Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Gamlemsveten from Gamlem, Oct 20 2007

This route is described as route #2 on the Gamlemsveten main page.


Trip report, Oct 20 2007

What to do...

This was a rainy Saturday, and I didn't quite know what to do and where to go. At lunch, the weather seemed to settle a bit, and I decided to try out a new route on Gamlemsveten. To be fair on this mountain, I should really have visited it on a sunny day, but the two previous epic trips had set the standard. Gamlemsveten should be experienced in rough weather! It's perhaps not correct to call this Saturday's weather rough, but for the 3rd time (out of 3) it felt good to seek shelter behind one of the concrete buildings on top. 

The temperature had been dropping regularly over the last few weeks. It was just a matter of time before the temperature went below zero in the morning hours. So even if it was raining this Saturday morning, I decided to change into spike tires on the car. That was before I checked the weather forecast, promising 10-11 degrees for the upcoming period. Bummer.

To Gamlemsveten

So I felt like a moron driving to Haram on spike tires in 11 degrees celcius. But that's OK. Worse things could happen. And soon, the temperature will drop. For sure. I used the GPS to navigate to the Gamlem trailhead, and was ready to leave the trailhead 14:00PM. My dog Troll joined me on a 50m walk up the forest road before he told me - "you know, I really don't feel like hiking today. At least not upwards"

We have solutions to this kind of problem. It's called a backpack. My only "worry" is that when the dog is gone, I fear I'll turn out like the man with sjumilsstøvlene (Askeladden - Norwegian fairy tale - the man who could jump 70Km once the weights were unlocked from his ancle..)

The hike up the valley was pleasant. The weather was OK (just raining slightly). I realized that I was heading into fog above 700m elevation, but so what? I already knew what the summit looked like. The hike got a bit harder after crossing the creek in Olausdalen. The terrain changed from hard ground to a soft, boggy meadow. But it got gradually better up along the powerline. I decided to visit Hurlaveten now that I was up here, and reached the top of Hurlaveten (733m) 15:10PM. The fog took most of the views.

The wind was getting stronger, but I delayed putting on the jacket until I reached Gamlemsveten 15:26PM. Due to its proximity to the ocean, and the altitude, this IS a rough spot. "Fortunately", there are buildings one can find shelter behind. I let Troll out of the backpack, and we began the descent fairly quickly.

Descent

I decided to descend the mountain road. The plan was to get on a path further down and find paths leading back to Gamlem. Troll displayed unusual manners and ran down the road without checking back on me. I've hardly ever seen that before. Normally, he makes sure about my position or precense, but today, he didn't seem to care.

M u s t  g e t  m y s e l f  o f f  t h i s  e v i l  m o u n t a i n ...

He's been here twice before, and none of the visits were pleasant. On the contrary.

At 400m elevation, I turned right and followed the ridge path towards Elderslia. The map said there would be a path to Dyrskaret - the pass east of Hagefjellet. But I didn't see any fork, and the path led me down to the forest road which in turn connects to the mountain road I was on higher up.

Even from forest road, the map stated there would be another path up to Dyrskaret. I guess there used to be a path, but that must have been before WW2. It was completely overgrown. I followed it for a little while, then stopped by Hagefjellet for additional views.

From Hagefjellet, I followed a vague path eastbound to Dyrskaret, only to lose the path completely. I then went off-trail to Gamlem, and it wasn't a pleasant walk. But by 17:22PM, I was back at the car.

It was nice to see this side of the mountain too. And Gamlemsveten will forever be a mountain I will associate with rough weather. Never will I disrespect this mountain by visiting it on a sunny day.

Pictures from the Oct 20 2007 trip

Slideshow:

Overview

0A. The route (359KB) 0B. Map of the route (351KB)

To Hurlaveten

1. To the trailhead (223KB) 2. The trailhead (314KB) 3. Trail fork along the river (420KB) 4. A view up the valley (426KB) 5. The terrain gets steeper (385KB) 6. Above the forest (423KB) 7. View from Olausdalen (409KB) 8. Hurlaveten ahead (235KB) 9. The Hurlaveten cairn (217KB)

To Gamlemsveten

10. Vetevatnet (284KB) 11. Gamlemsveten summit cairn (256KB) 12. Gamlemsveten tower (174KB)

Descent

13. Kniven ridge on Tverrfjellet (216KB) 14. Troll rushing down the mountain (238KB) 15. Tverrbotshornet (230KB) 16. Søvik and the route ahead (258KB) 17. Wide-angle view from Hagefjellet (931KB) 18. Descending to Gamlem (295KB)

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