Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Skulstadhornet, 487m
Håvikhornet, 477m

Fylke/Kommune : Møre og Romsdal/Haram
Maps : 1220-III Brattvåg
(Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Primary factor : Skulstadhornet: 258m
Primary factor : Håvikhornet: 14m
Hiked : Jan 2006
See also : Tinden
See also : Storfjellet
See also : Hildrehesten

Skulstadhornet (center) seen from Ursfjellet

Skulstadhornet (center) seen from Ursfjellet

Introduction

Skulstadhornet and Håvikhornet form the high points on a ridge that rises from Brattvåg in the north and falls down to Grytafjorden in the south. The ridge falls slightly in the shadow of the higher neighbours Storfjellet (east) and Hildrehesten (west), but this does not affect its popularity.

It seems that Håvikhornet is the main goal for hikers coming from Brattvåg. This point has the trig. point and a mailbox that may or may not contain the visitor's register. Only 222m further south lies Skulstadhornet - the highest point on the ridge.

There are several options for a round trip hike. This web-page describes the normal approach from Brattvåg, with descent via Lake Synnalandsvatnet. If you have the time and energy, consider hiking all the way to Fjellenden ("The mountain end") and hike back northbound along Gjersetvatnet. The Gjerset trailhead is described on the Tinden page, and the map also shows the roundtrip across Skulstadhornet. There is also a route that comes up from the northeast and joins the other paths at Håvikskaret - the pass between Høgenakken and Håvikhornet. The shortest and overall best route runs across Høgenakken. Going off-trail from the lower tunnel (southeast) is roughly the same distance as from Brattvåg.

The twin-humps have their names from farms below the ridge. The places Håvik and Skulstad are located down by Samfjorden. Økonomisk Kartverk states that Håvikhornet is actually Skulstadhornet, but taking into consideration where the farms are located, this is obviously wrong.

Primary factor:

Skulstadhornet (M711: - Ø.K.: 486,8m ~ 487m, UTM 32 V 368682 6938727) has a primary factor of 258m towards the higher parent mountain Storfjellet (950m) The defining saddle (approx. UTM 32 V 369640 6937019) is found at Djupeskaret, west of the tunnels and south of Samfjorden. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), the saddle is given as a fixed point - 229m.

Håvikhornet's primary factor towards Skulstadhornet is insignificant - less than 20m.

Trail descriptions:

Notes: Class ratings are in reference to YDS. Click here for more information.

The trails described below are not necessarily the *easiest* trails to this mountain.

Brattvåg - Skulstadhornet round trip (all seasons)

Difficulty : Class 2 (YDS)
Exposure : No
Distance : Approx. 10,5Km round trip
Time : Approx. 3-4 hours round trip
Starting Elev.: Approx. 110m
Vertical Gain : Approx. 500m (total)

Map of the area
Map of the area
(No Javascript)
Detailed map
Detailed map
(No Javascript)

Access

From Ålesund, follow highway E136->E39 towards Åndalsnes. From the E136/E39/Olsvika roundabout near Breivka, follow E39 approx. 13,3Km. Turn left onto highway RV661 (Skodje/Brattvåg/Vatne). After 1,5Km, pay toll at an unmanned toll booth (coins + credit cards + AutoPass). Approx. 9,7Km after you left E39, you reach the RV659 (Brattvåg)/661(Vatne) junction. Turn left towards Brattvåg.

13,2Km later (from this junction), you are now in a junction in Brattvåg. You have a store to your left ("Coop" per Jan. 2006) and a road to your left. Turn left here. Drive 250m and turn left (just before a bridge) onto a road that has many signs. "Brattvåg Ungdomsskule" is one of them. Drive this road (Dalavegen) to the road end (1,7Km). On your way upwards, notice the side road "Vassenden". You will be coming back this way. "Road end" means a junction where houses 54-62 are on your left-hand side and 71-89 to your right. Find parking here.

The route

Ascent:

Follow the road towards houses 54-62. After you've passed the first house on your right-hand side, turn right and locate the forest path behind the house. Follow this (unmarked, but visible) path all the way to Håvikhornet (distance is 3,4Km). The terrain can be wet and boggy until you reach Høgenakken, the highest point on the ridge before the Håvikskaret pass. At this pass, notice the 3-way trail junction. You will be heading down to the right on your way back down (and it's your left-hand side upon descent..)

