The snow – raining and melting away
Index
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 24.11.25 | Rjåhornet | 600m | 107m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 25.11.25 | Røddalshorn | 563m | 103m | Sande, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 26.11.25 | Haddalshornet | 611m | 103m | Ulstein, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 27.11.25 | Laupsnipa | 562m | 380m | Herøy/Sande, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 28.11.25 | Djupvikhaugen | 98m | 29m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | – | MAP |
| 29.11.25 | Djupvikhaugen | 98m | 29m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | – | MAP |
| 30.11.25 | Rjåhornet | 421m | 68m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 30.11.25 | Storevarden | 430m | 430m | Herøy, M&R, Norway | WCP | MAP |
Rjåhornet (600m), Nov 24 2025
Monday: I didn’t get off work until close to 4:30pm and it was already getting dark. I decided to drive to Leikong and hike Rjåhornet from sea level. I was expecting a snow struggle but hoped for the best.
There were tracks up the forest, but not above it. It was OK though, as I could hike on naked rock and hard snow here and there. I was able to maintain a decent progress up the mountain.
Halfway up, I had to turn on the headlamp. At this point, I couldn’t see the ground clearly. I was listening to podcasts and music and had a great time.
It was a little bit cold and windy on top. My photography wasn’t much of a success. Almost all the pictures were useless as the wind was affecting the camera.
All in all, a very nice hike and a good start to the week!
Trip statistics: 6,6km, 610 vertical meters, 1h:55m
Røddalshorn (563m), Nov 25 2025
Tuesday: After work, I didn’t know what I wanted to do – hike or go skiing. I drove a bit around, but as daylight was fading quickly, I decided to go to Røddalshorn on a ski-trip. I expected that the icy crust would be terrible, but I just had to make a decision.
I took a different route than I normally do, and the snow wasn’t totally terrible. There was 1mm of softer on snow on top of the hard surface that could allow for some nice skiing.
I enjoy taking pictures and learning from my mistakes. Taking a picture of myself skiing with a few seconds exposure time, is hopeless by definition. And I didn’t really learn anything new. I just hoped that the exposure time would be less than it actually was.
It was nice to reach the top. There was a nice, crescent moon and I enjoyed myself.
It was turning dark and I switched my headlamp on, ready for the descent.
The snow on the upper mountain was bulletproof. I considered stopping for a count of teeth. But down in the valley, skiing was just gorgeous, and I was super-happy.
Closer to the trailhead, the snow was rock hard, and I was just skiing all over the place to avoid having to make sharp turns.
But all in all, it was a much nicer trip than I had anticipated!
Trip statistics: 4,8km, 400 vertical meters, 1h:08m
Haddalshornet (611m), Nov 26 2025
Wednesday: The last day before another round of days with snow and rain. I decided to hike Haddalshornet from Havåg, on the same path where I hiked Blåtind on Sunday. After two persons going up and down, and one of them with snowshoes – the path was easy to follow, even with a lot of snow.
It was windy. It felt like a storm coming up. I understood that taking pictures with long exposure time would be a challenge.
Above the forest, I decided to leave the path. It was just too easy. The snow partly carried my weight and partly gave way under me. I would never know what the next step would bring.
The wind was stronger the higher I got. It was really windy. After several attempts I was able to take a picture, in the lee side of the summit cairn, that didn’t end up as a total disaster.
I enjoyed podcasts throughout the hike. The universe of Lars Monsen – Norway’s most legendary outdoorsman (not comparing him to Norwegian explorers like Amundsen and Nansen or heroes from the WWII). Lars has spent much of his life crossing remote wilderness on foot, skis and canoe. In his podcasts, he has interesting guests.
The first guest was Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson. You’ll never see the forest the same way after listening to her. I love listening to her.
The second guest was a participant in the documetary “Ingen grenser” (“No limits”). This is a person who has faced more struggles in life than most people, and his motto is “never give up”. You’ll get a new perspective of a bad day after listening to this interview…
I was happy with 4 days straight with relatively OK weather. I got my dose of 600m tops and now the rain can come. It’s November…
Trip statistics: 6km, 620 vertical meters, 1h:58m
Laupsnipa (562m), Nov 27 2025
Thursday: After nice weather all day long, it changed for the worse when I logged off from work. I decided to hike Laupsnipa from Voldsund and it wasn’t raining when I got to the trailhead. It wasn’t totally dark yet either, but I couldn’t see the upper mountain due to fog. Oh well, I know what the mountain looks like.
