Norwegian Mountains - Route Descriptions

Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Høgåsen from Sundgot, Nov 27 2006

For Information, maps, trailhead and route descriptions, click HERE.

My colleague Morten Knutsen lives on Dimna/Dimnøya, and is a frequent user of the nice terrain the island has to offer. I figured it would be appropriate to hire him as a mountain guide for my Høgåsen visit. After approx. 6 months of incompatible calendars, we were finally able to make the trip this Monday afternoon, late November. I had to start early enough to get some pictures from the top, and we met at the Sundgot soccer field 14:30PM.

Morten brought along his dog "Odin", and I brought my "Troll". Odin, still a very young dog, and not fully socialized in terms of other dogs, went "bananas" when he met Troll. The word "bananas" may be a cliche, but still very descriptive for the scene. Odin was a kind dog, and only wanted to play. But it was heavy-weight versus feather-weight, and they had to be kept somewhat apart.

So Morten was leading the way, Odin followed second, going backwards all the way to the top, me in third position, and Troll trailed along, busy with his stuff. We reached the top 15:05PM, and taking pictures was a bit difficult due to lack of daylight. But its amazing what post-processing can do for a picture.

We descended on another route, a bit wet and boggy, and with Odin still in hyperdrive. Troll was still trailing along, focused on crossing mud pits in a graceful manner. Once on the road leading down to the soccer field, Troll took the leading position, and for the first time, Odin had his face turned in our moving direction.

We were back at the trailhead 15:45PM. I thanked Morten for showing me Høgåsen and started to drive towards the ferry in Hareid. Assuming I wouldn't make the 16:00PM ferry (the time was now 15:50PM), I drove up to the Åsen car repair shop and identified the alternative trailhead before continuing to Hareid.

16:03PM, the ferry still hadn't left, but I didn't make it on board. At first, he ferry crew first waved me in, only to stop me 1m in front of the ferry. The ferry was full, and the only available spot didn't fit my car. The gate then closed in front of me. I have often said and written that I missed a ferry by the closest margin possible, but this was probably all-time high.