Found a new and fun route to the top…
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 20.10.24 | Koppefjellet | 940m | 602m | Volda, Norway | WCP | MAP |
Sunday: Sunday started like Saturday ended – not on a good note. But it got somewhat better during the morning and eventually I got in shape for going on a hike. I decided to hike Koppefjellet.
The weather was OK, but not great and it was supposed to rain later in the afternoon.
At first, I checked if the road to Rotevassætra was open. It wasn’t. The gate was locked. For cabin owners only, I suppose.
So, I drove to Krøvelsætra instead. The plan was to get on the north ridge (between Hestehornet and Koppefjellet) and bypass the steep ridge by going on the inside. But, the path to Hestehornet was so wet and miserable that it was better to go off-trail.
Then I realized that I had never hiked up Grødalen before. From a distance, it looked easy enough to get up the mountain from there.
I didn’t see any paths and we went off-trail until we started to close in on the valley. It was very unlikely to meet other people there, but I did. I met a woman that explained I was actually on a path (it was that vague) and that it was easy to get up on the mountain from here.
She mentioned a lake. I didn’t know there was a lake up here, but there was indeed a pond.
The route ahead looked steep, but not difficult. Interestingly enough, the path runs up the part I had decided to avoid.
In the very steepest part, Karma had to find her inner hare…
I mistakenly thought we almost were up, but that was the case. Not that it mattered. I enjoyed hiking in new terrain and moreover, the surroundings are amazing. My camera was running hot!
I had felt drops of rain ever since heading out from Krøvelsætra, but it hadn’t materialised into real rain yet. But I could see rain showers here and there, not too far away.
After the Grødalen route, I could not imagine any other route to the mountain that I hadn’t done. But if I discover another one, nothing will please me more.
Eventually, we reached the north top. It looked like we would beat the rain to the main top. From there on, I didn’t care what happened.
Karma had access to water all the way, but the water on the summit ridge seemed to taste extra nice…
And then we were up!
I could not help noticing that Sandhornet – which we visited a few days earlier – was “lit up”.
The Volda view from Koppefjellet is also quite good!
And not to mention the Melshornet massif – perhaps my favorite go-to place in the whole region, because of the countless routes and trails there.
We followed the trail down the northwest ridge, taking us to Rotevassætra. From here, it was a fairly short hike (along a marked route) back to Krøvelsætra.
What always surprises me about this mountain – is that while it feels like a high mountain, our hikes from the Krøvelsætra side only takes 2 hours or less. If you want bang for the buck, this is the place to go!
I had to rest for an hour after the hike, but after that, I felt altogether much better. Maybe this could be a turning point? Maybe next week would be honky dory fine? Hope is the last thing to die…
Trip statistics: 6,1km, 640 vertical meters, 1h:50m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max from the hike):
