Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal
Skardhornet (1043m) & Humpen (708m) - May 12 2013
To the main Skardhornet & Humpen page (maps, pictures, other trip reports)
The routes, as seen in Google Earth
(Click for larger image)
It was time to go into the Volda back-country and visit Humpen. I had thought about visiting this top with the peculiar name ("the hump") for many years, and today it was about to happen! I brought a bike that would take me the 3km along the forest road into Langedalen. Poor Karma would have to do this distance on foot.
But when I got to Høydalen (or is it Høydalsdalen?), I talked to a couple of locals who told me that I could drive on a mighty fine toll road all the way into Langedalen. They wondered what brought a stranger to this part of the world, and I told them that I collected mountain tops. They did a good job in pretending that collecting mountain tops is a useful hobby and they wished me the good luck up there.
This toll road - which was indeed mighty fine - changed the picture somewhat. Now I could possibly visit Skardhornet too, saving me another trip to this area. But first I had to pay toll. And what was the fee? There was no price list, so I decided to leave NOK 30,- in the envelope and move on...
3km later, I was at road end in Langedalen and had Skardhornet (or at least the lower part of it) ahead of me. And I could see the valley that would take me up to lake Heimste Rindalsvatnet. The sun was shining and it was all good. The hike was now on!
Skardhornet
At the trailhead
(Click for larger image)
A bridge took me across the river and a path took me high up into the valley. But when I was 100 meters away from the dam, I got spooked by a large boulder area with rotten snow. Not a good combination. I took a strenuous detour high above the valley on the Skardhornet side, only to lose all of my elevation gain afterwards. But once I reached the lake, it was all forgotten all about. Now, my only focus was Skardhornet.
Skardhornet
(Click for larger image)
The initial 100 vertical meters were a nightmare. Evil bush and rotten snow fought me every step of the way. But soon I was above the timberline and had only rotten snow to deal with until we reached the summit - 1h:15m after leaving the dam. The summit ridge was beautiful. It wasn't exactly narrow, but yet ... well defined. I decided to keep Karma on leash because of cornices. I had brought lunch bags for the both of us, and we had a nice 10-minute stay on top of Skardhornet.
Ascending Skardhornet
(Click for larger image)
Humpen
We descended along our ascent route, with the exception of a fun glissade. Fighting bush is easier when going down, and soon we were back at the dam. We followed a vague path to a cabin down by the lake. From here, it seemed that we had to go off-trail towards the summit. The ascent was not fun, and there were two steep sections where I had to aid Karma in her advance. But eventually we reached the (unmarked) top of Humpen - at 3pm sharp.
Ascending Humpen
(Click for larger image)
We didn't stay more than a few minutes, then we headed back the same way we came up. Down in the valley, I found the path along the river (creek), but I had to cross more rotten snow. A couple of places I fell through and felt a shiver every time. I had no idea how deep it was under the snow.
We returned to the trailhead 3:36pm - exactly 3h:36m after heading out. The total distance of walking was 7km and the total vertical gain was 870m. All in all, a good day's work. And it was really nice to become familiar with this area.
Humpen
(Click for larger image)
