Location: North 61:43.591, East 006:19.013 (GPS at the summit).
Sogn og Fjordane, Norway
Difficulty, YDS class 2+
Climbed on October 10. 2010
Information:
How to get there:
Travel to Byrkjelo along E-39. Continue along E-39 towards Sandane. You will first see the lake
Breimsvatnet, then drive along it. Just after driving through 2 tunnels (one short, one somewhat
longer), look for a road going left with the sign "Kandal 14". Turn left and measure from here.
Drive 300 meter and take a right fork (downhill). Drive downhill and cross the bridge. Find the first
road going left after this bridge. This location is N61:44.879, E006:16.449, elevation about 70
meter. The distance from E-39 is about 600 meter. Turn left and drive approximately 600 more meter.
There is a pretty large open area here. This is a possible place to park if you do not want to
drive further uphill.
The forest road continues all the way up to Ryssdalsstøylen at about 500 meter.
There is a road fork part way up, where one should go left (uphill).
This road
is (fall 2010) fairly good and can be driven by normal cars if driven carefully. However, the road
is a bit rough (loose rocks) in a few places and it is very steep in the upper part. A somewhat
high clearance as well as 4WD would be preferable. The steepest part is very smooth, but enough
traction is important, do not attempt this unless the road is dry.
There is parking at the end of the road, location N61:43.979, E006:17.474, elevation about
509 meter. Route description:
From Ryssdalsstøylen, head directly (left)
towards the steep slope above. The trail is
easy to see if you walk just behind a huge boulder that is located fairly close to one of the
huts near the start of the uphill slope.
Hike uphill, the trail has some red "T" painted on rocks as well as a few red and white wooden
poles (short ones). Higher up, the trail is less distinct as it runs straight up a small
area with boulders. Ascend to the top of these rocks, then observe a red arrow pointing
left a bit higher. Traverse left and complete
the final section before gaining the (main)
north-west ridge. This section is the crux of the trail, it contains two short sections
where you must use your hands. The trail is rated (YDS) class 2+ because of this section.
There is no real difficulty and no exposure, but the trail is steep.
As soon as you emerge on the main ridge, the trail turns right and continues uphill.
There are several "false" summits, but the trail is quite easy to follow. Eventually,
the trail reaches the col just south of point 1160. From here, the ridge is fairly flat.
The highest point is at the far end, a bit more than 500 meter away.
There is a trig point
at the summit and a small cairn nearby.
Comments:
I drove across the old Strynefjell road after my visit to
Søre Svartkampen on Saturday. It was a
very nice drive with a good view of Skåla in the early evening. I was pleased
to find an open hotel in Sandane, even better, an old, historic hotel with friendly
people and a good restaurant. After a nice dinner, I was ready for a good night sleep.
No need to hurry as I had breakfast shortly before 0800, checked out and set out to find
the trailhead for Ryssdalshornet. I had no idea how far one could drive towards the
(mountain) farm huts at Ryssdalsstøylen. However, the road looked pretty good and
I started driving my Saab (Cab) up the somewhat steep and partly rough forest road.
Things were going well until I failed to notice that the mid section of the road was
a bit high, this could easily have been tackled by driving with the wheels on the shoulder
of the road. Bang, and a rock hit the from exhaust muffler. Too bad, I just replaced it after
this Easter, now I had the "vroom - vrooom" sound back in full force. I took the hint
and parked slightly higher at about 300 meter, there was a nice spot off the road on the
right hand side.
I started hiking at 0850 and quickly got up to the nice Ryssdalsstøylen, quite a few
small huts up here. The trail that started out from here was easy to follow with a slightly
steeper section (not difficult) in order to gain the main ridge.
I arrived at the top ridge and followed
it to the highest point at the far end. The time was
1020, so 1:30 from my car.
Unfortunately, the views were limited as there were too many clouds drifting about.
I still enjoyed the changing views and sat around until 1040 before heading back down.
The trail was nice and the view to Sandane kept
changing because of drifting clouds. Just before
leaving the ridge, one can look directly down
to Ryssdalsstøylen.
Going down, I met a single hiker on his way up, just below the crux part of the
trail. We talked a bit, he was a local that had hiked here numerous times. Saying goodbye, I continued
down and reached the car at 1155.
This was my last peak in a 3 day trip that also included looking after my mountain hut
in Lillehammer and preparing for winter.