Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal
Island hopping, June 18 2008
To the main Svinøya page (maps, route descriptions, etc.)
I hadn't planned to ...
write trip reports from my Ålesund pf 50m+ conquests, but plans are indeed made to be changed. I had put up 17 tops on the pf 50m+ list, and of these, only the Svinøya high point offered logistical challenges. Namely how I could get there? The rescue came, as so many times before, in my excellent neighbour Pål. He had recently acquired a boat, and offered to take me across the fjord (and back, of course..). And while at it, we could take a trip up and down Ellingsøyfjorden. Along came my buddy Troll - not overwhelmingly enthusiastic about boats.
Old age has done wonders with Troll's tolerance level for a number of things. First, there was the vacuum cleaner which he finally came to terms with. It only took 14 years. And now, here on the sea, he was calm. Not happy, but calm. I had brought along a huge bag with his favorite rugs inside. A portable home, it was.
From the point we arrived on Svinøya, it took only 10 minutes until we were standing on the top. And since Pål came along, Troll walked willingly all the way. I had imagined we would be fighting dense bush, but to my surprise, there was a nice path all the way up. This was clearly not desolation island. A huge picnic area suggested that this island can be busy on warm summer evenings.
I climbed the highest tree just to really have been on top of the island. Pål does not see a big point in climbing trees, but can't resist a challenge, either. That's his curse, so to speak. I believe I heard some foul language as he climbed upwards.
Limited views on Svinøytoppen
(Click for larger image)
After having strolled around Svinøya, and chatted with some cabin owners, we headed eastbound and drove to the northern tip of Langøya (6Km from Svinøya), before turning back around. It had started to rain, but not very much. No reason to end the trip just yet.
I had been under the impression that there might be some cool scrambling cliffs on Brattholmen, located just north of Nørvøya. Pål agreed to take me there too. It had stopped raining as I entered Brattholmen. As there is no pier on this islet, Pål waited in the boat. Above me appeared seagulls by the numbers. I felt guilty about trespassing, and made the stay as short as possible. I learned that there were some moderate cliffs, but it was slab rock with bird poo all over. Time to move on.
Pål suggested that we go stop by Hundsvær. It was nice going through the Nørvasundet and Toskesundet straits. Familiar landscape seen from a new angle. Pål stopped by a large buoy and suggested that we could take a few pictures from it. I figured a split-jump was cooler than a waving hand, a thumbs up or something in that alley. After all, the split-jump is more and more becoming a trademark. Better live up the reputation..
Buoy madness
(Click for larger image)
We anchored up on Hundsvær and strolled along the shoreline. Troll went into rabbit mode on the grassy lawn near the pier. He almost looked like a puppy again. But while the rest of the islet terrain would suit rabbits, it didn't suit Troll. He got the guided tour in a backpack.
We found a neat cliff wall that was tall enough to be impressive, and easy enough to scramble. Getting to the high point involved bush fighting, but eventually we found the trigonometric marker. I enjoy visiting weird places. Many people have surely been on this islet, but how many take the time to walk up to the high point? In this forest? Not many, I would say.
Many thanks to Pål for a nice fjord trip!!
