Estimated net time	4-5 hours
Difficulty	No difficulties. The route runs on path into Fjørstaddalen, and then an area with some boulder and patches of vague path.
Drinking water	There are several streams along the route.
GSM coverage	Coverage from trail head and up into first part of Fjørstaddalen. From here no coverage before summit area (July 2012).
Parking	Room for many cars at car park by trail head.
Start height	327 metres
Vertical metres	1020 metres for the roundtrip.
Trip distance	14.4 km
GPS-file	X
Map		Google Interactive Map
Route photo	Åkernesnibba trail head by Fram-Fjørstad.

From Ålesund drive road E39 south towards Bergen, and then exit onto road 60 just south of Ålesund. This road is signed for Stranda. Follow road 60 to the Magerholm ferry port and get the ferry across to Aursneset. From Aursneset ferry port follow road 60 for approximately 35 km to where you get to a T-junction. There is an Esso petrol station on the right hand side of the road (per 2012). Turn right here and continue 11.4 km along road 60. Turn left onto a gravel road, drive 100 metres and turn left again, and turn right after a building 100 metres later. Park at the large car park.

Start your hike by crossing the wooden stile and head a little left towards the corner of the fence. From here follow the vague path along the fence until the fence's next corner. At this point turn a little right and head uphill. You will find some stones with red paint and also a couple of wooden poles. When you reach the forest you will find a path and frequent dots of red paint on the trees. Follow this path all the way to the ridge on the right hand side of the stream coming down from Fjørstaddalen. Turn right here and continue on the path up to the old wooden building at Heimfjørstadsætra, where you turn left and continue on the path into Fjørstaddalen. Make sure you ignore the sign for "Fjørstadskaret" at 760 metres.

This path starts to fade away when it tops out at approximately 980 metres at the north-west end of Fjørstaddalen. You will see a cairn here and should turn a little left in order to get to the left side of the small lakes. This will ensure you avoid most of the boulder through Fjørstaddalen. Continue south-east and then south on the left side of the lakes, almost to the saddle at the end of the valley. Turn left and head uphill where you find it most convenient, before you get to the saddle. You will see some kind of technical installation on the ridge, and you should turn left before you get to it. From here you will see the summit cairn, which you reach through easy terrain.

Descend by reversing your ascent route.

16. July 2012

This Monday was the first day of our summer holiday and we had been at Fjellsetra since Friday night. And after a couple of mornings with miserable weather in terms of visibility today looked much better. But there was some rain in the air so the day couldn't be categorised as a nice summer day.

I had some duties to sort in Stranda so had to wait until the shops opened, and then I was off to Strandadalen to hike Åkernesnibba. According to the literature at hand I was supposed to start my hike at Heimste Fjørstad, but my excellent Stranda hiking map indicated I should go to the trail head at Fram-Fjørstad (which I knew well from my skiing to Blåhorna a couple of years earlier). Here I found a sign for Fjørstaddalen, and I knew I had found the right place.

After a little bit of searching for the path after I had crossed the fields above Fram-Fjørstad it was easy navigation through the forest and up to the old building at Heimfjørstadsætra. From here I continued up to Fjørstaddalen, via a small de-tour when I decided to go left where a sign points towards "Fjørstadskaret". This was soon corrected and I was back on the path leading into Fjørstaddalen. When the path topped out at the start of the proper valley I was surprised to see the amount of snow, but soon realised that this would probably make my hike easier since it would allow an easy ride across the boulder most likely hiding underneath the snow.

Following Fjørstaddalen valley was a long and relatively boring stretch, and some negative thoughts crept into my mind when the rain picked up a little and I still had a long way to go before the final kilometre along the south slopes of the actual mountain. I also had some slightly more positive thoughts, considering climbing Åkernesnibba via the saddle between Åkernesnibba and Fremste Blåhornet, but the idea was ditched when I couldn't see a definite route and I wasn't at all keen on a major de-tour in the less than nice conditions.

When I got up from the valley I came across some technical installation at the south end of the south slopes, but couldn't figure out what it was. My assumption is that it is something to do with the equipment that has been installed to monitor the future landslide that will occur when the large piece of rock by Åkernesrevna will slide into the fjord and likely destroy everything along the fjord, but when I couldn't see any cables I had to call pass. From here it was an easy walk to the summit, where I had some nuts and water, and took a few photos to mountains mostly covered by fog above 14-1500 metres.
Photos 16.07.2012