A good mix of hiking and skiing

Whatever it is you found, don’t eat it…

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

Our route up and down Ursfjellet

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…

Aaargh!

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.

On our way to Langevatnet

The next task was to get to Vasstrandfjellet – 531m. The snow was not a big issue here.

To Vasstrandfjellet

When we arrived on top of Vasstrandfjellet, we also got some new views…

Vaksvikfjellet peaks

Lake Langevatnet was far from open waters…

Lake Langevatnet

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…

The high point comes into view

And then we were up…

Karma giving me the cold shoulder until I hand over treats…

Nice views all around…

Skodje and the tops on Ørskogfjellet

Perhaps I should have gone to Godøya instead. No snow struggles out there…

Ålesund and Godøya view

But we’re here now. And we’re happy about it, right?

All good?

Normally, I descend off-trail from this top, but today that was NOT an option…

Sykkylven mountains

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

Our route up and down Vardane

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.

Heading out

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.

Approaching Sulabakken

I took his advice and let Karma stay behind for a while.

Karma not happy…

Passing the cabin below Sulabakkhornet, we reached snow.

OK. Socks will be wet…

But we also got better and better views

Jønshornet, aka Ramoen

From Sulabakkhornet, we had almost 2km of snow ahead of us. The snow was kind to Karma and not so kind to me…

Thinking about something else…

I found motivation in the views

Masdalkloven

Plodding up the mountain got tedious. I really looked forward to reaching the top!

Not big fun…

And eventually, we got there!

On top of Vardane

I’m not quite sure which view I like the most – the Ålesund side …

Ålesund view

…or the Sunnmøre alps side.

Sunnmøre alps, seen from Vardane on Sula

After a short stay on top, it was time to get back down. We followed our ascent route – except for a pitch below Sulabakkhornet.

Heading back down

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

Our route across Rjåhornet

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…

Not a lot of snow in the local mountains…

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

Feet going extra fast…

One soon forgets about the crappy January and February weather when sunny days are just pouring down in spring…

Karma – taking in the views

And then we were up…

On Rjåhornet

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

Very, very tempting…

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.

Skiing is not an option on the coastal islands now…

Trip statistics: 7,2km, 660 vertical meters, 2h:06m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the hike:

Heidane (649m), Hornet (695m), Apr 20 2023

Our route across Heidane and Hornet

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

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

Patience… Mommy’s calling…

I had anticipated an easy hike up to Homborsætra and snow from there on. The “easy hike” prediction came true…

Hornet seen from Homborsetsætra

The “snow from there on” part quickly became true as well…

Today, the snow was just pure rotten…

Karma didn’t seem to mind the rotten snow

It was a bit of a struggle, but I had some nice views to comfort me.

Ørsta peaks

Eventually, the final hillside was in front of us.

Hornet seen from Heidane

Karma took the challenge right on…

Good for you. Now let’s GO!

I was glad when we reached the top, although deep snow is often worse while going down.

View from Hornet

We descended in the direction of Vassteinen and there was a lot more snow on this side.

Descending Hornet

Still, I had a MIGHTY good time! Or should I say – *we* had a mighty good time…

We are truly privileged!

The camera was running hot!

Just nice…

What a beautiful country we live in!

And then we descended towards Vassteinen. It’s steep terrain here!

Steep terrain on the Vassteinen side

While driving back home, I could see the sea fog rolling in.

Sea fog

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

Our route across Fløtravarden

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.

Heading out from the parking

Life was good – in general!

Take your time…

It didn’t take long to reach the top.

On Fløtravarden

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.

Snøfjellet

So, I settled for Fløtravarden and took the round-trip route.

The nearby mountains

Karma had some running to do…

Attagirl!

But she didn’t seem to mind…

On our way back to the trailhead

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

Anne is demonstrating Telemark turns…

This trip is featured on a separate post

Amlaholten (508m), Apr 23 2023

Our hike across Amlaholten

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.

Amlaholten

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…

Along the forest road

Eventually, we reached the west ridge trail and shortly after, we caught up with Eli, Tom and the dogs.

I *love* this forest

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.

The dogs meet

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.

One of the Amlaholten viewpoints. Photo by Tom Dybwad

Then we split up and Karma and I went exploring the mountain. Who knows, maybe something exciting could happen?

A dead end, for sure…

We found a coupe of viewpoints, but nothing quite spectacular.

Some trees should have been cut here…

But it was nice to wander around in the forest. Every now and then we came across a path.

Walkabout…

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”…

Passing above the garbage dump…

Heading down Festingdalen, we got a glimpse of a couple of locals. Very nice…

Yo! Don’t mind me…

Trip statistics: 7km, 485 vertical meters, 1h:51m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the hike:

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