When I got to the first hump at 294m, I could see the upper mountain. That was nice. The combination of darkness, fog and headlamp isn’t the best.
The snow was soft but there wasn’t a whole lot of it. I regretted not skiing down here after the first snowfall. Skiing along the steep drop down to the fjord is just magical.
I continued to listen to the Lars Monsens univers podcast. Again, very interesting and I would be a wiser man, coming down the mountain. I just love this new addition to my hiking. With the ever-present wind, there isn’t any point in listening to the nature. Might as well learn something new instead.
I reached the 558m cairn, but the unmarked 562m high point was still 100m further west. So I had to go there also.
Then it started to rain. I didn’t pay any attention to it. I was just happy to be here.
This was my 76th visit to the top. Don’t worry, I don’t keep count. But as I log all my hikes on Peakbook.org, the stats are easy to retrieve. More interesting was that I was now less than 200 vertical meters short of 200,000. So far, that’s almost 600 vertical meters per day, 100 more than my goal was when the year started.
It’s not something to brag about. Others do way more, but probably not so many of them have a normal job where the percentage of work is well above 100. That goal is only there so I can get out of my comfortable house, in all sorts of weather.
Trip statistics: 4,8km, 550 vertical meters, 1h:49m
Djupvikhaugen (98m), Nov 28 2025
Friday: No hiking today, as I had promised to help the trail committee bringing parts of the Christmas Tree up to Djupvikhaugen. The weather was miserable anyway, and we were attending a Smalahovud dinner at 7pm.
Anne came shortly after I got back home.
Unfortunately, not all of the regular bunch could attend the Smalahovud dinner due to illness, but the ones that made it there had a very nice evening together.
Trip statistics: 1,2km, 60 vertical meters, 0h:22m
Djupvikhaugen (98m), Nov 29 2025
Saturday: I had too much to drink on the Smalahovud dinner. The Aquavit complemented the salty sheep’s head perfectly and was hard to resist.
I had a bad night, a bad morning, but after breakfast, we took the trip to Ulsteinvik for errands. I wanted a new bed and ordered a nice-looking bed, which would cost me NOK 23,000. I guess that’s somewhere between mid-range and high-end when it comes to beds. If that bed could earn me an extra hour of sleep, it would be worth it. I don’t sleep well in general…
When we got back home, we did a hike to Djupvikhaugen to see how the Christmas tree that Jonny and the others assembled yesterday evening, looked. It was nice.
The weather was miserable (hail showers) and if I had insisted on hiking via Huldrehornet, I know Anne would have come along, but I didn’t. On this hike, on day 333 in 2025, I reached my goal of 200,000 vertical meters. That’s 600 vertical meters per day. I can’t say that it has costed me too much, but any goal above that, would have required more effort than I would have been willing to put in.
If I could just dodge illness, then I was always confident the goal was within reach, but I hadn’t expected to reach it before November had come to an end.
Trip statistics: 4,6km, 110 vertical meters, 1h:06m
Rjåhornet (421m), Storevarden (430m), Nov 30 2025
Sunday: The last day of November was spent by hiking across Rjåhornet and Storevarden on Nerlandsøya with Anne. It was fun to drive across the new bridge, which opened this autumn.
As Anne hadn’t hiked the Koparstad route before, that’s where we headed out from. I planned to something similar as when Karma and I hiked from here in May.
Then we ran into goats. They acted like they hadn’t seen humans in decades and wanted to come along. I didn’t want them to follow us the slippery and icy creek and took a route that was outside their no fence zone and rejoined Anne further up in the forest.
Anne told me she liked this route. I believe that now she has followed all paths leading up this mountain.
As we approached the top, the wind was picking up.
And then we were up.
The familiar view towards Skorpa island is always a nice one.
We didn’t stay for long and sat course for Storevarden.
It was nice to get a break from the winter. This felt like an early October day.
And then we reached Storevarden.
We discussed how we should get back to the trailhead. I proposed that we took the same route as Karma and I did in May. First, via Hestinghornet (288m).
Then we descended the path I discovered back in May.
It was a beautiful sky when we returned to the car, but the best was yet to come.
Instead of taking the shortest route back home, we drove around the island, and I looked forward to stopping at Hidsneset.
There was a red glow beyond Nerlandsøya…
…but nothing compared to the glow down south.
It was just completely breathtaking.
What a good idea it was to take the long way home…
Trip statistics: 8,2km, 550 vertical meters, 2h:46m
Fine bilde!