And then came winter…
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 17.11.25 | Eikenakken | 123m | 123m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 18.11.25 | Øyrahornet | 417m | 42m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 18.11.25 | Skåla | 184m | 86m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | MAP | |
| 19.11.25 | Røddalshorn | 563m | 103m | Sande, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 20.11.25 | Røddalshorn | 563m | 103m | Sande, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 21.11.25 | Huldrehornet | 271m | 113m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 23.11.25 | Blåtind | 697m | 697m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP | MAP |
Eikenakken (123m), Nov 17 2025
Monday: King winter had sent its elves (hail showers) to prepare us for 5-6 months of snow. The snowfall was yet to arrive, but the hail had left a layer that could resemble snow.
It was Anne’s birthday and after we finished work, we decided to do repeat our last hike on Eika island.
Anne was a bit cold and kept an unusual pace to get warm.
Eventually, it was time to hit the forest.
The first top would be Nakken (89m).
Then we sat course for Grønnakken (103m).
We both enjoy this forest route. With snow on the ground, we hoped the tick danger would decrease from 10 to at least 9…
Eventually, Eikenakken (123m) – the main goal – was ahead of us.
On top of Eikenakken, Anne demonstrated the yoga she had been practising on Gran Canaria for the past week.
We continued to the road end at Eika before turning back. We had a dinner reservation in Ulsteinvik to get to in time.
Dinner at Snorrebuda (my treat) was slightly disappointing. The restaurant was cold, and I decided to keep my dove jacket on. An observant waiter would – if nothing could be done with the temperature – at least asked if we wanted a candlelight or something.
The food was alright, but they didn’t serve alcohol. Okay??? Anne had been looking forward to a glass of red wine to her steak. I ordered a Clausthaler, and I guess they expected me to enjoy it in a water glass. I didn’t bother to complain. Anne was not too happy about the alcohol-free red wine (it tasted like – nothing) and ordered a Clausthaler too. But she asked for a proper glass and got one.
To their credit, Anne got a warm apple pie with ice and cream for free, as it was her birthday.
Trip statistics: 7,5km, 360 vertical meters, 1h:57m
Øyrahornet (417m), Skåla (184m), Nov 18 2025
Tuesday: After work, I asked Anne if she was up for a hike. She was, and I proposed that we could hike up Øyrahornet – a hike we both enjoy. Ever since we skied this mountain on Christmas Eve back in 2010…
The weather was not so great today…
No complaints though. It’s always nice to be out hiking!
I just hoped there wouldn’t be thick fog up there…
We had a nice hike up the mountain…
Eventually, we reached the bench, and it was time for the classic panorama.
It’s nice to have a partner in life…
When we reached the top, I asked Anne if she was up for a round-trip hike. She was, and we sat course for Øyraelva river.
Anne was determined to not use her headlamp, but I needed to use mine in order to follow the path along the river. Eventually, we had to cross it. I was ready with my camera in case Anne fell into the river. That would have been a memory…
The hike across Øyrahornet had earned me 400 vertical meters, and as I wanted 500, I asked Anne if she was up to hiking across Skåla. She was.
I really enjoyed this hike.
Then we reached the top of Skåla. Rather than hiking back to Sandvikskaret, we agreed to follow an unmarked route down to Tjørvåg. That went OK for the most part, but we ended up in some cumbersome terrain. But in not too long, we were down by the main road and could return to the car.
Trip statistics: 7,7km, 570 vertical meters, 2h:25m
Røddalshorn (563m), Nov 19 2025
Wednesday: Winter came during the night, and I wasn’t prepared. I had an 8am appointment at the car shop in Ørsta – to fix the LED lights – and as I got up 7am, I didn’t have time to clear the driveway from snow. But, having a 4WD, breaking out wasn’t a problem.
On my way home, 2 hours later, I felt weak. A bit sick, actually. Had Anne brought some kind of nastiness home from the Canary Islands? I got home just before Anne left for Sogndal. I worked for an hour but then I had to go to bed and rest for an hour.
I was able to work until 3pm, but then I was a wreck. I really looked forward to hitting the bed, but then I thought to myself – how many Randonnée days per year do we have on this island? The answer is less than 5 and I couldn’t miss out on the first one in the 2025-26 season.
So, I decided to go to Røddalshorn for a ski-trip.
The light was bad, the snow was OK but there was no sole. Fortunately, enough snow had fallen to turn this into an OK ski-trip.
As long as I paid attention to the terrain, when coming down the mountain…
There was fog on the mountain, which was a real bummer. I had to use the GPS to make sure I arrived on top without any detours.
