Location: North 61:03.234, East 008:12.865 (GPS at the summit)
Climbed: February 11, 2006
Difficulty: YDS class 2
Information:
How to get there:
From Oslo, drive Hwy. 7 to Gol, then Hwy. 52 through Hemsedal
and a bit further than the county border between Buskerud and
Sogn og Fjordane, see details below.
From Bergen, drive Hwy. E-16 up the Lærdal valley, then
take a right onto Hwy. 52. From the place where Hwy. 52 forks right,
continue 13 kilometer uphill. There should be a small road going left
(even in winter), and you see a lake (the first one) on your
left. Park here, this is the trailhead.
The elevation is 1128 meter, location N61:00.528, E008:06.460.
The distance from Bergen is 233 kilometer.
Driving time from Bergen is 3-4 hours depending on traffic and road
conditions. Route description:
From the trailhead, follow the road that runs around the west end of the lake.
In winter, one may head directly by the cabins and cross the lake. Head towards
Ulvehaugen (1274m). The road forks here, take the left fork as it climbs parallel,
but above the river. When the valley becomes more level, you have the west slope
of Jukleeggi on your right hand side. This slope can be climbed along several lines.
I skied up just south of the 1554 meter elevation printed on the map (halsane). From here,
one can traverse several smaller summits along the way to Høgeloft, the highest
summit on Jukleeggi. Comments:
I climbed this mountain solo on a cold, but beautiful winter day.
I left Bergen around 0600, and arrived at the trailhead around 0900.
The temperature at the trailhead was minus 20 Centigrade. I left the car
at 0915 and arrived at the summit at 1200 noon. By then the sun was warming and
fortunately, there was no wind. Fantastic views of Jotunheimen. Still, it was cold
enough to make me leave at 1220, arriving back at the car at 1340.
What a nice day this was. I started breaking trail across the west end of Eldrevatnet,
then hit a ski track partially snowed in at the road. The river flowing down by Ulvehaugen
was open with lots of water. I found a single snow bridge to cross (one may always use the road bridge).
This is quite unusual
at 1200 meter elevation in mid February. The ski track continued along the road, but vanished
(due to snow drift) by the time I hit the bottom of the somewhat steeper west slope of
Store Jukleeggi. There was plenty of new snow, so breaking trail required some effort.
Once I hit the higher area, there were still a number of local hills with small valleys
in between on the way to Høgeloft, the highest summit on Store Jukleeggi.
I took pictures from the summit and had a small chocolate lunch, before the cold weather
hinted that it was time to move on. This is indeed a very nice viewpoint. Even though there
were a few clouds along the horizon, the view of Jotunheimen and Lodalskåpa as well
as less distinct but pretty nice views also to the south and west just left you looking, then
again and again. Another lasting memory will be the deep, white silence. No wind, no people,
only new, fresh snow, the low sun and my single track in the snow.
Resources:
Images
Jukleeggi as seen from near the trailhead (and Hwy. 52).
What is visible is 1500-1600 meter, the highest point, Høgeloft, is about 4 kilometer
further back.
Masseringsnosi (1742m) in center. The river
Ulvehaugelvi further right. The route runs up parallel on the right side of the river.