Two ski-trips “saved” the week…
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 12.02.24 | Huldrehornet | 271m | 113m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 12.02.24 | Rambjøra | 132m | 109m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 13.02.24 | Vardane, Sula | 776m | 776m | Sula, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 14.02.24 | Gyrinakken | 365m | 157m | Herøy/Sande, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 15.02.24 | Melshornet | 668m | 560m | Hareid, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 16.02.24 | Lidafjellet | 200m | 47m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 16.02.24 | Nakken | 180m | 22m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | – | MAP |
| 17.02.24 | Høgenipa | 1097m | 126m | Vanylven/ Volda, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 18.02.24 | Veten (Hidsegga) | 556m | 320m | Sande, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 18.02.24 | Grøthornet | 458m | 20m | Sande, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
Huldrehornet (271m), Rambjøra (132m), Feb 12 2024
Monday: I had absolutely no energy left when my working day finished. The time was only 3:30pm, but I had already worked overtime. I decided to just head for Huldrehornet and hope that I would find some energy along the way.
Passing lake Djupvikvatnet, the mojo was low. The upside was that I had only 250 vertical meters up to my goal.
The forest ascent was just strenuous. Really hard work. And not because of the snow, because due to the change in temperature, the snow was melting fast. It was just a long, steep hill.
It got a bit better when we came out of the forest, and we got some views.
The final stroll up to the top wasn’t too bad.
Now what? Return the way we came? (yes, yes!!) or be somewhat more inventive and take a different route without any footprints in the snow (no, no!!). So, a different route it was…
We went down Myrvågskogen and when we were 5 minutes away from home, I had enough energy to extend the hike to also visit Rambjøra.
I don’t remember the last time I hiked Rambjøra from Dragsundflata. Normally, we descend that way. Karma was really confused, but also happy.
We reached the top just as it was getting dark.
I spent a few minutes taking pictures, all but one were crap.
I had a pretty good conscience when I returned to the house…
Trip statistics: 8,1km, 440 vertical meters, 2h:07m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the hike:
Vardane on Sulafjellet (776m), Feb 13 2024
Tuesday: This trip is featured on a separate post...
Gyrinakken (365m), Feb 14 2024
Wednesday: It was that kind of day. It was pouring down. But that’s no excuse for not walking the dog (or myself for that matter). I chose to go to Gyrinakken, which we hadn’t been to so far in 2024. I’m sure Karma doesn’t really care but she seems to enjoy not going to the same places over and over again…
I parked at the beginning of the forest road that allows you to park a little deeper into the forest. This road was not suited for cars now, and hardly for humans either. The slushy snow drained me of energy after just 100 meters.
Eventually, we got on the tractor road that takes a loop in the forest. And Gyrinakken came closer and closer. We were already dripping wet, regardless of clothing.
I was curious about the snow depth. I anticipated a huge struggle, knee-deep above the forest. But the snow depth was not a problem today.
Above the forest, we entered a zone of 50/50 rain and snow. So, it was clear that it would be snowing on top!
It WAS snowing on top…
Rather snow than rain!
Any thoughts about a round-trip hike was quickly abandoned. I was literally wet to the core. It would be the same route down, maybe with an exception on the tractor road loop.
The feeling of getting home, taking a shower, getting dry clothes on, in a warm house – it just can’t be bought for money…
Trip statistics: 5,8km, 370 vertical meters, 1h:32m
Melshornet (668m), Feb 15 2024
Thursday: I had Melshornet after work in mind, all day long. The weather was fine and I could sure use a nicer hike than we had the day before. It would be a hike, not a ski-trip. I saw a post on FB where the skier wished for more snow up there.
Getting the mountain in view, I hoped that I was right in not bringing the skis. Time would tell…
The road to Ulset was so icy that I already decided that I would not drive back this way. If there hadn’t been another way out of there, I would not have driven up the hill. A front collision when I was a teenager has left its marks. I was the passenger, not the driver. I avoid icy downhills at all costs.
The path was best suited for hiking – no doubt about it. The question was how it was above the forest?
Above the forest, we could have gone skiing for sure. But what’s the fun if you have to carry the skis halfway up the mountain?
