A quick trip to northern Norway…
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 17.03.25 | Tilremshatten | 316m | 250m | Brønnøy, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 18.03.25 | Kista (Urdstabben) | 250m | Brønnøy, Norway | – | MAP | |
| 19.03.25 | Mom’s birthday | – | – | Brønnøy, Norway | – | MAP |
| 20.03.25 | Returning to Sogndal | – | – | – | – | – |
| 21.03.25 | Tylderingen | 1105m | 210m | Sogndal, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 22.03.25 | Lægdafjellet | 1149m | 227m | Aurland, Norway | – | MAP |
| 22.03.25 | Trollgilsholten | 1066m | 99m | Aurland, Norway | – | MAP |
| 23.03.25 | Amlaholten | 508m | 265m | Sogndal, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 23.03.25 | Huaren (Avleinsåsen) | 397m | 19m | Stryn, Norway | – | MAP |
Tilremshatten (316m), Mar 17 2025
Monday: I took the 6:25am “red eye” flight from Sogndal, starting my long journey to Brønnøysund – to celebrate my mom’s 80th birthday two days later. It was the “milk route”. First, to Bergen and close to 3 hours wait before the flight to Trondheim, and eventually – the 3rd flight to Brønnøysund.
The weather was great in Bergen, and we had a smooth landing. The weather was not so great in Trondheim, and we had a bumpy flight in. The weather was about the same in Brønnøysund and I felt we hit the runway hard, upon touchdown approx. 1:40pm.
Mom was there to pick me up and we only stopped by her house so that I could change into hiking clothes. I wanted to hike Tilremshatten, and as she had already done her hiking earlier in the day, I went alone.
Mom drove me to a trailhead I hadn’t been to before, and it was nice being on a new trail!
The path led me up to a “Gapahuk” (lean-to shelter), from where I had an OK view towards Brønnøysund. I had never been up here before.
Then I continued towards Tilremshatten. Passing the WW2 landmarks felt different now, in these turbulent times, than it otherwise would have.
I really enjoyed following new paths, but now it was a matter of minutes before I joined the normal route up the ridge.
A good dump of snow had come the past two days, but the lower ridge route was as good as free of snow.
A bit higher up, I met a guy coming down the mountain. That turned out to be Kjell Iver Johansen – an old “buddy”. Not from a social point of view, but through blogging. His home page kjiver.no is one of the oldest of home pages for hiking in Norway. We had a good chat!
Passing Havlarstua is always fun…
The route up to Tilremshatten is “long” and every time I think I am about to reach the top, I still have a good distance to go…
And when I reach the point where 99 % of the hikers turn around, I have to go off-trail just to reach the high point.
No complaints though. I had only been in northern Norway for 1,5 hours and I’ve already been to a top!
The weather wasn’t the best and it would get worse. The Trondheim weather was coming this way…
I returned via Kamman/Skardsåsen (the same way I came up)
Trip statistics: 6,6km, 450 vertical meters, 1h:38m
Kista (138m), Mar 18 2025
Tuesday: This was the only day on my 4-day travel where I didn’t have a program to follow. I spent most of the day working but found time for a short hike with mom to Kista, across the bay.
This would be mom’s last hike in her 70’s…
It was really windy. I enjoy the below picture. The trig. point has caved in, but mom’s still standing – in the strong wind. She’s tough.
Mom and I share the same interest in rock “faces“. Anything resembling a face, we see it right away…
It was a short round-trip hike. I thought about negotiating a cliff just to get up to an insignificant hump, but in the end, I’d rather get back to work…
Trip statistics: 1,9km, 120 vertical meters, 0h:44m
Mom’s 80th birthday, Mar 19 2025
Wednesday: For mom’s anniversary, I had invited her and three of her regular hiking companions to a nice meal at the Svang restaurant in Brønnøysund. We’ve been there twice before, and the quality of the food is top notch.
But before the dinner, Henny had invited all of us to “bubbles”, presents and poems in her apartment.
Mom truly appreciates her friends, and she was “beaming”. They’re all ~20 years younger than mom, but that has never been “a thing”.
Then we moved on to the restaurant, for a 4-course meal.
I had informed the restaurant that there was an ongoing birthday celebration, and they gave mom special treatment!
The meals were – like always – outstanding. The dessert was a little surprising, but like always, they are able to balance all of the ingredients, and the “girls” were overjoyed about the meals.
After dinner, we returned to mom’s house for cake and Henny … sorry, Henny – I love you to death, but you’re just crazy – announced her presence on mom’s terrace with a ghetto blaster and a dance.
It was altogether a very memorable evening! Mom is easy to read and I was happy when I saw that she was really, really happy.
Returning to Sogndal, Mar 21 2025
Thursday: I worked until noon, then I got ready to leave for the airport. Mom drove me. It would be the same “milk route” I followed 3 days earlier, but now in the opposite direction.
