Kalvedalsegga, Aug 27 2025

Going airy with zero “intel”

Index

27.08.25

Kalvedalsegga

1234m

50m

Ørsta, Norway

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MAP

Wednesday: I don’t know how many years I’ve been wanting to do Kalvedalsegga. I’ve been admiring this ridge both from Hellefjellet and from Heimste Kopphornet. One thing was clear; I couldn’t bring Karma up there. But now that Karma is no longer with us, new possibilities open up.

Another reason for not prioritizing this top, was its low prominence. With only 50m prominence, there were so many other mountains I wanted to do first.

The 3rd reason for not prioritizing Kalvedalsegga, was that I had absolutely no information about how easy or difficult the ridge would be. But today, I would find out!

After work, I drove to Ørsta and Standaleidet to give Kalvedalsegga a go. The weather wasn’t gorgeous now. I was actually fearing it would start to rain. Moreover, I didn’t really think I would stand a chance on this ridge. It looked really steep and rugged. I’m not in my prime scrambling form anymore, and besides – I was alone. Reaching the top would be a huge, unexpected bonus.

I headed out from a trailhead I know from previous hikes – Øyamyrane. I hiked Heimste Kopphornet together with Karma from here, back in July 2018.

The route up to the lake (Kalvedalsvatnet) was a transport leg. I was listening to a podcast and just plodded on.

When I got Kalvedalsegga in view, it didn’t look too bad. It was surely steep, but not too bad. The only “problem” was that I didn’t see the top from my position, but I didn’t know that.

I didn’t get on the ridge directly but took a shortcut up to the high ridge.

Blåtindane (the name is not on the maps) presented themselves as an everlasting reminder that I have to visit them too. At least, give it a try…

But today, my focus was Kalvedalsegga. The mountain looked steeper than I cared for, and definitely steeper than presented through a 24mm lens.

I was still listening to the podcast but started to realize that I wasn’t truly listening.

Now, the first part (I had now realized that I still didn’t see the top) of the ridge was in clear view. It still looked steep.

It was slightly comforting to see that the south face wasn’t vertical. There could be bypass opportunities there…

I turned off the podcast and put my earphones in the backpack. I felt a need to be present in the moment.

The ridge wasn’t bad. There were one steep cliff, which I could easily bypass on the south side. The path was also quite visible. So far, I felt OK. Not calm, but OK.

But when I got the final part of the ridge, my heart skipped a beat or two. There were some humps on that ridge that I didn’t particularly wanted to take on, all by myself.

The north face didn’t look too bad though. There would surely be opportunities there, and so I left the ridge, aiming for a grassy gully leading straight up to the top.

That was a good choice (for me). The route was quite easy, but I made well sure to remember details. I know it could easily get difficult to find the route, going down. I put up some rocks here and there. From experience, I know that they would be good for the morale, coming down.

The route was easy enough, but I had to be very careful. Eventually, I got back on the ridge and had one final scramble ahead of me. The Ørsta ridges are quite rotten, so I knew I would have to be extremely careful. I chose an exposed, but very easy scrambling route that took me to the top.

Oh yeah! Big bonus! I hadn’t expected to stand on top today.

I noticed I was shaking a little. Not from fear, but from sheer focus and excitement throughout the scramble. It wasn’t easy to keep the camera steady.

The ridge towards Hellefjellet looked completely “adorable”, but I wanted to get back home before the Selvåg tunnel closed (8pm) and I would have to wait for a convoy. Besides, I had already been to Hellefjellet.

Blåtindane – well, hopefully – some day…

I then returned to the cairn and my rucksack…

…and began my journey down.

I remembered surprisingly much from the bypass route, but the rocks I had put up helped a lot. I moved very carefully, but confident down the north side, until it was time to get back up on the ridge.

I was much more confident now and scrambled sections that I had bypassed on my way up. Heck, I think I could even have scrambled the nasty hump near the top by now.

When I passed the last section that required some focus, I was just happy. I jogged and hiked down the mountain and was ready to wait as long as it took, for the convoy through the tunnel.

To my surprise, the time was only 6:49pm when I got back the car. I would pass through the tunnel long before it closed.

All in all, such a great day! But my knees were a bit sore. I had done 4240 vertical meters in the past 4 days. That’s a lot for an old guy with meniscus problems…

Maybe I will ask Anne to come with me up this mountain. I’m eager to try the true ridge route to the top…

Trip statistics: 7,7km, 1005 vertical meters, 3h:11m