Up from the pass, you pass a short section that I have classified as YDS class 2. There is nothing difficult about this section, but a couple of long steps will force you to use your hands. Thus, it's class 2. Sign the visitor's register at Håvikhornet before proceeding to Skulstadhornet, less than 300m towards the south. There is a gap between the two tops that may appear spooky if; a) there is lots of snow and a cornice has been built-up, and b) if the cornice is hard or icy.

Descent:

If you don't want to continue southbound, to the south end of Lake Gjersetvatnet, return to the Håvikskaret pass and turn left onto the "Tannlegeråsa" ("Dentist trail") path. This path (marked by red paint) runs southbound for more than 600 meters, before it turns west and runs down to the north side of Gjersetvatnet. Cross the drain via the dam.

Follow the forest road down to Synnalandsvatnet and then continue along the lake until a side path takes you down to the dam at the north end of the lake. Cross the dam and follow the car road back to the trailhead. After two right-hand turns after the dam, you're on the Dalavegen road.

The road along Synnalandsvatnet is great for biking. Most of the road along the lake has lights, but whether they're actually lit after dark, or not, I don't know.

Håvikhornet seen from Nihusen

Håvikhornet seen from Nihusen

Trip report, Jan 29 2005

I got wet to my skin on my trip to Spjelkavikfjellet the day before, and I expected the same for my trip to Skulstadhornet this Sunday. The weather seemed to be exactly the same as the day before. This meant waves of rain and winds at gale speed on the tops. I figured Skulstadhornet would be a hit-and-run mountain, with minimal exposure to the winds. My assumption was that I could drive to the south end of Lake Synnalandsvatnet. Looking at the map, the road along the lake looked very much like a car road,

When I arrived Brattvåg, I learned that this was not the case, and I decided to follow the north ridge. I drove back and forth among the upper houses, looking for the trail. Of course there is no need for signs - everyone living in Brattvåg knows where to go. So I had to find one of them and ask.

Now that I had learned where the trail was, things were looking brighter. It had stopped raining (for now) and my dog "Troll" seemed eager to get going. We left the trailhead 11:00AM, and after 25m, Troll refused to walk any further. And THEN it started to rain again.

I didn't notice the winds until I reached Høgenakken. Surely not as strong as yesterday. I kept a normal pace across the ridge, and reached Håvikhornet 12:05PM. The winds were blowing and it was raining, which made taking pictures more difficult. I signed the guestbook and moved on towards Skulstadhornet, which I reached 5 minutes later. I may have had a vague plan about continuing across this ridge, but wet as I was, I cancelled this idea. It would be an extra 5Km of walking, with no particular value add in this type of weather. I turned back around.

Back on Håvikhornet, I ran into another hiker. I let Troll out of the backpack and walked with the other guy down to Håvskaret pass. On the way down to the pass, I slipped at the class 2 section but managed to spin around and land on my feet. A sharp rock that missed my head by a few millimeters, scared the crap out of me. There was nothing unusual about the fall; I fall and spin around on many-a-hike, but this rock would have cracked my skull wide open.

We (me and Troll followed the "Tannlegeråsa" path down to the Gjersetvatnet and proceeded down to Synnalandsvatnet. The waves of rain were cascading across the lake, but I didn't get as soaking wet as expected. It looked as it was raining horizontally (winds), which could explain this. 14:00PM (sharp), we were back at the car. It was nice hike, although not exactly a hit-and-run hike.

Pictures from the Jan 29 2006 hike

To Håvikhornet

1. The ridge seen on the way to Brattvåg (224KB) 2. A cool ridge that leads to Urfjellet (239KB) 3. Hildrehesten seen on the way to Håvikhornet (353KB) 4. View back to Brattvåg (151KB) 5. Tinden - a pointy peak (206KB) 6. Håvikhornet comes into view (193KB) 7. A distinct rock (296KB) 8. Håvikhornet trig. point (92KB) 9. North view from Håvikhornet (351KB) 10. South view from Håvikhornet (795KB) 11. Hildrehesten seen/not seen from Håvikhornet (460KB)

Skulstadhornet

12. Skulstadhornet high point (208KB) 13. Troll on Skulstadhornet (273KB) 14. North view from Skulstadhornet (333KB) 15. North view (wide angle) from Skulstadhornet (487KB) 16. View down from Skulstadhornet (340KB)

Back on Håvikhornet and descent

17. South view (wide angle) from Håvikhornet (503KB) 18. Dam on the north side of Gjersetvatnet (315KB) 19. Towards Synnalandsvatnet (205KB) 20. Along Synnalandsvatnet (164KB)

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