Still a whole lot of weather…
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 24.04.23 | Andhovden | 512m | 9m | Sogndal, Norway | MAP | |
| 25.04.23 | Skjeggen | 738m | 25m | Sogndal, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 26.04.23 | Høgåsen | 182m | 99m | Volda, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 27.04.23 | Rjåhornet | 600m | 107m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 27.04.23 | Huldrehornet | 271m | 113m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 28.04.23 | Rundevarden | 333m | 333m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 28.04.23 | Sandshornet | 245m | 57m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 29.04.23 | Hustadneset | – | – | Ørsta, Norway | – | – |
| 30.04.23 | Saursegga | 516m | 93m | Sande, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 30.04.23 | Gjøna | 531m | 163m | Sande, Norway | WCP | MAP |
Andhovden (512m), Apr 24 2023
Monday: My hiking week began in Leikanger/Hermansverk – a 20-minute drive west of Sogndal. There is one hike I do at least once per year – starting at Njøs, across Andhovden and up to Våkeldahaug (approx. 660m) and return via a steep tractor road.
I particularly enjoy the “S1” trail from the Njøs power plant.
The trail is overall steep, but by no means scary – even for those with a low tolerance for heights…
Just before the Bjørgahaug viewpoint, the trail from Grauthaug joins the S1 trail. You also get Andhovden in view here.
Bjørgahaug is a mighty fine viewpoint above Leikanger/Hermansverk.
The route up to Andhovden throws in a challenge for the small ones but is easier than it looks.
From Andhovden, you have a good view towards Kyrafossen – if there is water in it. On this roundtrip hike, you see the Kyrafossen signpost several times. The easiest route runs via Våkeldahaug – a viewpoint to the right of the waterfall.
On the way down, I found a new variation; I didn’t go across Andhovden but took the Kyrafossen trail. This trail took me to the tractor road, which means I didn’t have to hike the entire tractor road on my way down.
From Våkeldahaug, you can continue up to Hangsete and further up to the Skriki mountain if you want to extend this hike.
Like always, I very much enjoyed my round today.
Trip statistics: 6,4km, 700 vertical meters, 1h:50m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the hike:
Skjeggen (738m), Apr 25 2023
Tuesday: Skjeggen is a typical spring hike for me, and it was only now I realized why. When I need a break from the skiing, I’d typically hike up to the snow line. And Skjeggen is one of the few named tops that offer a good hike in the April-May timeframe.
From a distance, there didn’t seem to be too much snow. I was wrong…
I parked at Røvhaugane and began chatting with a group of students from Bergen Arkitekthøgskule.
They were building a “Gapahuk” on Røvhaugane. It will be fun to see the result. I’ll be back with updates on this.
Next, I sat course for Skjeggen.
On my way, I had to pass through Åberge. It’s particularly nice there at this time of the year…
From Åberge, I decided to try to find a route straight up the forest. That wasn’t any fun and will not be repeated.
Eventually, the terrain opened up and the bush war came to an end.
But with open terrain also came snow. And it was deep and rotten…
It was worth the effort, though.
Descending the upper forest was a nightmare. Plain and simple.
On our way down to Åberge, we passed Kjørrdalen. There was a guy inside and he told me that the local hiking organization – Sogndal Turlag – would be able to offer this cabin as a resting place for day hikers.
At Åberge, I noticed that Anne’s car was not outside her apartment 😉
Trip statistics: 7,7km, 660 vertical meters, 2h:25m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the hike:
Høgåsen (182m), Apr 26 2023
Wednesday: After work, I left Sogndal and sat course home to Sunnmøre. The weather was not good at all, and I felt no desire to go hiking. But as I passed Hjartåbygda in Volda there was a break in the rain and snow, and I decided to do a quick hike across the low forest hill Høgåsen.
The beginning of the route is found by the local school.
The lower part of the forest is green and pretty.
It didn’t take long before we reached the high point and by now it was snowing!
On the way down, we stopped by the local “Gapahuk” (very close to the top)
Next, we followed the path down to Furnes.
As we returned to the trailhead, it was snowing a lot! I still hadn’t changed to summer tires, which I was happy about now.
Trip statistics: 2,9km, 175 vertical meters, 0h:43m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the hike:
Rjåhornet (600m), Huldrehornet (271m), Apr 27 2023
Thursday: This afternoon, I was on a mission for “Turstiprosjektet Myrvåg/Tjørvåg” – the local organization that is maintaining the trail network on the north side of Gurskøy island. The mission was post “Stikkut” stickers on top of Rjåhornet and Huldrehornet, as the two tops were on the list of “Stikkut” tops for 2023. “Stikkut” is an initiative for Møre og Romsdal county to motivate people to go hiking.
