Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Sneldelida, Signalhornet, Skolma round trip, May 30 2006

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It was a very shifting weather in the region this afternoon. It was raining across Storfjorden, and the Ørsta tops were hidden in clouds. But there was blue sky and sunshine above the north side of Hareidlandet, and I decided to visit Skolma and Sneldelida on the way home from work. 16:10PM, I was ready for departure from the Brandal trailhead, but my dog "Troll" wasn't. I didn't feel like arguing and put him in the backpack. The hike up the forest felt slow. My legs didn't have the usual energy, and I had to settle for a slower pace. After passing Sætra, I lost the path. While the original plan was to visit Skolma first, I now decided to continue off-trail towards Sneldelida. I assumed I would encounter paths higher up on the mountain.

I ran into a vague path above 500m elevation, but chose to maintain my direct course towards Sneldelida. Once up on the Sneldelida plateau, I really got the feeling of being on a coastal mountain. The cold, gale force wind made me put on hat, gloves and jacket and seal every air inlet. The plateau on the north side on Hareidlandet was enormous and very much different to mountain regions as I know them. It looked very much the same as on Sulafjellet, but larger.

 

Wild sheep and goats on Skolma

Wild sheep and goats on Skolma
(Click for larger image)

 

On the way towards Sneldelida, Troll finally began walking, and he continued to do so for the rest of the hike. We reached the top 17:15M, and I immediately looked for shelter behind the cairn. Holding the camera steady wasn't easy. Troll begged for lunch, and I had to explain that lunch was served at the next top. I noticed a green spot below Brørene and some ruins. My mind wandered off into the history, and I pictured Viking battles taking place here.

Next stop was Signalhornet. On the way down from Sneldelida, I ran into two women on their windy journey up the mountain. I asked them if the green spot was a historic place, but it was just the ruins of a cabin that had burnt down. Sigh...

We reached Signalhornet 17:50PM. Based on what the eye could perceive, I would have been willing to bet a month's salary that the western top was higher. I was even further convinced when I looked towards the two tops from Skolma, and it annoyed me that I had passed it. But according to Økonomisk Kartverk, which I checked after the hike, Signalhornet was the highest of the tops. Lunch was served to the dog while I took further pictures. Then we moved on towards the final goal for the day - Skolma.

It was a short hike across. We reached Skolma 18:15PM and I was pretty cold (from the strong wind) by now. We only stayed for a few minutes before heading down the mountain. Troll needed motivation every 5 minutes, as the high grass was a bit cumbersome for him. We found the path next to Grøthornet, and down in the forest, I understood why I hadn't found the path on the way upwards. I urged Troll to keep a quick pace down the rocky trail, as I wanted to reach the 19:30PM ferry. The next didn't leave until one hour later. Troll did a good job, and we were back at the trailhead 19:05PM. A windy, 3 hour, 9,8Km hike had come to its end, and the three highest points on the north side of Hareidlandet had now been visited.

  

 

Pictures

ERRATA: The dates (May 31) on the pictures are wrong. Correct date is May 30.

To Sneldelida

1. Ytredalen trailhead (335KB) 2. On the trail to Sætra (407KB) 3. Trail junction before Sætra (taken upon descent) (430KB) 4. Sætra (306KB) 5. Sætra (312KB) 6. View down to Brandal (198KB) 7. Sneldelida ahead (225KB) 8. Heilo on Sneldelida (195KB) 9. Soon on Sneldelida summit (229KB) 10. Lakes below Sneldelida (270KB) 11. Rjupedalsvatnet (346KB) 12. Troll on Sneldelida (328KB) 13. Wide-angle view from Sneldelida (1168KB)

To Signalhornet

14. Hikers on the way to Sneldelida (239KB) 15. On the way to Signalhornet (290KB) 16. Rainbow on Storfjorden (93KB) 17. Wide-angle view from Signalhornet (1019KB) 18. 50mm panorama from Signalhornet (933KB) 19. Zoom view from Signalhornet (908KB) 20. Runde seen from Signalhornet (104KB)

To Skolma

21. Fun in the snow below Sneldelida (126KB) 22. On the way to Skolma (251KB) 23. Wide-angle view from Skolma (619KB) 24. Godøya seen from Skolma (477KB) 25. Sheep on Skolma (150KB) 26. Sheep on Skolma (255KB) 27. West tip of Sula, seen from Skolma (159KB) 28. Masdalshornet seen from Skolma (152KB) 29. Leaving Skolma (212KB)

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