Norwegian Mountains, Nordland
Sundsfjellet & Skårfjellet, July 17 2009 (w/mom)
To the main Sundsfjellet/Skårfjellet page (maps, route descriptions, etc.)
Sundsfjellet
The route across Sundsfjellet
(Click for larger image)
July 17 was not a day for big mountain projects. I had been out all night, spending time with good friends at the Brønnøysund Roots Festival. And earlier the day before, I visited Straumsfjellet. On days like this one, lower mountains come in handy, and I decided to visit Sundsfjellet & Skårfjellet. As my ambition is to visit every top on the Brønnøyhalvøya peninsula, I had to visit these two tops one day anyway. Mom joined in and by 1:55pm, we had found our trailhead on the south side of Lake Hopen.
We made our way across a field and tried not to disturb the cows. After a "successful" crossing, we continued up to point 109m, and a wonderful, rugged and wild landscape opened up in front of us. I immediately saw a potential round trip route and pointed it out to mom. I could see a mix of curiosity and scepticism in her face :)
On the way up Sundsfjellet
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After a couple of dead-ends we found a route that brought us up to the ridge. And once on the northeast ridge, the rest of the hike up to the summit was straightforward. We reached the top of Sundsfjellet 2:45pm - less than one hour after heading out. Before we began our descent, we visited the south top - 160m south of the main top.
Descending from the south top
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From above, it was difficult to recognize the descent route that I had seen from point 109m, but we found it after some searching. It was now a matter of getting down from one ledge to the next, without any guarantee that we would make it all the way down. Quite fun and exciting!
The descent went well and we made it into the valley. We joined our ascent route and were back at the trailhead 3:53pm - 2 hours after heading out.
Descending Sundsfjellet
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Skårfjellet
The route to Skårfjellet
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Next, we drove in the direction of Vennesund and agreed to hike Skårfjellet from Skårvika. It was soon clear that there would be no challenges along the (off-trail) route up the mountain, so we (mom might say it was just me) looked around for some fun variations.
We topped out on the mountain plateau at the north cairn (approx. 235m). After a 300m walk to the southwest, we reached the main top. We descended our ascent route and were back at the trailhead 1,5 hours after leaving.
We then drove to Vennesund and enjoyed a good dinner (mom's treat!) before returning back to Brønnøysund.
Variation to the route up Skårfjellet
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Next report from Nordland: Nordre Snøfjellet