The weather seemed unpredictable and on our way from Stemmedalen, I felt that anything could happen…
We dodged the first snow shower…
… and could climb the steep section on fairly dry rock.
The second snow/hail shower hit us directly and I had to find a route where we got the weather from behind and where we could get off the mountain if the weather got too bad.
I was looking for signs of discomfort from Karma’s side, but she had just spotted a hare and didn’t notice the weather at all.
Then the snow & hail shower passed, and we could reach the top in OK weather.
A few minutes later, the “Stikkut” sticker was on top of Rjåhornet!
The weather was still “gloomy”. Better get off while we were “ahead” …
Our next stop was Huldrehornet, and the next snow & hail shower was already upon us.
It was quite a “weather day” …
We were really “getting it” on the meadow before Huldrehornet.
We were in the clear by the time we reached the top and now the 2nd sticker was in place. Mission accomplished!
Trip statistics: 9,3km, 770 vertical meters, 2h:30m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the hike:
Varden on Runde (333m), Lundeura, Apr 28 2023
Friday: Anne had arrived from Sogndal and wanted to go to Runde island and observe that the visitors (hopefully) didn’t disturb the puffins.
She dropped me and Karma off on the Runde side of the Runde bridge, as we would hike across Varden and meet her at Lundeura – where the puffins are.
First, a steep hike up the forest…
When we got up on the ridge, we had a good view towards Rundebranden and Lundeura.
But first – Varden – the island high point.
Then we sat course for Lundeura.
There were not many visitors in Lundeura, but there was a WHOLE LOT of puffins!
And the puffins were NOT shy!
Even Karma’s presence didn’t stop them from landing just in front of us…
Big fun!
Eventually, we called it a day and headed down to Goksøyr where Anne had parked the car.
Trip statistics: 7,3km, 490 vertical meters, 2h:12m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the hike:
“Dugnad” at Hustadneset, Apr 29 2023
Saturday: Today, we had promised to help some friends at their cabin at Hustadneset – near Sæbø, Ørsta. It was almost May, but recent snowfall didn’t make us think about spring just yet.
The weather forecast wasn’t good, but we hoped that it wouldn’t be raining (or snowing) ALL the time.
There were many things to do, but fortunately I had been assigned to taking down trees and chopping wood. Another group was busy putting turf on the roofs.
I had brought my electric chainsaw, which I just love!
And after some time, the weather got dramatically better. For a while…
Then it was lunchtime. I didn’t join the others for too long, as I had lots of work to do…
The result was two piles of wood, from bottom to ceiling – only one shown here.
It was nice to spend the day with good friends and do some hard labor for a change…
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Max Pro) from the day:
Saursegga (516m), Gjøna/Nipa (531m), Apr 30 2023
Sunday: In the morning, I got a text from our friend Lise, who wanted to know about the snow conditions on Ytre Søre Sunnmøre. Lise and her husband Ove are two of the most notorious “peakbaggers” in Norway. Ove was the first one to visit ALL of the 1130 pf100 tops in Møre og Romsdal county. This weekend, she was in my parts of the country with their son Vinjar. At age 9, he has also “logged” a significant number of pf100 tops – more than 500!
We hadn’t seen Lise since Vinjar was born and we quickly decided to go on a trip together this Sunday. Lise wanted to go to Gjøna, and as that’s one of our favorite walks on Gurskøy island, we were more than happy to come along!
We started out from the top of Haugsbygda.
The weather was unpredictable and while we hoped for the best, we were also prepared for the worst!
The weather was OK by the time we got Saursegga in clear view. But we could feel that the wind was picking up.
As mentioned earlier, this surely didn’t feel like spring…
I looked forward to getting up on Saursegga as I find the onward ridge really beautiful. Lise had (of course) been to Gjøna before, but from Muren. As such, she had not hiked this ridge.
She enjoyed it. Vinjar didn’t say a lot, but my guess is that he found it enjoyable as well!
After Saursegga, Gjøna was the next target.
The wind was really strong, but we’ve all been out on a windy day before.
The ascent to Gjøna is quite steep and Vinjar seemed to have the time of his life…
Did I mention it was windy?
But eventually, we reached the top of Gjøna!
We took the same route back down and now we had fog!
Further down, the weather was OK, and the snow was history. Anne and I headed back home while Lise and Vinjar had more tops to do…
Trip statistics: 8,8km, 730 vertical meters, 3h:46m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the hike:
