Hiking in Sunndal: Langrabbpiken

Langrabbpiken is with its high cliffs and a 1506 masl summit, popular for base jumpers all over the world. Instead of staring towards the summit from Litjdalen and scout for people flying down from the mountain, it was about time I visited the summit. And since I had a friend visiting from the eastern part of Norway, I thought she should see the beautiful and extreme nature Sunndal has to offer:)
Most of the hike I have walked earlier, but the last bit was unfamiliar to me. We started with Hareimdalen, a rather steep hike, but it follows a clear path and except from being hard work is a nice hike that gives a good view of Sunndalen. When the valley flattens you come to some ruins. Here there is a book to sign your name in:) This is also the place where we took off from Hareimdalen and headed for Litjhareimdalen. After crossing a scree there is a path that took us to and up Litjhareimdalen. This bit can be a bit scary at times, but it is just to focus on the path and keep on it:)

The ruins in Hareimdalen

At the top of Litjhareimdalen

Then we just followed the map and hiked towards Langrappiken. From Litjharemdalen there was not much except rocks to hike on, sometimes okay and other times annoyingly slow hiked. But we could see the goal of the trip the whole time and step by step we got closer. Once we had passed Hårstadnebba the extreme cliffs became evident. Bare in mind that it is a long fall just on the other side of the rocks you see...
And at the summit it is straight down to the left, straight ahead and to the right but there is plenty of space in between the cliffs so there is no danger of falling down. It is not a dangerous hike, but it is thrilling to be on the summit!:) And of course a beautiful view in all directions

Langrabbpiken next:)

Rocks in all shapes and sizes

Hårstadnebba and the fjord down to the left

The view towards Litjdalen

Happy=)

Once down from the summit, my friend was comfortably enough to take a photo:) Langrappbiken in the back

Litjhareimdalen

Eyes on the path!

If you want to do this hike, remember that you are only half way there when you are at the summit, it does take a while to hike down. Especially the areas with rocks.

Hiking in Sunndal: Viromsætra and Grasdalen

Finally a warm and sunny Saturday and of course my friend Tanya and I could not let it go by without taking advantage of it and go on a decent hike. We set of from the parking-lot at the end of the road in Nerdalen a parallel valley of Sunndalen (also the place you park when you want to visit the beautiful Innerdalen).
From the parking we walked towards Innerdalen, but after passing the farm we took a right turn and headed for Viromsætra and Grasdalen instead. At first we followed a tractor road along some fields with sneaky cows grassing on the left. After crossing the river Ulvåa we followd a nice path to the pasture. All the way up the to the pasture you get great views of the river finding its way down.
After reaching Viromsærta we still had energy left and since the surroundings were especially lovely this evening we continued up Grasdalen till we reached the end of the valley. Grasdalen is a lovely valley giving a great view of the Vinnu mountain and glacier. To the left we had the highest mountain in Trollheimen: Trolla. It is an infamous mountain known to be very dangerous and difficult to climb. We did not go to the top! But we fallowed a steep hill for a while until we were met by a wall... Time to head back home, but before we did, we really had to stop and take in the atmosphere and the exceptional nice view=) The best way to spend a summer evening:)

Vinnu mountain and glacier

Difficult to get much further than this...

A friendly sheep that wanted to cuddle! There's a first for everything..

Somewhere behind the wall the summit of Trolla is hiding

Grasdalen

Grasdalen

Couldn't be happier:)

Tunga

Besseggen -an overrated hike?

The hike across Besseggen is rated as one of the most beautiful hikes in Norway and is therefore also one of the most popular ones. The hike goes from Memurubu to Gjendesheim in Jotunheimen National park. To get to Memurubu most people take the ferry from Gjendesheim. It is possible to make the trip one day longer by taking the ferry a bit further and starting the hike at Gjendebu. Then you hike across Bukkelægret to get to Memurubu. A rather steep hike at times, but nice indeed:)

Besseggen is famous for its wonderful view with a green lake on one side and a blue one on the other. The view was beautiful, but the rest of the hike was disappointing. For me the hike got ruined by all the people everywhere, it was like walking down the main shopping street in a big city on a Saturday. Not what  I prefer when I am up in the mountains. So even though I understand why it has become so famous, I think the popularity is damaging the experience.

One of the most positive things about Besseggen, was that it gave a great view over to Knutshøe. This mountain seemed so fun to hike that the trip was extended by an extra day. And it was absolutely worth it! The hike was very nice, but maybe a bit more difficult than Besseggen. We only saw a handful of other people on the hike so it was hard to imagine that Besseggen was only minutes away.  

The cabins around Besseggen are very big and nice, but for me they were to similar to a hotel. They lacked some of the personality and charm the cabins in Trollheimen have.

All in all a nice trip, but Besseggen will never be one of my favourites. It is a hike that is fun to have walked, but that I will never do again. I can only recommend the hike to those who doesn't mind hiking in a huge crowd.

Besseggen

On my way to the top of Knutshøe=)

Satisfied with the hike 

Knutshøe

Litj-kalkjin 1389 masl

Looming almost straight above Sunndalsøra and our house, Litj-Kalkjin is an excellent hike for those who want to get e great view of Sunndalsøra. The hike is not very steep compared to other hikes in the area and it does not take too long either. Of course the time spent on the hike depends on how fast one wants to walk and the conditions in the mountain. When I did this hike this summer it was still some snow on the way to the summit that we could not cross and therefore the trip got a bit longer. If you do not follow the marked path, as we could not do, you have to go through an area with rather large rocks. It wasn't dangerous or anything, but it takes longer and is more demanding.

The hike starts at the bottom of Haremdalen, a valley that one follows for the first hour or so. Walking up this valley is quit special because after a while you have to cross a river and then you have a river on both sides for the rest of the hike up the valley. As the valley is steep the rivers make a lot of noise and they are amazing and terrifying to watch. The water is so powerful!

Haremdalen, starting point

Before you leave Haremdalen, you get to a postbox where you can sign your name. At this place you leave the path to cross a rockslide before you get back on the path. Then you come to the most airy part of the trip. After that it is just up, up and up. You only have to be careful not to send a rock in your friends direction as there are some loose rocks on the path.

This year it was a bit foggy at the top, so we did not get the good view we usually do. But the hike is nice either way. You start almost at sea level and incline very quickly ending up at almost 1400 meters.

A narrow path through the most airy part of the hike

Finding a good way through the rocks

A lot of snow and low visibility

Due to the fog we only got a view up the valley

My dad and I at the summit. Usually Sunndalsøra is in the background

How the view how it is supposed to be. The photo is taken at an other occasion.

It was a good thing we had done the hike before.

The usual view from the summit. This year all we could see was white fog:/

Hiking in Sunndal: Stortuva

In Sunndalen you have two opportunities if you want to train: run on flat ground or hiking up one of the mountainsides that are too steep for running. After studying a map, I found a place where I thought it could be possible to go for a run without it being just flat. A 20 minute drive from home the track to Stortuva starts. It's a summit at 1036 meters, and since it starts at nearly sea-level it makes for a good exercise:) It was just to follow the path all the way to the top except from one place: At the first mountain pasture I missed that the path took a right turn, but if you take it slow and take a look around the path should be easy to find:) It took me approximately 1,5 hr to the top and 1 hr to get back down. If you want to make it a hike, it could take a bit longer depending on the pace. 

An old mountain pasture

Ahead: The only part that wasn't possible to run 

The view towards Sunndalen

Enjoying the view towards Nesøya:)