Norwegian Mountains, Sogn og Fjordane
Storskredfjellet from Åning, Aug 7 2010
To the main Storskredfjellet page (maps, route descriptions, other trip reports, etc.)
Storskredfjellet
(Click for larger image)
This weekend was dedicated to the Nordfjord region, and little did Anne and I know what we had in store when we checked into Hotel Alexandra on a rainy Friday afternoon. Given the weather forecast, any hike would be a bonus. We certainly did not expect to get Storskredfjellet on Saturday and Kattanakken on Sunday - in gorgeous weather.
I had never been to Alexandra before, so it was high time. That said, I've never been very addictive to luxury. Enough beer and an internet uplink is more than satisfactory. Anne suggested a swim before dinner. I'm not addictive to pools either, but the outdoors pool was quite OK...
After a huge dinner (buffet), it was time for some rounds of billiard (eight-ball) and table tennis. Now, that's more my kind of thing. After a very enjoyable evening, it was time for a beer in our room - which I pretended was a suite. We watched the rain fade away and the fog lift, while sending a warm thought to the sherpas at 900 metres - performing wonders on the trail to Skålatårnet. I've been to Skåla before, but as Skålastien is Anne's project, I am going to revisit this mountain.
Skåla - and the sherpa base-camp
(Click for larger image)
The next morning, we woke up to thick fog. Fortunately, the fog was lifting, and it was lifting fast. Our tentative plan which involved Storskredfjellet was now a real plan. We decided to follow the route that Anne described in her Opptur Sogn og Fjordane book.
We drove up to the Åning farm - 250 meters above Strynevatnet, and parked after paying the fee. Jon Åning - The farm owner - came out and explained the route in detail. Anne and Jon recognized each other, having met some years earlier. 11:17am, we were on our way to Storskredfjellet - a mountain that I've had on my to-do list for years. Below the tree line, it can pay off to watch the flowers. And once in a while, one can get a really good picture...
Flora and fauna in one
(Click for larger image)
Jon's directions - many and accurate as they were - weren't easy to remember, but the path was easy to follow and the route was kind of obvious. Especially after passing 1000m. The views got more and more interesting by the minute. I paid special attention to the Breifonna glacier, the Nesjehyrna satellite peak, the Storskredfjellet west ridge, the green Strynevatnet, the Stryn mountains beyond and the Sunnmøre peaks beyond the Stryn peaks. In other words - Omigod landscape...
Breifonna
(Click for larger image)
We reached the Storskredfjellet summit 2:30pm - 3h:07m after leaving Åning. I had a personal ambition of doing the 1600 vertical meter hike within 3 hours, but there was so much to take pictures of. As Anne had left her car at Hotel Alexandra, we had a golden opportunity of traversing the mountain, but she had left her car keys in my car at Åning...
That didn't matter much to me. The Åning route was absolutely fine for descent - with the beautiful Strynevatnet and surrounding peaks to look at. After moving over to the south side of the summit plateau, I got the entire Skåla - Lodalskåpa route in full view. My thoughts went back to just that trip back in 2002, when I was learning to ski and to become a mountain man. I was definitely not ready for Jostedalsbreen's wrath back then, but after a number of trips up to - and on this glacier, I feel that I've become a Jostedalsbreen friend.
The Skåla - Lodalskåpa route
(Click for larger image)
As we had to move our base-camp from Hotel Alexandra to Oldedalen, we had to get going. We descended our ascent route, expect for a short-cut between 1100 and 960 meters. Back at Åning, Jon joined us and we had a nice chat before we returned to Alexandra. Grand as this hike was, the following day was even grander. Make sure to check out the Kattanakken trip report for pictures from one of the most scenic places in Norway...
