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After spending Christmas with friends in eastern Norway, I was now back in Ålesund - my new home town. I had just been able to get my stuff moved up from Bergen before I headed eastbound. Once back, one of the first important tasks was to get myself a regional overview. As such, I needed to get to an elevated point and Godøya was a good place to start.
On my flight towards Ålesund, I talked to a guy who knew all about Godøya, which gave me a good start to my first hike in the Ålesund region. The day was downright outstanding, and this weather would last for several days. Unfortunately, I wasn't at liberty to head up to the spectacular "Sunnmørsalpene" - the Sunnmore Alps - as there were things to take care of in my new appartment.
By 10:50AM, my four-legged buddy "Troll" and I were on our way from Gjuv up to Storhornet. There were two hikers ahead of me, and I could see them high on the Storhornet ridge. Although Storhornet isn't among the sharpest peaks in this vast mountain region, I still found it utterly beautiful. What a way to begin "a new life".
In a normal life, Troll would sit down at the trailhead and refuse to walk, but today, he was just like a rabbit on the mountain. Christmas had offered little or no exercise, and he was "steaming"!
We reached the top 11:45AM, and to my big surprise, the GPS went completely nuts. reporting elevation between 175m and 850m! The device sort of stabilized after a while, but jumped between 500m and 550m. I saw two possible scenarios; a) I had triggered a bug by using the AVERAGE function, and b) WW3 had begun, and somebody had started to take out the satellite systems. On the probability scale, I had more faith in the bug theory and turned the device off and on as we headed down Storhornet's northeast ridge.
I think I had decided to do a roundtrip already at the trailhead, but I can't say for sure. In any case, I was on my way to Lesten, taking the long way around. I gazed intensly at Storhornet's west face, trying to spot this ledge named "Johan Skytt". Afterwards, I realised it was on my right-hand side, and that I couldn't see it from the path I was following. Troll was still walking, and it was a grand day as we walked along Lake Alnesvatnet. At the far end of the lake, I was able to capture a near-perfect reflection of Storhornet. I felt fortunate to have passed this very spot at this very moment, getting this very special view.
To get to Lesten, I chose to go off-trail from the lake, but ended up on a vague path soon after. Another hiker was sitting on a rock, looking out on the sea and obviously enjoying the day just as much as I did. We reached Lesten 13:15PM and spent a little time taking pictures of the steep cliffs above the southwest shore. Some pinnacles fascinated me, and I was considering if I should try to climb the sharpest one sunny day.
The allowed time for hiking was coming to an end, and we headed back down. We arrived the car 14:10PM and Troll went immediately to sleep. He had certainly put up his share of the legwork. My first day out in Ålesund was indeed something for the album, and I kept admiring the wild Sunnmøre alps on my way back to the city. An activity far more hazardous than talking into cell phones. I guarantee that!
To Storhornet
Summit views
To Lesten + descent
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