Spring is on its way…
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 11.03.24 | Slakkafjellet | 855m | 242m | Sogndal, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 12.03.24 | Snøfjellet | 1006m | 239m | Gloppen, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 13.03.24 | Solavågsfjellet | 263m | 210m | Sula, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 14.03.24 | Rambjøra | 132m | 109m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 15.03.24 | Helgehornet | 626m | 545m | Volda, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 16.03.24 | Gjøna | 531m | 163m | Sande, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 16.03.24 | Saursegga | 516m | 93m | Sande, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 16.03.24 | Hanen | 414m | 21m | Sande, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 16.03.24 | Haugshornet | 431m | 53m | Sande, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 16.03.24 | Nørdbergsheida | 509m | 75m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 17.03.24 | Mosekleivhornet | 540m | 312m | Stad, Norway | – | MAP |
| 17.03.24 | Ytre Molvikhornet | 471m | 37m | Stad, Norway | – | MAP |
| 17.03.24 | Svartehornet | 475m | 110m | Stad, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 17.03.24 | Sætrefjellet | 503m | 40m | Stad, Norway | – | MAP |
| 17.03.24 | Nobba | 505m | 78m | Stad, Norway | – | MAP |
| 17.03.24 | Solumskardura | 507m | 74m | Stad, Norway | – | MAP |
Slakkafjellet (855m), Mar 11 2024
Monday: A new week and I wanted to start it with a top I hadn’t done so far in 2024 – Slakkafjellet. And preferably, cover some new ground. The question was – should I ski or hike? As the snow had been hard as rock for days and days, I decided to do this trip on foot.
I drove up to the parking in Øvstedalen.
After the initial boring walk along the mountain service road, our off-trail route came into view. Karma was constantly looking at me. “Is this what we’re doing today?” I assured that we would be leaving this road soon.
We headed up next to the couloir leading to Bukkaskar. This was definitely not skiing terrain, and the snow carried our weight.
We both enjoyed going up this forest.
But higher up, the snow started to give in and once we rose above the forest, walking was quite strenuous. At least for me…
Then I noticed a snowshoe trail coming up from a different direction, and so we sat course for it. The track was hard as rock. Perfect!
In not too long, we were standing on top of Slakkafjellet.
This was a really good start to the week!
This top offers some pretty good views!
Of course, we would follow the snowshoe track down, wherever it took us.
I assumed it would take us down to the mountain service road, a little higher up than where we left it.
It did and we reached some cabins I didn’t know about. From there, we followed an unploughed road down to the service road.
Trip statistics: 8,2km, 530 vertical meters, 2h:03m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the hike:
Snøfjellet (1006m), Mar 12 2024
Tuesday: It was time to leave Sogndal, as I had to be in Ålesund for Karma’s monthly Librela injection the next morning.
The weather was OK and when I drove across Utvikfjellet, I decided that I might as well combine walking the dog with a ski-trip to Snøfjellet.
After paying the parking fee (NOK 60, -) we were on our way.
This is terrain we know quite well.
We normally stop by Fløtravarden (869m) when visiting Snøfjellet, but this time I decided to visit the top upon our return. That was not a good decision, if it had been important to stand next to the cairn.
Like normal for this time of year, there was a motorway to the top.
I had brought my mountain skis for the occasion. Randonnée would be too excessive and skating skis would just be too damn hard.
It felt good to be back on top. The views are quite alright!
I had to use my fingers to count and concluded that this was my 6th visit on this mountain. And when we got to Fløtravarden, that would be my 10th visit there.
I looked forward to the descent. Skins off!
Karma ran non-stop from the top and down to the saddle where I put the skins back on.
Just before we were on top of Fløtravarden, we ran into the reindeer herd that lives up here.
They were not afraid of us by any means.
Karma was so fascinated that she could only make guttural sounds. She never attempted to run towards them.
As they were going up to Fløtravarden, I didn’t want to disturb them. I concluded that I could claim an ascent anyway. We were perhaps 100 meters from the cairn.
We took a different route down. I could see a guy skating up from the Sandane side. He yelled something and I decided to wait for him. It turned out that he wanted a lift back to Sandane, but I was going in the opposite direction. We did some simple math and concluded that he would be back in Sandane before it got too dark, if he headed back the way he came.
This little break was all Karma got in her 7km run down from the top of Snøfjellet. 11,5 years old, she seems to be in terrific shape…
Trip statistics: 13,3km, 460 vertical meters, 1h:58m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the trip:
Solavågsfjellet (263m), Mar 13 2024
Wednesday: Ålesund day. Karma got her monthly Librela injection and after work, it was raining. I had been ready for skiing or hiking – all depending on the weather, but now my motivation sunk. And so I decided to hike Solavågsfjellet on my way home. Maybe I could cover some new ground…
We started out from the trailhead near Storevalen and followed the old tractor road for a little while until I discovered a vague path going up the forest. Of course, we had to follow it, as this route was new to me.
This path was marked, but we lost it at Demningsmyra.
But there were deer paths to follow and eventually we reached a main trail at Dorgerhaugen. In not too long, we were above the forest.
It wasn’t only raining, it was windy too. As such – this was quite a nice place to be.
With Solavågsfjellet “in the bag”, I could plan some off-trail routes back down.
Trip statistics: 4,2km, 280 vertical meters, 2h:49m
Rambjøra (132m), Mar 14 2024
Thursday: Today, I decided to bring the brush cutter to Rambjøra and get rid of the bush I missed last autumn.
The weather was nice, but the wind was strong. As such, it was totally OK to spend the afternoon in my local forest. Hopefully, I don’t have to return here with the brush cutter until next autumn.
Trip statistics: 3,9km, 150 vertical meters, 1h:48m
Helgehornet (626m), Mar 15 2024
Friday: Karma got a welcomed break from her waiting-for-daddy-to-finish-his-working-day day when we took the lunchbreak at the Osnessanden beach.
After work, I decided to hike Helgehornet. This would be 50/50 in terms of skiing or hiking, but I decided to go for a hike.
We started out from Ytrehovdevegen and since I am always in the mood for covering some new ground, I figured we could go off-trail right from the start.
The off-trail terrain was cumbersome, but for me, new terrain will always outweigh the cumbersome part.
Eventually, we reached snow …
… and soon after, the beaten track from the shooting range.
I didn’t they would be shooting on Fridays, but they did. Karma got really shaken and wanted to turn around. I convinced her to continue…
Damned shooting range! The advantage of having a blog that hardly anyone reads is that I can go off the rails when there is something that is bugging me. Without being frontpage news the next day. And this shooting range is really bugging me. I’d prefer if they went in-house or underground. This is a very popular hiking area, many hikers have dogs and a lot of dogs are weary about gunfire.
On top, we didn’t hear anymore shooting. Maybe they called it a day.
After a short stay on top, we headed down the south ridge.
Rather than following the path (buried under snow) to the shooting range, we followed the tractor road back to the shooting range road, crossed it and continued off-trail until we crossed our tracks from going up.
All in all, a good distance off-trail today.
Trip statistics: 6,8km, 570 vertical meters, 1h:55m
Gjøna (531m), Saursegga (516m), Haugshornet (431m), Nødbergsheida (509m), Mar 16 2024
Saturday: This hike is featured on a separate post…
Mosekleivhornet (540m), Svartehornet (475m), Nobba (505m), Solimskardura (507m), Mar 17 2024
Sunday: This hike is featured on a separate post…
