Norwegian Mountains - Route Descriptions

Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Jendemsfjellet, Mar 31 2007

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

Jendemsfjellet seen from Helsetnakken

Trip report, Mar 31 2007

The sky was cloudy when I looked out my window this Saturday morning. I wasn't too keen on skiing, and I abandoned the idea completely as I imagined how "flat" the light would be. I chose to go on a hike instead. I ended up by choosing Klausethornet on Otterøya as the goal, but after checking the ferry schedule, I was 10 minutes late for the preferred ferry. After a second map study, my choice fell on Jendemsfjellet. It chose to find a mountain that the dog could walk, and with a path, fairly free of snow I assumed that Jendemsfjellet would satisfy my criteria.

As I headed out from Ålesund, the weather changed for the better. Arriving Vestnes, I realised that I had missed out on a perfectly good skiing day. But since I really didn't feel like skiing anyway, it didn't matter much. Instead, I looked forward to visit Jendemsfjellet, and a drive along a road (Julsundveien) that I've never driven before.

As my choice fell on Jendemsfjellet, I remembered that the trailhead was described in the book Turbok for Molde og Omegn (Olsen/Pedersen). It was very covenient to follow someone else's driving instructions for a change. Three women and a poodle was ready to begin their hike as I reached the trailhead. The poodle was only 17 months, and moved around with such an intensity that one should think it was being constantly electricuted. It was a fun mix - a poodle in hyperstate, and my 13(+) year dachshund Troll, who has to consider each event in life, at least 3 times before reacting to it.

We left the trailhead 11:40AM, and I carried Troll in the backpack in order to get some distance to to the other party. Troll would, of course, never leave a party behind, so brute force had to come into play. Not that I did mind their company, but I felt for moving in a slightly faster pace. I let Troll out of the backpack once we hit the forest path, and after conduction the usual dog business, he lost interest in walking. This is not the first time we've been in this situation...

The ridge was easy to walk, yet cumbersome for a dachshund. Once we reached snow (the little there was), Troll found walking meaningful again. We reached the top 12:35PM, and could start enjoying the views. I had been to Talstadhesten just weeks earlier, but didn't see anything from the top. This was a fairly new angle towards mountains I knew already, and all the more interesting. Unfortunately, the high peaks on the south side of Moldefjorden were hidden in clouds. The lower tops were just hazy. Doesn't matter, though. There are many other tops in this region that I will visit. I'm bound to get a sunny day on one of them...

The other party and their dog arrived. One of the members of the party expressed (friendly) concerns about me walking mountains all alone. What if I had an accident? I told this person that NOT having an accident was part of the "thing", but this was not an acceptable answer. We had a cheerful discussion, but it was evident that we would never see eye to eye on this topic..

It was time to head back down, although Troll wanted to stay. Once moving, he descended in an impressive pace. We were back at the trailhead 13:48PM. I considered also going up to Skalten (692m), but decided to return to Ålesund and have an evening hike in Trollråsa on Sukkertoppen.