Norwegian Mountains, Sogn og Fjordane

Vetla Supphellenipa (840m) and Kvannholtenipa (1640m), Oct 12 2013


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The route, as seen in Google Earth

The route, as seen in Google Earth
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For being October, this weekend was completely out of the ordinary - T-shirt weather on the highest peaks in Norway! After considering a number of options, we ended up with Kvannholtenipa and Vetla Supphellenipa as the main goals for this Saturday.

We headed out from Supphelledalen at 10:50am on this spectacular Saturday, and I SO looked forward to the hike. The path up Tverrdalen was easy to follow and the Nepalese Sherpas had done wonders to various rough sections - a project that Anne had supervised - being the Jostedalsbreen Park Ranger. It had been a while since I was on the Jostedalsbreen glacier and even if we wouldn't be on the main glacier today, I was confident it would feel just as if we were.

 

At the National Park border

At the National Park border
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In the pass below Vetla Supphellenipa, we caught up with one of Anne's co-workers at the Glacier Museum in Fjærland, and a group of his friends. They were also heading from Kvannholtenipa. After a small chat, Anne, Karma and me proceeded (on a very vague path) up to Vetla Supphellenipa and reached the summit point at 12:20pm. The view towards the lower Supphellebreen glacier was just magnificent...

 

 

Supphellebreen view

Supphellebreen view
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We still had a long way to go and moved on. It didn't take long before we pass the group again. We passed the amazing Supphellebreen glacier and followed a distinct moraine in the direction of Flatbrehytta. But we were not to stop by the hut during ascent and followed a vague path up the valley leading to Flatbreen glacier.

 

Passing Supphellebreen

Passing Supphellebreen
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Halfway up the valley, we decided to leave the path and go off-trail in the direction of Kvannholtenipa. It was clear that the terrain would get steeper the closer we got to Flatbreen, so there was no reason to delay the ascent any further.

We found a good route upwards. We aimed for the ridge crest and crossed a few snow fields along the way. The sun was shining, we were smiling from ear to ear and Karma was the happiest dog on the planet...

 

On our way to Kvannholtenipa

On our way to Kvannholtenipa
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On the Kvannholtenipa summit plateau, the beautiful Flatbreen glacier opened up in front of us. And so did the entire southern part of Jostedalsbreen - including the mighty Bøyabreen glacier. I was SO thrilled to be up here. What a country we're blessed with!

 

Bøyabreen

Bøyabreen
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We reached Kvannholtenipa summit 3:08pm - approx. 4h:20m after heading out from Supphelledalen. I felt I could spend the rest of the day up here, and we almost did. Well - a 25 minute pause feels like an entire day in my head...

It was also very nice to share this moment with my two favorite girls in the world...

 

On Kvannholtenipa

On Kvannholtenipa
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Filled with good emotions, we headed down the mountain. We had darkness to consider as well, but so far we were in good shape. Shortly after passing the Kvannholtenipa's south cairn, we heard voices, but never saw the other group. We felt that they were late in terms of daylight but assumed they were able to practice sound judgment.

We descended our ascent route down to the moraine and then followed a path to Flatbrehytta where we met two girls from the group. They passed on the opportunity to stand on top of Kvannholtenipa and mentally prepared to wait a while when we told them that their mates were probably still high on the mountain.

 

Approaching Flatbrehytta

Approaching Flatbrehytta
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We took the other trail down the valley and returned to Supphelledalen 6:10pm - 7h:20m after heading out - in due time before darkness. But the other group would surely have to descend using lights. I have done thousands of hikes and I have forgotten a fair share of them, but this one I will remember for a long, long time...

 

A happy me on Kvannholtenipa

A happy me on Kvannholtenipa
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Pictures

The pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 60D + Canon EF-S 18-200mm 3.5-5.6 IS +
GoPro HERO2

 

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To Vetla Supphellenipa

1. View from the Glacier Museum 2. Flatbrehytta trailhead 3. Here we go... 4. Sherpas were here 5. Passing a portable bridge 6. Anne was here too 7. Taking the eastern path 8. Almost up in the saddle 9. Meeting a co-worker of Anne 10. View towards Stølsskrednipa 11. Karma thinks she sees the top 12. Memorable...

Wide angle view from Vetla Supphellenipa

13. Wide angle view from Vetla Supphellenipa

To Flatbrehytta (only passing)

14. Lower Supphellebreen 15. Fjærlandsfjorden 16. On top of Vetla Supphellenipa 17. Freshly broken 18. Glacier detail 19. Looking back on Vetla Supphellenipa 20. More glacier details 21. Passing the others 22. Anne proudly presents... 23. Glacier towers 24. Would have been fun to climb... 25. Vetla Supphellenipa 26. Tyskarnipa and Flatbrehytta 27. Looking across Supphelledalen 28. Passing lower Supphellebreen glacier 29. The towers - now seen from above 30. Karma discovers glaciers... 31. I like it up here... 32. Walking the morraine 33. Walking the morraine 34. Gravel landscape 35. Passing Flatbrehytta

To Kvannholtenipa

36. A river of rocks 37. Following a small valley upwards 38. A river of ice 39. The portal to Flatbreen glacier 40. Karma discovers the world 41. Rock-face 42. We found a good route 43. A fantastic view behind us 44. Time for fun and play 45. Convenient... 46. Karma enters glacier world 47. Flatbreen panorama 48. Time for hugging 49. Rising towards Kvannholtenipa 50. More fun and play 51. A lot of walking... 52. Karma - very eager 53. Panorama towards southern part of Kvannholtenipa 54. Bøyabreen and Almenipa 55. Anne - smiling from ear to ear 56. Glacier detail 57. Another glacier detail 58. Up the flank 59. Anne - still smiling 60. The summit comes into view 61. Not far now... 62. What? 63. Hmm... 64. Uhm, Anne... 65. Not the deepest crack I have seen, but... 66. On fresh snow 67. Almost there... 68. Anne on top of Kvannholtenipa 69. Me - on top of Kvannholtenipa 70. Karma on Kvannholtenipa

Wide angle view from Kvannholtenipa

71. Wide angle view from Kvannholtenipa

Other pics from Kvannholtenipa

72. Stølsskrednipa 73. Skagastølstindane 74. Grovabreen 75. Yet another glacier detail 76. Supphellenipa 77. The Kvannholtenipa cairn 78. T-shirt weather in October!! 79. Jostedalsbreen view 80. Flatbreen view 81. Supphellenipa 82. A very happy Anne 83. Smørstabbtindane - and more... 84. Dangerous terrain

Descent

85. Tyskarnipa 86. Southern cairn on Kvannholtenipa 87. Karma - on top of the world! 88. Fun descent! 89. Strike a pose... 90. Going home... 91. Careful... 92. Passing Supphellebreen again 93. Approaching Flatbrehytta 94. Pause at Flatbrehytta 95. Fjærlandsfjorden 96. Descending from Flatbrehytta

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