Nice hike, rocky mountain
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 07.09.24 | Sunndalsnipa | 1396m | 566m | Volda, Norway | WCP | MAP |
Saturday: I got cheated from hiking Sunndalsnipa the day before, but surely the tractor that blocked the road would be gone by now? I decided to take another drive to Kalvatn. Sure enough, the road was clear and I could continue up to Grøndalen.
I was convinced that this would be my first hike to Sunndalsnipa. I knew I had been there 4 times earlier, but assumed they were all ski-trips. I had completely forgotten that my first visit to this mountain was on foot, back in 2009. But then I hiked via Bygdaskaret.
Today, we would be following a path alongside the creek from lake Litlevassdalsvatnet. But before that, I took Karma down to lake Grøndalsvatnet and tossed a toy bone into the lake. A minute later, she was perfectly cooled down for a hot hike.
After 1,5km, we reached Litlevassdalsvatnet, but it wasn’t a good lake for Karma to swim in.
Instead, we sat course for the biggest creek coming down from the mountain. This creek had multiple, small ponds in which Karma could cool herself.
Hiking along this route was quite fun!
The terrain above us looked easy enough. I didn’t have to look long and hard for a route upwards…
It got a bit steeper higher up, but there was never a problem finding a good route…
We topped out on the ridge just a little higher than the steep hill we have to get up when skiing the normal route. That hill is no fun when the snow is hard. But I can’t say that we crossed easier terrain on today’s route, so that other route still remains as the default skiing route.
Shortly after, we had the summit plateau ahead of us. It was still a bit to go before we were on the ridge, but it was … inspirational … to get it in view.
The grand views were queuing up now. The first was towards Bygdaskaret and Eidskyrkja.
The summit plateau was close now.
Finally, we were on the summit plateau. Oh man, it was rocky! We met a couple that were quite surprised to meet hikers up here. They had a cabin down by the lake and told me that this is not a mountain that people typically hike. On the other hand, it’s a very popular skiing mountain!
I couldn’t wait to get to the top…
And then we were up!
It wasn’t as hazy as the day before, but it was far from good photo conditions.
After treats and pictures, it was time to head back down.
The plan was to stay as close to our ascent route as possible, but I made an exception when I noticed snow…
Along the way, I changed my plan and changed the course towards the Litlevassdalsegga ridge.
But the terrain was cumbersome for both me and Karma, and there were sheep in the middle of our route. I decided to traverse back to our ascent route.
It was nice to get back down to lake Litlevassdalsvatnet and the path, and not having to focus on every step of the way.
When we reached the car, we took another trip down to Grøndalsvatnet and this time, I brough the camera.
It had been a great day in the mountains. Now, I was looking for a great evening back home…
Trip statistics: 10,6km, 1030 vertical meters, 3h:39m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the hike:
