Adrenaline was high!
| Date | Peak | Height | PF | Location | WCP/FP | MAP |
| 18.07.26 | Stokkehornet | 922m | 46m | Ørsta, Norway | WCP | MAP |
| 18.07.26 | Blåtinden | 1210m | 640m | Ørsta, Norway | WCP | MAP |
Saturday: I had to work from 8am to noon (monthly maintenance) but once everything was under control, I drove to Bondalen to finally check out the ridge between Stokkehornet and Blåtinden.
I had previously attempted (albeit not wholeheartedly) this route back in 2012 but turned around due to snow. It’s been on my mind ever since.
I drove to Valset to ask for permission to leave my bicycle there, in case I was able to do the traverse. It was no longer the same folks who granted me parking back in 2023, on a failed attempt to reach Blåtinden via an unusual route. In any case, I was welcome to leave my bike there and the young woman asked me to give her a report about the route when I got back.
Then I drove up Frølandsdalen (toll road, NOK 20, – per July 2026) and had to battle with cows to get to the upper parking. Well, it’s not exactly parking. It’s the end of the road and cars must be able to turn there. But it works OK if you park in the outskirts.
It wasn’t as hot as the past days, but it was still a warm day. The wind was quite strong though. Especially in the gusts.
The route to Stokkehornet is a 600 vertical meter ascent and I assumed I would get tired, especially since I had already done 4000+ vertical meters this week – directly after a super-intense hiking holiday.
But the hike went surprisingly easy.
I didn’t remember much from the 2012 hike. I hadn’t even read my own trip report, so at this point, I didn’t remember why I turned around – on the hike towards Blåtinden.
So far, I enjoyed myself. There was no pressure. If I couldn’t make it to Blåtinden, I could return the way I came.
When I reached Stokkehornet, my feet weren’t tired at all.
I only stopped for a couple of pictures before moving on.
I hadn’t read my own trip report, but I had looked at my 2012 tracks, and they told me that I turned around at 1060m. I had a feeling it was because of snow, but I wasn’t sure. I was curious to see if I could remember the spot where I turned around.
I was so focused on the ridge route that I didn’t notice that there were other alternatives further left…
I noticed a cabin and went over to it. I was sure I hadn’t noticed this back in 2012, but it turned out that I had.
Then I continued upwards.
Earlier in the week, I had sent a PM to a farmer who knows his way around in the Ørsta mountains. He assured me that there was nothing difficult about this route. Looking at the upper part, I had my doubts but tried to keep an open mind.
I could zoom in with my camera, but the screen was too small to tell me anything useful.
So, I didn’t see the apparent gully route left of the snow. I should have seen it, but I was probably too focused on the ridge route.
So far, the ridge route from Stokkehornet was trivial.
I was now on my way up to point 1053, which I was pretty sure was near where I turned around in 2012.
I also had Veirahaldet in view now and was curious if it was possible to ascend that mountain from this side. Not sure. The top section looks steep.
The route towards point 1089m looked super-easy, but anything after that, didn’t.
Point 1128.5 looked ugly. I could always get up, but not knowing what was ahead, I also had to be sure I could come back down. This hump had big rocks with few handholds. I didn’t like it and I didn’t want to climb it.
Fortunately, the terrain to my left wasn’t steep at all, so I could actually bypass this hump. But getting back onto the crest offered a problem. The ascent was easy enough, but not the potential retreat. I didn’t find handholds that could make me comfortable.
I spent a bit of time here before I noticed a grassy route where the grass functioned as handholds. Not my favorite terrain and I was not happy. But it was doable. And then I was on the crest with the final challenge ahead of me.
The mid-section was super-exposed, and I didn’t really want to climb this thing – all by myself. But I didn’t fancy turning around either. I didn’t want to use that grass as handholds, on my way back…
Above me, I could see good handholds. That are – those left on the mountain and not the ones you hold in your hand. And the scrambling section looked familiar to things I’ve done before. I was actually OK with this terrain.
The scrambling section was easy enough, but of course I was high on adrenaline. I had only one job, and that was to come home alive.
When I realized that this would work, I was super-relieved and just scrambled up without figuring out how I could downclimb it.
Looking back down on 1128.5, it seemed that getting up was one thing, but getting across might be harder.
But that was no longer any worry or concern. I was up and I was safe.
Now I just had to get up to the top of Blåtinden, to enjoy a muffin and a banana.
2h:04m after leaving the car, I was on top of Blåtinden.
After enjoying my food, I moved on. I was not worried about the descent although I didn’t know exactly where to go. I didn’t remember my 2009 hike and the ski-trip route from 2017 was also a bit blurry.
I decided to aim for Veirahaldet and let the terrain guide me.
The descent was no fun at all.
But finally, I was down in the Trollbotnen basin.
Now it was just a matter of finding the path that would take me back to Valset. I struggled a bit in the forest, but eventually I found it.
Back at the bike, I had a nice chat with the new owner – a young woman who (together with her husband) had bought this smallholding without seeing it first. She looked forward to getting to know the Ørsta mountains, when time would allow for it. I said she could follow my blog, to perhaps get inspiration on certain routes.
She had also worked with goats at Anestølen (Sogndal) and she might have been the one trying to move a group of 150 goats up the mountain just as I was coming down from Oksli i 2021. I was in panic. I did NOT want 150 goats to follow me back down. And so, I went into hiding (only partial successful) but that is a different story.
Finally – a 6,7km bike trip to get back to my car. The 3,5km downhill with strong headwind was no fun at all. And then I had 200 vertical meters to do.
Back home, I sent a PM to the farmer, saying that I found his description lacking detail about the exposed sections. He had basically forgotten about the details and apologized. No need, as I got a fantastic trip!
Trip statistics: 8,4km on foot, 6,7km on bike, 1215 vertical meters, 4h:26m
