These pictures are from my many Ulriken hikes in the winter of 2005. They are meant to serve two purposes;
1. To inspire others to explore the mountain after dark. I hardly ever see anyone up there after sunset, which is a shame, given the special atmosphere that comes along when the sun sets.
2. To end up with a nice set of pictures, perhaps 10, showing Ulriken at its best in the evening. I am the first to admit that many of these pictures are of lesser quality, knowing that 1 out of 10 normally turns out be OK. When the spring comes along, I aim to make a small gallery of the best shots from the winter.
Notes: Because these are evening pictures, your monitor will determine how the pictures appear. They pictures should show well on LCDs and good CRTs. Low-cost PC monitors tend to have less brightness, and some pictures may seem to be completely black.
On this hike to Ulriken, I met two friends of mine - Svein and Kjell Åge. A massive snowfall was hitting on Bergen. The conditions above 500m were hostile, and it was a blizzard on top of Ulriken. Despite the fact that it was a Sunday, the mountain was far from crowded. Infact, there were no one on the summit but us. I have added a small selection of Kjell Åge's pictures. Svein videofilmed most of the ascent up Lægdene.
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Yet another wonderful day. I drove to Sedalen and aimed for Vasslifjellet. While the majority head up the forest road to the Gløvrevatnene lakes, I chose to follow the trail from the Sedalen water works. This trail took me directly to S. Gløvrevatn. I then joined with the forest road for a few meters, before I headed to the Soleibakkane ridge towards Vasslifjellet.
Vasslifjellet is just a name for the southeast side of the Ulriken massif, but is probably one of the greatest trails. On the way up to the lakes, you have a great view towards the south. At the lakes, you get Mt. Ulriken in view, and once on the ridge towards Vasslifjellet, you get the Gullfjellet massif in view. As you climb, the views only get better and better.
We (the dog and I) started from the Sedalen trailhead 16:45PM, and turned around at approx. 630m elevation on Vasslifjellet approx. 17:40PM. We were back at the car 18:15PM, just as the sun was setting. From Vasslifjellet, we descended directly towards lake Stemmevatnet, and followed the forest road back to the point where we joined it. Then we followed the ridge trail back down to Sedalen.
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The mountain had cleared up after snowfall, and it was getting colder. It turned out to be a beautiful evening.
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A wonderful evening, with a visit to the Ulriken high point.
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The purpose of this sequence was to see how the result was with 8 sec shutter speed.
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A fascinating evening. Me and the dog left a quiet city with a light snowfall and entered a snowstorm halfway up the ridge. The windspeed was at least 20 m/s on the top and powder snow was flying all around. Below the powder snow was pure ice. It was difficult to see in any direction. Our tracks disappeared on our tail. Two factors were important; a) I knew the trail inside out and b) this "bag" of weather was passing down the coastline and would quiet down within 15-30 minutes. Getting stuck in this weather on the high mountain, is not something you'd want. We took shelter below the tower and waited until the worst part was over. Down at 500m elev., things were back to "normal". The tower was shining in all its colors, stars and clouds painted a pretty sky. It was difficult to imagine that 15 minutes earlier, it was a whole other game up there. The icy fur on the dog was the only evidence of the snowstorm. The clouds moved rapid over the mountain, and I expected the next wave to come within the hour. We would be enjoying the sofa by then.
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The first set of pictures are taken from the High Technology Center and Bystasjonen shopping center in Bergen. The second set are from a evening hike the same day. The evening hike was the best I can recall. Full moon, stars, slightly cold, no need for headlights, a hard and beaten track, and a insane rush down the Lægdene trail. You can slide on one foot here, holding on to the rail with one hand. The rail was however quite low (in one place, the snow covered the rail), so the sliding conditions were not optimal. My dog "Troll" was in heaven. Both up Langrinden and down Lægdene. I only met two other people going up the mountain. Insane! This is living!
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It had been raining most of January, but now a layer of snow was covering Ulriken. I brought the dog along, and headed up the Langrinden ridge. The dog gave up halfway due to deep snow. It was a bit chilly and windy on top, but it was nice to see snow again. The dog run down the mountain in record speed. It is unclear whether he just wanted to get home, or if he actually thought running in snow was fun.
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Click here for the full trip report.
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