Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal
Hyningane, May 1 2009
To the main Hyningane page (maps, route descriptions, other trip reports, etc.)
Part of the round trip route
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On the International Workers' Day, I decided to hold my demonstration march on Hyningane in Ørsta. Banners and slogans were replaced by an ice-axe and pure solitude, but my political message was crystal clear: Bring back the goats, before we drown in bush.
This was possibly meant to be a ski-trip - at least I had brought skis. But when I got the mountain in sight from Eiksund, I knew that this trip would be a hike. The amount of snow left didn't justify carrying the skis. It was convenient to drive all the way up to 250m in Liadalsdalen. After all, on my 2006 trip across Bergehornet, Grøthornet and Liahornet, I did my share of Liadalsdalen walking.
It took me 15 minutes to get to Liadalssætra. I couldn't see Hyningane from there, so I just headed up the nearest hill. After a while, the mountain came into view. The north top (Messingeheida) was just as awesome as I had remembered it from my hike across Hesteryggen. But the goal for the day was the main top. The north top will be visited some other day.
The north top, aka Messingeheida
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I only crossed a couple of minor snowfields before arriving on the main top, 1h:25m after leaving the trailhead. The hike had been a bit short, so I wanted to take a closer look at the ridges. First, I headed down the northeast ridge. A friend of mine had hiked down this ridge (external link), and I was curious about the terrain. There was some light and airy scrambling before the ridge suddenly dropped. As there was still some snow left, I wasn't tempted to continue.
I went back to the main summit and continued over to the southwest ridge. After some fun and airy scrambling, the ridge ahead called for strong focus, and I was a bit unstable due to the wind. This ridge wouldn't take me anywhere I wanted to go, so I figured it was about to time to leave the mountain.
Scrambling on the ridge towards Eggja
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After a fun glissade down the mountain, me and my soaking wet pants headed towards Svenskedalen. After a few more glissades (but this time on foot), I concluded that I could have skied from the summit and all the way down to 500m. But I didn't know that Svenskedalen was the "valley of shadows", so there was no reason to dwell any more on it.
The walk along the Fremsteelva river was also nice. Those who choose to ascend along this river are facing a steep off-trail hike to Svenskedalen. But when you reach snow so close to the ocean in May, and after carrying the skis only 250 vertical meters, it may be well worth it. I was back at the trailhead 2h:45m after leaving it, and was already looking forward to coming back for the north top.
Fremsteelva river
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