Norwegian Mountains, Sogn og Fjordane

Vorfjellet (1209m) round trip, Feb 13 2010


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Vorfjellet seen from Engjadalen

Vorfjellet seen from Engjadalen
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Anne Rudsengen and I were on our way from Sogndal to ski Fivlenosi (1465m) from Vigdalen, but to be honest - morale was not sky high. The large amount of powder snow simply could not be ignored. Any ski-trip today would involve significant labour. Just before we arrived at Gaupne, we agreed to drive up Engjadalen instead. Vorfjellet (a mountain we knew absolutely nothing about) seemed like an interesting candidate. The vertical meters up to the top (760m) meant that this would not be an easy day in the mountains, but at least it was less than the 900m+ that Fivlenosi demanded. Besides, Fivlenosi would be a longer trip.

It was a gorgeous day, and it was a "shame" not to spend it on a higher mountain. But the choice had been made, and we now focused our energy towards Vorfjellet. After driving up the Engjadalsvegen road and locating the parking area, we were on our way up the mountain 11am. We agreed to head for the south ridge, but after just 5 minutes of skiing, I had my doubts. Skiing was strenuous, to say it mildly...

 

Hard work ahead

Hard work ahead
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A bit higher up in the forest, we were overtaken by a skier and his two dogs. Normally, I hate being overtaken, but today it was a big blessing. This skier knew where the old track (now covered by snow) went, thus skiing was significantly easier for him. To us, the new tracks meant everything, and now we could just enjoy the skiing and the day. And if one only could have the strength of a dog...

 

10 heavenly seconds and then back to reality...

10 heavenly seconds and then back to reality...
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The passing skier suggested a different descent route into Engjadalen, which sounded nice. But first, we would enjoy his tracks up the mountain, ourselves, the day and then the summit. Hurrungane appeared in the east, and to the west/northwest, the Jostedalen mountains rose proud above the valley. And beyond - distinct landmarks on the Jostedalsbreen glacier. What a day!

 

Hurrungane

Hurrungane
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After an easy trip up the mountain, we arrived on Vorfjellet summit 1:35pm. It was a bit chilly, but warm drinks and a nice lunch made us quickly forget about the temperature. A group of skiers arrived at the trigonometric point 300m to the west, and didn't seem to care about the summit point. Perhaps because of our presence?

We agreed to follow the skier's suggestion - a descent directly to Navarsete via Heggedalen, but we misunderstood and followed his tracks in the direction of Heggedalsvatnet. But it soon became apparent that he was on his way to Grånosi (across Heggedalsvatnet), and we sat our course directly towards Heggedalen. At the Grånosi - Vorfjellet pass, we had steep terrain between us and Heggedalen cabins, and had to pick a route that would not get us into trouble. Because of the sunshine, the snow could not be fully trusted.

After getting past the section where we could set off small avalanches, we looked forward to pick up the pace and enjoy the "ride" down to Heggedalen. But the snow was too deep for my taste, and the whole descent (for my part) involved futile attempts to float smoothly on top of the soft snow.

 

Deep snow skiing

Deep snow skiing
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Approaching Navarsete, we noticed the other group of skiers up to our right, on their way down from Vorfjellet. From Navarsete, the road was ploughed (snowmobile?) and we enjoyed a fast descent the remaining 2km back to the trailhead. 3pm, the round trip was over and a beautiful day in the Luster mountains had come to an end. I sure look forward to come back to this region...

Pictures

The pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 450D + Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS USM F 4-5.6

 
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To Vorfjellet

0A. Trip tracks 0B. GPS profile 1. Engjadalen trailhead 2. Vorfjellet ahead 3. Omigod... 4. Slaves to old tracks 5. Overtaken by a man and his two dogs 6. Envying the strengths... 7. The ridge comes into view 8. Jargolnipa 9. Up Jargolnipa 10. Asbjørnnosi 11. Hest and Såta 12. A fine, fine day 13. Lodalskåpa in the distance 14. Hello... 15. Hurrungane peaks 16. On Slettafjellet 17. Lower Jostedalen 18. Vorfjellet and Grånosi 19. Hurrungane peaks 20. Vorfjellet ahead 21. Anne on Slettafjellet 22. Grånosi 23. Hest and Såta 24. On top of Vorfjellet

Wide-angle view from Vorfjellet

25. Wide-angle view from Vorfjellet

Zoom views from Vorfjellet

26. Zoom view from Vorfjellet 27. Zoom view from Vorfjellet

Other pics from Vorfjellet

28. Vassdalsfjellet seen from Vorfjellet 29. Grånosi seen from Vorfjellet 30. Vangsen (Vongsen) seen from Vorfjellet 31. Spørteggbreen 32. Asbjørnnosi 33. Molden

Descent

34. Heggedalen 35. Descending Vorfjellet 36. Descending Vorfjellet 37. Varying skiing conditions 38. Oopps... 39. Anne trying to stay afloat 40. Nasty terrain 41. Not easy keeping a good pace here 42. Above Heggedalen 43. Heggedalen 44. Skiers down a different route 45. Navarsete 46. Navarsete 47. Navarsete 48. Gaupne 49. Gaupne 50. Engjadalen road from Gaupne

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