Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Litlehornet, 467m
Uggedalshornet, 443m
Uføret, 224m (Uføra, Høgefjellet)

Fylke/Kommune : Møre og Romsdal/Haram
Maps : xxx
(Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Primary factor : Litlehornet: 159m
Visited : May 2006
See also : Gamlemsveten
See also : Tverrbotshornet
See also : Skålbotsheia

Litlehornet (left of center)

Litlehornet (left of center)

Introduction

There is a ridge that rise from the southwest side of the Brattvåg peninsula, starting east of Hamnsund, rising across the tops Uføra, Uggelandshornet, Litlehornet, Storhornet, Skålbotsheia and up to Tverrfjellet - with Tverrbotshornet as the highest point. Tverrbotshornet and Skålbotsheia have been presented on separate pages, while this page will describe a roundtrip across the first three tops. Storhornet is a subsidiary top of Skålbotsheia, and has been given no attention at all.

Uføret (Uføra), is a great viewpoint, in many ways like Ramnfloget near Vatne. From Uføret, you can continue on a ridge path all the way to Tverrbotshornet and descend on the road that runs up to Gamlemsveten (you may even pay Gamlemsveten a visit along the way). This is the "ultimate" roundtrip on the western side of the Brattvåg peninsula. This page will focus on a shorter roundtrip where Litlehornet is your main goal. Please refer to the other pages mentioned above if you want to do "the grand slam". This page will describe a roundtrip from Søvik across Litlehornet, Uggedalshornet and Uføret - in that order. There is of course no reason why you shouldn't go the other way, especially if you have bad knees.

There is indeed something special about these coastal tops, where you are close to the ocean and the islands, but have a great view towards dozens and dozens of tops exceeding 1000m elevation. I strongly recommend these mountains. Visit them on a sunny day, and there is no way you will be disappointed.

Litlehornet (Little Horn) relates obviously to the higher Storhornet (Big Horn). Uggedalshornet relates to the Uggedal valley below the mountain. Uføret is hard to translate, but is a word use to describe that someone is in deep trouble (uføre). There is however, no trouble waiting for you on the easy route to this top.

Primary factor:

Litlehornet (M711: 467m, Ø.K.: 467m, UTM 32 V 362272 6937043) has a primary factor of 159m towards the higher parent mountain Skålbotsheia (615m). The defining saddle (approx. UTM 32 V 362817 6937064) is found in Engesetskaret between Skålbotsheia and Litlehornet. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), the saddle is defined within the range 305-310, interpolated to 310m. Note that there is a map error on ØK: All 25m contours from Engesetskaret up to Litlehornet are labeled incorrect. 

Uføret (M711: 225m, Ø.K.: 224m, UTM 32 V 361868 6937036) has a primary factor of 61m and Uggedalshornet (M711: -, Ø.K.: 443m, UTM 32 V 361868 6937036) has a primary factor of 25m. None of these tops are considered independent mountains on this web-site.

Trail descriptions:

Notes: Class ratings are in reference to YDS. Click here for more information.

The trails described below are not necessarily the *easiest* trails to this mountain.

Søvik - Litlehornet roundtrip (summer/autumn)

Difficulty : Class 1 (YDS)
Exposure : No
Comments : Vague path to Litlehornet
Distance : Approx. 8,5Km roundtrip
Time : Approx. 3-3,5 hours roundtrip
Starting Elev.: Approx. 550m
Vertical Gain : Approx. 110m

Map of the area
Map of the area
(No Javascript)
Detailed map
Detailed map
(No Javascript)

Access

From Ålesund, follow highway E136->E39 towards Åndalsnes. From the E136/E39/Olsvika roundabout near Breivka, follow E39 approx. 13,3Km. Turn left onto highway RV661 (Skodje/Brattvåg/Vatne). After 1,5Km, pay toll at an unmanned toll booth (coins + credit cards + AutoPass). Approx. 9,7Km after you left E39, you reach the RV659 (Brattvåg)/661(Vatne) junction. Turn left here. Follow RV659 4,3Km and turn left towards "Søvik/Grytastranda". Drive 14,4Km along this road and turn right when you see the "Sentrum" sign in Søvik.

Follow the main road 500m and turn 90 deg. left when you see a large, red barn on your right-hand side. You're now on the road to the trailhead. Stay on the main road for 600 more meters (you cross a creek along the way) until you reach a 3-way junction. Follow the middle road and follow the gravel road up to the next junction. Take the road to the right (drive straight ahead, the road to the left leads to the Gamlemsveten trailhead). Drive up to the soccer field and park there.

An alternative route from Ålesund is to drive via Ellings&osalsh;ya. The Ellingsøytunnelen toll is (per Jan 2006) NOK 60,- (passenger cars, one person) thus, NOK 30,- more expensive than by driving E39, one way.

The route

Litlehornet:

From the soccer field, follow the road heading northwest until its end. You see the "Storhornet/Litlehornet" trailsign. The path up to Engesetskaret is hard to see, but the forest is overally easy. After you cross the creek (approx. 130m elevation), the path runs just south of the creek up the forest. Just head off-trail upwards from Engesetskaret, if you don't find any path. Litlehornet summit is marked by a cairn.

Down via Uggedalshornet/Uføret:

From Litlehornet, you will see the path towards Uggedalshornet (the next top). These tops are only 400m apart. The path down from Uggedalshornet should be easy to follow, although vague. When you reach the birch forest, stay on the north side of the ridge (facing Søvik), as the path runs here. You may lose the path just before the valley east of Uføret. There is most likely a marked route (red paint on rocks) that runs towards Søvik, but I'm not sure. In any case, locate the rocks painted in red, and follow the path up to Uføret. The path from Uføret back to the main road is easy to follow. Approaching Søvik, follow the first road that forks to the right and head up to the road towards the trailhead.

