Norwegian Mountains, Hordaland

Borgundnuten, Sep 14 2008


To the main Borgundnuten page (maps, route descriptions, etc.)

 

Outline of the Borgundnuten route

Outline of the Borgundnuten route
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On this fine September morning, Torbjørn and I woke up at a very nice campsite in Gardavikja near Utbjoa. We had been to Helgedalsnuten the day before, and Borgundnuten on Borgundøya was the target for this Sunday. The ferry from Utbjoa didn't leave until 9:30am, so we were in no particular hurry. This would be a fairly lazy day; waiting for ferries + visiting Borgundnuten would take the first part of the day, then we would be driving back to Bergen via Halsnøya and Rosendal.

After a brief ferry stop at Halsnøya, we arrived on Borgundøya 10:25am. At 10:32am, we were on our way up the forest road. The weather this weekend was just incredible. I looked very much forward to complete the top-40 on my Hordaland primary factor list. You may like or not like the concept of primary factors, but these lists have surely brought me to places I otherwise would never have seen. After Borgundnuten, I would only be 7 tops short of the top-70 list, which clearly serves as an inspiration to keep coming back to Hordaland.

 

A fine morning

A fine morning
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We reached the top of Borgundnuten 11:12am, and could enjoy a very nice Sunnhordland panorama. I had seen Borgundnuten from Helgedalsnuten the day before, so it was only proper that I was able to identify Helgedalsnuten from this place. I had now a little more insight about the high Etne mountains, which I didn't have before going on this weekend trip.

As our ferry didn't leave until 1:45pm, we just had to kill time. We stayed at the top longer than *I* normally would have, and after a good while, we chose to descend. A number of people were on their way up the mountain. The last group was a bit odd; children, women and men with rifles. A Sunday outing may mean a slightly different thing down here...

We killed off the last 1,5 hours down at the harbor, and were kinda happy when the ferry left. You can only hang around for so long, before it gets a bit dull. It was good to get on the road again. We drove to Løfallstrand and got the next ferry towards Gjermundshamn. Back in Bergen, I dropped Torbjørn off at his place, before driving to Nattlandsfjellet where my friend Petter had offered me food and shelter for yet another night.

The night falls upon Bergen

The night falls upon Bergen
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After work the next day, I drove back to Ålesund. That was just a superb drive. It was yet another amazing day, and I drove convertible all the way back home. It got dark when I passed Skei, and the full moon seemed to be resting upon the Jostedalsbreen glacier, the moonlight made the Nordfjord prettier than ever. I almost couldn't believe my eyes when I got to Loen. Alexandra Hotel appeared as a beautiful lit castle, mirroring in the fjord. Skåla was a tall, black silhouette with the full moon just beyond it. Just amazing..

Near Hornindalsvatnet, two deer jumped out on the road, just in front of the car. It's amazing how fast this car stops! In Honndalen, I passed a hunter with minimal clearance. He stood on the road shoulder, carrying a rifle and wore a camouflage uniform. I hope he got a good scare, standing there with his rifle after dark, wearing absolutely nothing that could reflect light. On Strandafjellet, a sheep was standing in the middle of the road, in a small cloud of mist. On Strandafjellet, I always look to the sides of the road, as that's where the sheep normally hang out. But this one just stood there. In the middle of the road. After another head-into-the-rearview-mirror stop, the sheep found it in her heart to leave the road. Oh yes, it was an interesting drive back home...

 

Pictures

The pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 300D + Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS USM F 4-5.6

 
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To Borgundøya

0A. Trip tracks 0B. Route profile (descent) 1. Utbjoa 2. Utbjoa info 3. Borgundnuten seen from Utbjoa 4. The ferry arrives 5. A fjord moment 6. Borgundøya and Borgundnuten 7. Stord Verft 8. Another fjord moment 9. Borgundnuten ahead

To Borgundnuten

10. The trailhead 11. On the forest road 12. The forest path begins 13. Hmm, I almost had it 14. On the forest path 15. Juniper forest 16. Steep cliffs above 17. Up between the cliffs 18. On top of Borgundnuten

Wide-angle views from Borgundnuten

19. Wide-angle view from Borgundnuten 20. Wide-angle view from Borgundnuten

85mm zoom views from Borgundnuten

21. 85mm zoom view from Borgundnuten 22. 85mm zoom view from Borgundnuten 23. 85mm zoom view from Borgundnuten

More pics from the top + descent

24. Romsa and Glopsøya 25. Wild sheep? 26. Sundnessåta 27. A memorable descent.. 28. More of Borgundøya 29. Waiting for the ferry to leave

Bergen, late evening

30. Løvstakken 31. Red sky

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