP |
Ursfjellet (563m), Apr 17 2023
Monday: My work week started in Ålesund. The weather was nice, and I looked forward to a hike in this region after work.
The choice fell on Ursfjellet from Vasstranda. When I got there, I suddenly realized that this was the worst choice I could make. The snow melts slowly on the 2,5km forest road to lake Langevatnet and now I remembered one time I skied this mountain really late in the season, and only thanks to this forest road.
And sure enough…
It wasn’t all bad. There were some open spots here and there and where I couldn’t avoid the snow, the tracks were hard.
The next task was to get to Vasstrandfjellet – 531m. The snow was not a big issue here.
When we arrived on top of Vasstrandfjellet, we also got some new views…
Lake Langevatnet was far from open waters…
On our way to the high point, I saw fresh ski-tracks. I can understand. Today’s hike was 50/50 in terms of on skis or on foot…
And then we were up…
Nice views all around…
Perhaps I should have gone to Godøya instead. No snow struggles out there…
But we’re here now. And we’re happy about it, right?
Normally, I descend off-trail from this top, but today that was NOT an option…
Trip statistics: 9,6km, 580 vertical meters, 2h:40m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the hike:
Vardane on Sula (776m), Apr 18 2023
Tuesday: Another day in Ålesund and I decided to hike Vardane from Sulabakken after work. Vardane is the highest point on Sula island. It’s a mountain I know quite well, and I could predict how much snow there would be. I knew there would be quite a lot, but I found it would be worth the struggle.
At the first Sulabakken cabins, I stopped and chatted with the owner. I was particularly curious about snakes. The man I spoke to said I should keep my eyes open.
I took his advice and let Karma stay behind for a while.
Passing the cabin below Sulabakkhornet, we reached snow.
But we also got better and better views…
From Sulabakkhornet, we had almost 2km of snow ahead of us. The snow was kind to Karma and not so kind to me…
I found motivation in the views…
Plodding up the mountain got tedious. I really looked forward to reaching the top!
And eventually, we got there!
I’m not quite sure which view I like the most – the Ålesund side …
…or the Sunnmøre alps side.
After a short stay on top, it was time to get back down. We followed our ascent route – except for a pitch below Sulabakkhornet.
Below Sulabakkhornet, I could see the ferry coming in. I tried to pretend not seeing it, but it stressed me. And we went faster and faster, well knowing we could simply not reach this ferry. But we did! With less than a minute to spare…
Trip statistics: 10,2km, 780 vertical meters, 2h:30m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Max Pro) from the hike:
Rjåhornet (600m), Apr 19 2023
Wednesday: Back in the home office, after two days in Ålesund. So, after work it was back to my local mountains. Today, it would be a round-trip hike from Leikong, across Rjåhornet.
The snow was definitely not a big issue on this hike…
I decided to do a variation to the off-trail route we were on. Once Karma realizes she’s in new terrain, she gets an extra gear…
One soon forgets about the crappy January and February weather when sunny days are just pouring down in spring…
And then we were up…
Looking at the Sunnmøre alps, I had to ask myself why I was not out skiing? The answer was painful and simple – I’m getting old. Tired after work and the long drives don’t come as easy as they used to. Luckily, a ski-trip every now and then keeps me in balance…
I feel quite fortunate to be able to choose between skiing and hiking here on the coastline at this time of the year. In my 2nd town – Sogndal – hiking mountains is just not an option. Unless you have snowshoes.
Trip statistics: 7,2km, 660 vertical meters, 2h:06m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the hike:
Heidane (649m), Hornet (695m), Apr 20 2023
Thursday: For the sake of variation, I decided to drive to Volda after work. I didn’t expect to avoid a snow struggle but was able to motivate myself for it. The choice fell on Hornet from Homborset, a round-trip hike with descent to Vassteinen.
I always enjoy the hike up to Homborsetsætra…
On the way up, Anne called me. Karma understood that this would take a few minutes and found a nice spot to chill…
I had anticipated an easy hike up to Homborsætra and snow from there on. The “easy hike” prediction came true…
The “snow from there on” part quickly became true as well…
Today, the snow was just pure rotten…
It was a bit of a struggle, but I had some nice views to comfort me.
Eventually, the final hillside was in front of us.
Karma took the challenge right on…
I was glad when we reached the top, although deep snow is often worse while going down.
We descended in the direction of Vassteinen and there was a lot more snow on this side.
Still, I had a MIGHTY good time! Or should I say – *we* had a mighty good time…
The camera was running hot!
What a beautiful country we live in!
And then we descended towards Vassteinen. It’s steep terrain here!
While driving back home, I could see the sea fog rolling in.
Trip statistics: 6,3km, 719 vertical meters, 2h:45m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Max Pro) from the hike:
Fløtravarden (869m), Apr 21 2023
Friday: After work, I sat course for Sogndal to spend the weekend with my girlfriend Anne. After a ~2-hour drive, I crossed Utvikfjellet and thought to myself – hey, why not take a ski-trip to Fløtravarden and walk the dog at the same time…
To my delight, we could ski straight from the car.
Life was good – in general!
It didn’t take long to reach the top.
I felt strongly for continuing to Snøfjellet (1006m), but it would take some time to get there. The will to have a full Friday evening with Anne was stronger.
So, I settled for Fløtravarden and took the round-trip route.
Karma had some running to do…
But she didn’t seem to mind…
It was yet another nice ski-trip on Utvikfjellet!
Trip statistics: 8,6km, 260 vertical meters, 1h:25m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Max Pro) from the trip:
Krekahøgdi (1512m), Krekanosi (1555m), Biskopsnosi (1477m), Apr 22 2023
This trip is featured on a separate post…
Amlaholten (508m), Apr 23 2023
Sunday: Today, I was more than happy about doing an easy hike. Yesterday’s ski-trip wasn’t that long and hard, but I’m still not where I used to be before the 3-month sickness earlier in the year. And I guess at some point the age-and-recovery thing also kicks in.
In any case, I was far from dead and decided to visit Amlaholten and cover a forest road that I actually hadn’t done yet.
This forest road would take us to the west ridge where we would meet the ridge trail. Nothing new and exciting in terms of terrain but it feels “important” to cover as many trails as possible – on mountain tops I frequently visit. It sort of never gets dull then…
Eventually, we reached the west ridge trail and shortly after, we caught up with Eli, Tom and the dogs.
Tom is primarily and old friend and colleague of Anne, and as he’s in the mountains almost every day I’m almost bound to run into him now and then.
Karma’s encounter with Kikki and Tina went quite civil. Not a single bark was fired. Karma has met Tina before, but not Kikki.
We joined forces in pursuit of nice viewpoints.
Then we split up and Karma and I went exploring the mountain. Who knows, maybe something exciting could happen?
We found a coupe of viewpoints, but nothing quite spectacular.
But it was nice to wander around in the forest. Every now and then we came across a path.
When we got to the Festingdalen environmental station, we sat course for the main road and then back to the car. Everything has fancy names these days. When I was young, it was “garbage dump”…
Heading down Festingdalen, we got a glimpse of a couple of locals. Very nice…
Trip statistics: 7km, 485 vertical meters, 1h:51m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the hike:
