Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Sandhornet on skis, Feb 24 2007

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


The route

The route

I -guess- the dog and I was heading for Helgehornet (623m,Ørsta) this Saturday morning. That was until my MDDN (my dear, dear neighbour) approached me while I hauled the hiking gear into the car. He volunteered to look after the dog while I was away. Change of plans. Nothing wrong said about Helgehornet, but it would have to wait. Instead, I had my mind on Masdalshornet, Levandehornet or Vardehornet along Vartdalsfjorden.

Once on Festøya, it became apparent that the Vartdalsfjorden mountains required several hundred vertical meters on foot, before the skis could come on. Forest hiking in T4 boots wasn't what I had in mind, so I drove on. Now I was without a plan, and called buddy Svein Myhre. After discussing various alternatives, he suggested Sandhornet. I also had this mountain in the back of my mind, but knew nothing about it. Svein gave me driving instructions, and all of the sudden - I had a plan.

Following Svein's driving instructions led me to Brudevoll Gard, which - in addition to being the Sandhornet trailhead - also had cabins for rent. I ran into the owner, who offered me parking. Brudevoll Gard was also interesting since I am looking for an Ørsta base camp during summers. I can then leave from work in Ulsteinvik, do tops in the afternoons, and return to Ulsteinvik the next day.

I left the trailhead 10:55AM. On skis. After a somewhat boring forest road section, I got to the uphill part. I followed a forest road up to 320m elevation, and left this road when I saw a number of ski-tracks head northbound. I then skied straight up to the basin between Grøthornet and Sandhornet. I had a couple of skiers (and a dog) ahead of me, high on the mountain. I had a good pace, and seemed to close in on them fast.

The light was "flat" during ascent, and it was difficult to get a clear understanding of the slopes. I chose a much steeper route than the other skiers, and caught up with them at 800m elevation. I reached the pole 12:35PM, and wondered why the terrain seemed to continue upwards. Initially, I thought this was a cornice, and took my round of pictures by the pole. After a while, I decided to - carefully - investigate the terrain a little bit more, and discovered that the uphill part was actually a ridge. I moved over to the high point, and the time was now 12:46PM.

After taking a new set of pictures, I turned around. The light was much better now, and I descended a steeper slope down to the basin. The snow conditions were OK, although not GREAT. I chatted with another skier before catching up with the couple and their dog. The dog was a Boxer, and I like Boxers. While petting Boxers, they twist and turn, not knowing which position they should settle for, while making funny sounds with their flat nose.

I left the couple and continued down to the trailhead. The time was now 13:25PM. I chatted with the owner of Brudevoll Gard for a little while, before driving home. Later in the evening (after dark), Torill Berg and I headed up to Storhornet on Godøya, giving a total of 1250 vertical meters for this Saturday.

Pictures from the Feb 24 2007 trip

To Sandhornet

1. Brudevollen trailhead (416KB) 2. Forest road junction (195KB) 3. Have just left the forest road. Sandhornet ahead (363KB) 4. Smørskredtindane (283KB) 5. Skiers below Sandhornet (202KB) 6. The skiers by the pole (221KB)

Wide-angle views

7. Wide-angle view from Sandhornet (672KB) 8. Additional valley views (361KB) 9. Follestaddalen (606KB)

50mm views (2 parts)

10. 50mm view from Sandhornet (part 1/2) (1120KB) 11. 50mm view from Sandhornet (part 2/2) (1047KB)

Descent

12. Descending Sandhornet (287KB) 13. Traffic is light (155KB)

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