From the top, there wasn’t much to see…
I got ready for the descent. If this had been 1 hour earlier, I couldn’t have skied down – as I would not have been seeing anything. Not even my own tracks.
But now it was turning dark, and the headlamp would be very, very useful.
Now I could follow my tracks, and the descent wasn’t half bad, albeit slow.
Trip statistics: 4,4km, 400 vertical meters, 1h:12m
Røddalshorn (563m), Nov 20 2025
Thursday: More snow came during the night and there was no doubt about where I would be going after work – Røddalshorn. I was still not feeling too well, but only a high fever would stand in my way.
There are other mountains I could ski, but this is where skiers are going after snowfall. As such, I could be hoping for fresh tracks to follow. I didn’t expect that my tracks from the day before would be visible.
There was one fresh track that I followed upwards. To my despair, I saw that there was fog on the mountain today as well. Oh well. Better adjust the mindset and be happy about the fact that I’m able to do this.
As I was going up the second half of the route, the light changed. Could it be that I would get above the fog? Yes! Man, I was happy!
I so much looked forward to the descent. The snow was super-nice!
I didn’t rush anything. I knew that darkness was just around the corner and that the descent would be better with my headlamp on.
When it was properly dark, I got ready for the descent.
It was one of the best trips I’ve had down this mountain. Just too bad that it only took 7 minutes to get down. It should have been even faster, but I had to stop a couple of times as my legs are not yet accustomed to this type of skiing.
Trip statistics: 4,2km, 400 vertical meters, 1h:04m
Huldrehornet (271m), Nov 21 2025
Friday: I was still not feeling too well and now that it had begun to rain, I decided to do an afternoon hike up and down Huldrehornet. Too my surprise, there were tracks.
Since I moved out here in 2008, I’ve hardly seen tracks up this forest (other than mine) in winter. But more and more people are moving to the Myrvåg/Dragsund area, so chances are increasing – I suppose.
The mountain was like it always is after snowfall. Not too much in the lower forest, a lot of snow in the upper forest and a mix of nothing and a lot along the summit ridge – very exposed to winds.
This is a short and nice hike. A good alternative when I don’t really feel like hiking.
Just below the top was a giant cornice. I decided to have some fun and tried to get through it. That took 5 minutes! I literally had to dismantle the cornice in order to move forward.
It was nice to get up, and even nicer to head back home and “enjoy” the Friday evening with some unexpected problems at work.
Trip statistics: 3,3km, 255 vertical meters, 1h:07m
Blåtind (697m), Nov 23 2025
Sunday: I skipped hiking on Saturday. I drove to Haddal to hike Haddalshornet or Garnestua but couldn’t find a place to park the car – because of all the snow. While I was looking, the heavens opened. It was pouring down, and I drove back home to continue my weekend working session – at work.
On Sunday, the weather was better. I worked for a few hours in the morning and then I decided to hike Blåtind, from Havåg. This is not a skiing route, but I had hoped that with all the rain for the past days, the snow would be compact.
To my surprise and delight, there were tracks along the path from Havåg. I guessed that it was Jostein Eiken who had done the good deed of setting the track. When I got halfway up the forest, the snow was much deeper, and Jostein had brought snowshoes. Smart man.
It was OK to follow the path where the water was draining, but where there was no water, there was a whole lot of deep snow. Without Jostein’s track, I would not have reached any top today.
I hadn’t really noticed that I was hiking in fog, until I got above it. Or maybe it’s called mist. Not sure.
It was so nice to see blue sky and light again. I could literally feel the battery being recharged.
I was hoping to meet Jostein. In theory, he could have gone down the Eiksund route. Time would tell.
I met Jostein a bit higher up, and we had a nice talk. We meet every now and then in the mountains surrounding Haddal. I thanked him for the tracks, from the bottom of my heart.
The hike to Blåtind felt extra long today, but eventually, I could see the summit cairn.
And then I was up!
The light was SO nice!
The fog was also nice, now that I was looking down on it…
Daylight was fading quickly, so I didn’t stay long.
Every now and then, I had to stop and take the camera out of the backpack. It would normally be in my hand, but today I had brought poles.
When I got to the point where I met Jostein, the track got twice as good.
I could live for days on this hike alone. And I knew this nice weather wouldn’t last long.
When I got back home, I allowed myself an hour of rest before continuing with my work. I logged 13 hours of work and was happy about meeting my goal.
Trip statistics: 8,1km, 700 vertical meters, 2h:40m
