Location: North 61:51.352, East 005:14.811 (GPS at the summit)
Climbed May 16, 2008
Difficulty YDS class 2
Information:
How to get there:
See the information under Svartevassegga.
Hornelen is famous for its steep cliff going from 860 meter and straight into the sea below.
Thus, it is called the highest "sea cliff" in Northern Europe. It is unclear to me what cliffs
are higher in Southern Europe. It is also a bit unclear to me how to define a "sea cliff", is
this different from a steep mountain rising up from a fjord? In any case, this peak is
very impressive and well worth a visit.
Route description:
The first part of this route is described under Svartevassegga.
From the area just south of Svartevassegga, continue along the well marked trail as you descend
into a shallow valley below. This is where the alternate trail from the opposite side of the
penisula merges with this trail. The trail continues fairly flat across the broad and wide saddle
connecting Hornelen with Svartevassegga, then climbs the final slopes to the top of Hornelen.
Comments:
I continued to climb this mountain after visiting the island HP, Svartevassegga located nearby.
I arrived at the summit around 0930 and immediately started to explore the plateau. A small, but
nice summit hut
called Olavsbu had been built nearby. The hut had a summit register as well
as a big Norwegian flag. I planted the flag
outside for the 30 minute duration of my stay.
The following day (Norway's constitution day) would have been more appropriate, but the sixteen of
May is not bad either.
The cliff is horribly steep
at its top edge. Since it had been raining and since my ski boots had
already slipped on many rocks, I proceeded with extreme care. Still, I succeeded in getting to
the edge and
had a peek outside and straight down.
I left around 1000 and followed the trail back to my car, arriving at 1150. This had been a very
nice climb indeed. What remained was a five hour drive back to Bergen.