If it hadn’t been for other hikers leaving a track, this hike would have been a bit strenuous. But as it was, hiking was fairly easy.
It was nice to return to this top. We hadn’t been here since August last year.
We started hiking 4:30pm, which meant it would get quite dark on our way down. But this was the perfect time to take pictures, getting a good mix of daylight and lights from the villages.
We took the same route down and enjoyed ourselves.
Karma was doing the “you’ll never catch me” act, and I played along. She’s not that old yet, but 11,5 years is … respectable … and I love seeing her run at full pace.
A good hike!
Trip statistics: 6,9km, 560 vertical meters, 1h:51m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the hike:
Lidafjellet (200m), Nakken (180m), Feb 16 2024
Friday: The plan was to hike Hidsegga, but then I got some unexpected chores for “Turstiprosjektet” (the local trail committee) and so I had to go on a couple of short hikes to get some pure GPX tracks that didn’t contain time spent on trail maintenance.
I started with Lidafjellet from Stemmedalen.
There was as good as no snow left along the route.
A few spots of snow here and there.
But of course – more snow in the shadow sides.
We reached the top of Lidafjellet, and we have to put up a mailbox and a signpost here, now that this route will be a “Stikkut” route.
We recommend that this is done as a round-trip, with descent to lake Stemmedalsvatnet. The route is a bit wet after rain and snowmelt, but at least we’ve fixed the worst spot.
Then we continued down to the drinking water reservoir.
It was nice to see Huldrehornet mirroring in the lake.
The bridge across the drain from the lake was also put up by “Turstiprosjektet”. Little by little, year by year, we’ve developed a good trail system.
Done with Lidafjellet, I drove to Djupvik to hike up to Nakken.
On this north-facing route, there was substantially more snow.
We had a good view towards the new road up to the foot of Huldrehornet. This road was not built by us, but we will use it to combine two routes into one round-trip route.
While I took the below picture of Rambjøra and Dragsund, I felt raindrops. That was weird, as that was the first time we had sunshine and rain today.
The skiing season on Gurskøy island is gradually coming to an end, for now. It’s still possible to have some nice skiing > 400m but expect to carry the skis for a while.
It was time to wrap it up and get back home. Anne had arrived while we were out and we both looked forward to meet her again.
Trip statistics, Lidafjellet: 3,9km, 200 vertical meters, 0h:59m
Trip statistics, Nakken: 1,5km, 155 vertical meters, 0h:29m
Høgenipa (1097m), Feb 17 2024
Saturday: This trip is featured on a separate post…
Veten on Hidsegga (556m), Feb 18 2024
Sunday: Sadly, Anne needed to rest due to a bad ancle. I decided to do a round trip hike across Hidsegga, starting in Hidsdalen.
There wasn’t a lot of snow left on the mountain, so at least the ascent wouldn’t be too hard.
But the round-trip hike could offer a snow struggle…
When we reached snow, it was deep enough to drain a little of my energy. But not enough to make me call it a day and return the way we came.
It was nice to be back here (for the first time in 2024). There’s something special about hiking by the coastline.
The cairn on top is HUGE. Not in height, but in volume. Someone has moved a lot of rock around!
The forecast mentioned incoming rain. While I could feel a few raindrops, the weather was still OK up north.
Then we headed towards Grøthornet…
The light was flat, and the snow was deep, but it was OK. The snow gave in slowly and then I was already onto the next…
At some point, I considered descending to Moltudalen and return via Gjerdsvika.
But in the end, I changed my mind and went for Grøthornet, aiming to do the round-trip around Hidsdalen.
There was not a lot of snow on the ridge leading to Trolltua.
When we got to Trolltua, the plan was to get down in Hidsdalen and return the car. But again, I changed my mind and hiked off-trail towards Stokkset. I crossed the marked route from Stokkset and followed a vague path and ended up in someone’s backyard at Leirhola. I was observed, and I had a nice chat with the locals.
My car was not too far away, but I decided to go down to the shore instead. Good balance training, before returning to the car.
Trip statistics: 9,1km, 650 vertical meters, 2h:45m
