Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Saursegga  & Nipa x 2, Apr 9 & 11 2007


To the main Saursegga/Nipa/Haugshornet page (maps, route descriptions, other trip reports, etc.)

 

Apr 9 2009:

Route to Nipa/Gjøna from Gjerdsvika

Route to Nipa/Gjøna from Gjerdsvika
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This mountain top is called Nipa on the Haugsbygda side, and Gjøna on the Gjerdsvika side.

 

The time had come to visit Saursegga & Nipa/Gjøna from Gjerdsvika. I had been under the impression that there was a path, but I didn't know where the trailhead was. So I did what I often do; drive to a nearby house or farm and ring the doorbell.  

At the farm I decided to visit, I met Boddvar, who told me that there was a path up the forest behind the farm. The (partly marked) path runs up to the ruins of a shepard's hut at 280-300m elevation. Not only did he explain the route, he decided to come along up to the ruins. Boddvar wondered I was the one with the website and all the pictures, something I could confirm. The travelling mountain man had now come to Muren, Gjerdsvika.

We parted when the path to the ruins took a different direction than I wanted to go. I continued off-trail towards Nipa/Gjøna, and ran into a section of turf and bog terrain. But the ground got firmer a bit higher up, and from the pass, I could ascend Nipa/Gjøna along the familiar route. The 510 vertical meter ascent took 50 minutes. As it was raining when I drove towards Gjerdsvika, I had left the camera behind. Thus, no pictures from this hike.

After having been up Nipa/Gjøna, I also visited Saursegga (to the eastern point) before heading back down. The total trip was 5km, and took 1h:50m.

Apr 11 2009:

 

Off-trail route from Røyset

Off-trail route from Røyset
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Today's plan was to hike Nipa from Røyset, via a distinct couloir that I noticed two days earlier. This couloir seemed straightforward, and I didn't expect any particular problems. But the mountain looked very different from below, and I had to ring another doorbell to make sure I targeted the right couloir. I'm sure the man I spoke to doesn't get that kind of question too often..

After one failed attempt to get through some really, really, dense bush, I headed further west and found a "good" boulder field. I followed the boulder up to the couloir, and ran into an obstacle fairly soon. I had to scramble around this obstacle, and now the road ahead seemed easy. Then it started to rain, and I wanted to get up quickly, before the grass and rock became too slippery. I ran into another steep section, which I could have bypassed to the right, but I chose to use the axe to get up his section. The axe works just as well on grass as on snow and ice...

Just before topping out in the pass just below Nipa summit, I had to choose if I should pass a cliff rock to the left or to the right. I chose the left side, as this side completed the couloir. This was a short scramble, and it would probably have been easier to the right.

I arrived on Nipa summit 1:35pm, 55 minutes after heading out (incl. the bush problems at first). The time had now come to decide on an ascent route. Descending this couloir wasn't very tempting, and because of the rain, neither was any of the other couloirs from Saursegga. So I decided to return on the normal route to Haugsbygda (across Saursegga) and walk the 2km along the road instead. The whole trip was 7,2km and took me 2h:20m.

 

View from Nipa towards Saursegga

View from Nipa towards Saursegga
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Pictures, Apr 11 2009

The first set of pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 450D + Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS USM F 4-5.6.

 
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Up the couloir - to Nipa/Gjøna

0A. Tracks, Apr 9 and 11 0B. Route profile 1. My trailhead. Could not get through the bush 2. In the boulder field 3. Obstacle. Had to bypass 4. Kusymre - Primula Vulgaris - Primrose 5. Above the steepest section 6. Easy street 7. Towards the end of the couloir 8. Rosenrot - Rhodiola rosea - Roseroot stonecrop 9. Going left of this cliff 10. View down the couloir 11. On top of Nipa

Views from Nipa

12. Saursegga 13. View down from Nipa 14. Sandsøya 15. Hornet on Sandsøya 16. Vorakletten on Sandsøya 17. Kvamsøya 18. Saursegga and Haugsbygda 19. Wide-angle view from Nipa

Across Saursegga

20. Saursegga 21. My route to Nørdbergsheida (Klovane) the day before 22. Looking back on Nipa 23. Saursegga high point 24. Towards the eastern point 25. Gjerdsvika 26. Blæja and Blæjeskardtinden 27. On Saursegga eastern point 28. Nupen, across the Gursken fjord 29. Sandvik 30. Gursken fjord 31. Haugshornet 32. Through dense forest

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