Back on Sandsøya!
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 07.03.26 | Rinden | 369m | 369m | Sande, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 07.03.26 | Øyna | 359m | 51m | Sande, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 07.03.26 | Dollsteinen | 227m | 109m | Sande, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 07.03.26 | Hellandsfjella | 122m | 94m | Sande, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 07.03.26 | Hornet | 250m | 232m | Sande, Norway | WCP | MAP |
Saturday: On Friday evening, we decided to do a hike across the Sandsøya tops. Anne and I did this hike back in 2010. Since then, Karma and I have done the hike in 2018, 2021 and 2024. As 16 years had passed, it was time to revisit this nice route together with Anne again. For the record – Anne and I visited Dollsteinen again in 2017.
We took the 9:40am ferry from Larsnes and were ready to hike from Sandshamn 10:18am.
The weather was OK. Overcast and hardly any wind.
We decided to begin with the highest top on the island – Rinden (369m) – a route I know quite well by now.
It got windier the higher we got and I had to put on the wind jacket long before we reached the top.
Anne was still getting by with just the sweater on…
Shortly after, we could tick off the first top.
We had a good view towards Riste. I have been so lucky to stand on top of this island, and it would be nice to get Anne up there one day too.
We continued towards Øyna (359m).
From Øyna, we were looking down Hellandsfjella and Hornet – which we would be hiking across after having visited Dollsteinen.
Dollsteinen would clearly be the highlight of this hike. It’s an awesome looking top!
It looks steep, but it’s not that steep. After all, Karma had been up there 4 times!
It was nice to be back with Anne, but strange to be here without Karma.
The route is straightforward, but there is a short pitch near the top of the ridge where stumbling should be avoided – at all costs.
And then we were on top of Dollsteinen.
The signpost says 228m, I had 227m in my “database” but the top now only seems to be 226.2m.
10,3km to the northwest is the top on Svinøya island. I’ve been so lucky to have been there as well.
3 tops were now in the bag. Our next stop would be Hellandsfjella. But first, we would enjoy the descent from Dollsteinen.
I wanted some new GPS tracks, and we took a different route than I’ve done in the past.
After visiting the high point (122m), we went over to the northeast top (119m), where we met two other hikers. They said there were happy to meet us, as they very seldom meet other hikers here.
This route is also known as “Syvtoppsturen” (seven tops hike) and we discussed the numbering system. We assumed that Kulen and Vorakletten was #1 and #2, Rinden #3, Øyna #4, (Dollsteinen is not part of “Syvtoppsturen”) Hellandsfjella NE top #5, Grøntua and Hornet #6 and #7.
The time was now 1:16pm. We wanted to catch the 3:15pm ferry from Voksa, which meant that we had a 2-hour window to get off Hellandsfjella, hike across Grøntua and Hornet, return to the car and drive to the ferry harbor. That sounded indeed doable.
Although there was enough time, Anne turned up the pace.
She also kept a good pace up to Grøntua (242m).
I don’t know why Grøntua is defined as a top. It’s just a small hump with a prominence of 13 meters.
2pm sharp, we reached the top of Hornet (250m). We were now ahead of schedule, then Anne started talking about taking a bath in the fjord…
I spent a few seconds taking a picture of Gjøna, as I’m quite keen on finding out if it’s possible to get up from Gjøneset. I’ve actually never tried. One day I will…
I could see my car from the top. I was sort of looking forward to getting there, although I could have done the two smaller tops also, if: a) Anne was willing and b) we had more time before the ferry left.
We followed a path down the southeast ridge that I couldn’t remember. And sure enough – I’ve never hiked there before. New GPS tracks for my map! Big bonus!
The hike was coming to its end. It’s always nice to hike on Sandsøya when spring is arriving. Technically, we could get more snow, but I think the winter season on the coastline is behind us now.
We passed a “Gapahuk” (lean-to shelter) in the making. One day I may try to count the number of Gapahuks on Ytre Søre Sunnmøre. There are quite a few!
As for Anne’s bath, we agreed to drive to Voksa and she could take her bath there. You never know with these ferries. All of a sudden, there is a football (soccer) cup somewhere and the ferry is full.
Trip statistics: 12,5km, 990 vertical meters, 4h:16m