Litlehornet seen from Gamlemsveten

Litlehornet seen from Gamlemsveten

Trip report, May 14 & 16 2006

May 14

This Sunday had the same unstable weather as the day before. Once more, I decided to stay in the lowlands, and once more I drove to Haram, the only place with sunshine. The main goal was Litlehornet, and I concluded that following the ridge path across Uføret would be good for the dog. We left the trailhed 16:20PM. I lifted him (the dog) up the stairs. He took 5 steps, then fell over just as if he had been shot.

With the dog in the backpack, I headed up to Uføra, which I reached 20 minutes after leaving the car. I saw a distinct top higher along the ridge and was confident that this was Litlehornet. After a short stop for pictures, I moved along. It wasn't straightforward to follow the forest path, but the terrain was easy anyway. Higher up in the forest, "Troll" started walking.

We arrived the top of Uggelandshornet 17:25PM. I took a GPS waypoint, but never considered checking the map. I noticed another top along the ridge, but assumed it was Storhornet, a subsidiary peak of Skålbotsheia. This top had no particular interest to me, so I called it a day. I must have been really "out of it", because in hindsight, I clearly remember that there was no particular drop between Uggedalshornet and Litlehornet, and as such, I got what I "deserved".

We headed back down, and Troll was in his usual good "downhill" mood. A rainshower passed Uggedalshornet when we reached Uføret, and in the second day in a row, I barely "escaped" the rainshowers. I very much enjoyed the birch forest below Uføret. There light and shadows were especially nice in this forest. I decided to recommend this route to my neighbour. We were back at the trailhead 18:15PM after a short and nice hike.

May 16

After telling my neighbour (Pål) about this fine forest ridge, and the fact that I had to go back to claim the proper Litlehornet top, he wanted to join in. The evening before our National Day was a good time to do this, and by 17:40PM, we were ready to head out from the soccer field below Litlehornet. His dog "Chico" and my dog "Troll" were good companions on this hike.

We followed the route up Engesetskaret. The path was - at best - vague, and Troll had to work very hard in the high grass to keep up. Once up in the pass, we found no path towards Litlehornet, and headed off-trail towards the top. If Troll had to work hard on the forest path, he had to work even harder in this hill. The grass was taller than the dog.

We reached the top 18:40PM, and I shook my head when I looked towards Uggedalshornet, 400m to the west. It was just impossible to understand how I could turn around there, two days earlier. But now we were on the correct top, and it was a beautiful evening. We had a little break on top, and Pål enjoyed the views very much.

On the way across Uggedalshornet, it was important to keep an extra eye on the dogs. It is very steep down to the trailhead from this point. We followed the forest ridge across Uføret and Troll attempted to walk on the path side alongside Chico. There was not enough room, and Chico was just a long "Grrr" all the way from Uføret down to the main road. Troll should have hiked *under* Chico. There was certainly enough room...

We were back at the car 20:40PM, and a long evening walk had come to its end. At least Troll seemed happy by calling it a day, and fortunately, he had no idea of the plans for him the next day. Having finally "bagged" Litlehornet called for serious celebration. Beer and pizza. Yum..

Pictures from the May 14 & 16 2006 hikes

Note: Varying picture quality due to broken auto-focus.

May 14 2006:

To Uføret

1. Uføret trailhead (249KB) 2. On path to Uføret (553KB) 3. Uføret comes into view (287KB) 4. Take cover ... (92KB) 5. 360 deg. wide-angle panorama from Uføret (815KB)

To Uggedalshornet

6. To Uggedalshornet (199KB) 7. Nice birch forest (434KB) 8. View from the path (906KB) 9. Steam from Godøya (227KB) 10. Søvi close-up (542KB) 11. Approaching Uggedalshornet (256KB) 12. View from the ridge (301KB) 13. 360 deg. wide-angle panorama from Uggedalshornet (1066KB) 14. View towards Litlehornet (599KB) 15. The soccer field - trailhead for our hike 2 days after (231KB) 16. Troll on Uggedalshornet (216KB)

Descent and return to Ålesund

17. Rainshower passing Uggedalshornet (118KB) 18. Grytafjorden rainbow (140KB)

May 16 2006:

Note: My camera was at the repair shop, and I had to bring along the 4-year old Nikon Coolpix 4500.

To Litlehornet

1. Here we go again (253KB) 2. Promising start (434KB) 3. Nice forest tops (225KB) 4. Approaching Engesetskaret (237KB) 5. Heading up to Litlehornet (216KB) 6. Fine view along the way (169KB) 7. Pål on Litlehornet (217KB) 8. Troll and I on Litlehornet (341KB) 9. A lot to see from up here (182KB) 10. Gamlemsveten seen from Litlehornet (158KB) 11. View from Litlehornet towards Sunnmørsalpene (1191KB)

360 deg. wide-angle panorama

12. 360 deg. wide-angle panorama from Litlehornet (1065KB)

Descent

13. View down to the trailhead (300KB) 14. Passing Uggedalshornet (154KB) 15. Uføret ahead (198KB) 16. Søvik (262KB) 17. Arriving Uføret (169KB) 18. Arriving Uføret (205KB) 19. Heading back to Søvik (281KB)

No Javascript (May 14)

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No Javascript (May 16)

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Other pictures:


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