The flight to Trondheim was uneventful. But I got some really good views on the Trondheim – Bergen flight!
First, we passed Dovrefjell – and the 2000m peaks there.
And then we passed Jotunheimen!
Jotunheimen is the crème of mountain ranges in Norway, with more than 300 tops exceeding 2000m (if you count down to 10m prominence).
And then we passed Hurrungane – belonging to western Norway, but to some extent – in the Jotunheimen outskirts.
And then we landed in Bergen, where I had a 3-hour stop before taking the last flight to Sogndal. I was able to do a lot of good work at the airport!
Tylderingen (1105m), Mar 21 2025
Friday: After work, I decided to visit Tylderingen in Sogndalsdalen and try my luck with the skis. I knew that the snow conditions were poor, but I assumed that most of the trip could be done with skis on my feet.
I parked at Fretland and had to carry the skis for ~5 minutes until I decided to put them on.
If it hadn’t been for the tractor road, the skiing conditions would have been really poor – in the lower part.
Above Stokksete, the skiing conditions were OK and Karma was happy.
The snow quality wasn’t top notch, but I was just happy that there was snow.
I looked forward to reaching the top. This would be my 61st different top in 2025, in 80 days. I enjoy starting a new year with as many different tops as possible, over the first 3-4 months.
Karma seemed to have blown off most of the steam before reaching the top…
But eventually, we were on top of Tylderingen!
And we had some great views too!
We took the same route down. As already mentioned, the snow wasn’t the best, but I was able to ski down the mountain without falling flat on my face.
Trip statistics: 7,8km, 605 vertical meters, 1h:49m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the trip:
Lægdafjellet (1149m), Trollgilsholten (1066m), Mar 22 2025
Saturday: This trip is featured on a separate page…
Amlaholten (508m), Mar 23 2025
Sunday: Sunday mornings in Sogndal = Anne goes swimming and I’m there to pick her up. I do see the social aspect (people getting together) but not the cold-water aspect. I prefer to wake up slow and easy…
But I certainly don’t mind a happy girlfriend on a Sunday morning…
I was tired today. Dog tired, if I may. The dog was tired too. These ski-trips just don’t come for free these days. And while the weather was OK, and there was still snow in the mountains, a ski-trip was totally out of the question. So, I decided to hike Amlaholten from the fjord and Anne wanted to come along.
Amlaholten from Amlabukti is a route I’ve done numerous times, but I never get bored with it.
Today, we weren’t too adventurous and stuck to the vague path, leading up the forest.
It’s such a beautiful forest, and I do wonder why I never see other hikers along this route. They seem to prefer to park up in Festingsdalen and follow the boring tractor roads. Go figure!
We had a good view over to the Fresvik mountains, but we could just not see the mountain we skied the day before – Lægdafjellet.
The nice weather gave the hike an extra dimension. We don’t typically spend a gorgeous day hiking Amlaholten, then we go to higher ground.
On top, we met a couple of bikers, and we had a good chat.
Then it was time for descent. Anne knew that it would be off-trail, because I wanted to get a brand new track on my GPS map. But she enjoyed it. The terrain was overall easy.
And then my short stay in Sogndal was over for now…
Trip statistics: 5,7km, 505 vertical meters, 1h:49m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the day so far:
Huaren (397m), Mar 23 2025
Sunday: And then I left Sogndal, saying goodbye to winter and skiing opportunities. I had a busy week ahead of me – on all fronts – and I didn’t look forward to any of it.
I was just thankful my trip to the north had gone well and that mom got a nice celebration for her 80th birthday that she will remember for a long time.
On my way to Olden, I wanted one more hike, just to get some additional vertical meters. I decided to hike Huaren (aka Avleinsåsen), which would give me close to 400 vertical meters. But which side should I hike from? Olden or Loen?
In the end, I went from Loen. The ascent involved too many roads from the Olden side.
I left Karma in the car – knowing that she would definitely not be interested in another hike – and headed up the tractor road.
The majestic Skåla mountain was towering above…
Following the tractor road(s) would be too tedious and time-consuming, and so once I got to 150m elevation, I went off-trail.
The off-trail terrain was overall OK. It wasn’t smooth, but I never screamed in agony.
After 40 minutes, I reached the top…
Despite of the surrounding forest – good views all around.
I took the same route back down and was back with Karma in little over an hour. She was sleeping safe and sound.
Once back home, 4,5 hours after leaving Sogndal, Karma jumped out of the car, super-eager to mark her territory once again. I’m curious how much tomorrow’s surgery – if it happens – will set her back.
Trip statistics: 5,1km, 390 vertical meters, 1h:12m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP/Iphone 13 Pro Max) from the trip:
