Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal
Hasundhornet via Klyftagylet, Mar 14 2009
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The route
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There are several gullies on Hasundhornet's west face. These are steep gullies, but one gully is less steep than the others. It was high time that I visited Hasundhornet again, so I might as well head up via this gully. I felt confident that this would be a good route. If there was a showstopper point, then at least it wasn't visible from the main road.
I parked the car at a turnout near the gully and followed the road 300m in the direction of Ulsteinvik before I began my ascent. I had to fight some of the most annoying juniper bush I've come across. It seemed evident that I had to get further north, but juniper bush doesn't allow you to easily move sideways.
Bushfight
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Eventually, I made it to the gully proper and continued upwards. The gully was, as I had anticipated, quite easy to ascend. A small creek in the lower part of the gully was a big bonus. I had just been to Hornet (695m) in Volda, and was quite thirsty. After walking on grass a bit, I reached the boulder section. I like hiking on boulder. It's easier to keep up the pace. One just has to find the rocks that don't move. Higher up, loose gravel was avoided by walking in the outskirts of the gully.
The highlight of the trip was when a large owl took off just above me. At first, I thought it was an eagle, but this bird was a bit fat and certainly didn't have an eagle's face. I realized that this was an owl, and as I have never seen one in the flesh before, this was a big moment. The rest of the gully was uneventful, and I reached the ridge at 420m elevation. I followed a vague path to the top of Hasundhornet, which I reached 3:16pm, exactly one hour after leaving the trailhead.
It was a brilliant day, and I expected to see others on the mountain. Within seconds, a guy and his dog came up from the northeast. Hasundhornet is a great viewpoint. The higher neighbours Flåna and Garneshornet give you a better panoramic view, but the Ulsteinvik view from Hasundhornet is second to none.
Ulsteinvik panorama
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Upon descent, I decided to try my luck with the path I found on top of the gully, even if I don't like this mountainside. My previous (and first) encounter (Feb 6 '09) with this mountainside resulted in the comment "Probably the most tormenting hike since I moved to Sunnmøre" in my hiking log.
I followed the vague path past a couple of ruins, but lost it completely at 240m elevation. Between me and the car was juniper, juniper, more juniper and then some .. juniper. Oh yes, and boulder, covered with juniper. I have a strong message to all my fellow hikers: Don't go off-trail hiking on the mountainside above Garsholhaugen!
On the next day, I rang doorbells at Hansgjerdet, hoping to learn the name of this gully. I had already named it Uglegjelet (Owl gully), but an established name would of course outrank this. Finally, I met a man who had a picture of Hasundhornet, with names of gullies, spurs, ledges, etc., all over it. The gully's name turned out to be Klyftagylet (Cleft gully).
Dimnøya
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