| Bondehaug from
Tverbergstølen (ski) Bondehaug |
| Estimated net time | 2-2½ hours | ||
| Difficulty | No difficulties. | ||
| Drinking water | No access to running water during winter. | ||
| GSM coverage | Coverage throughout the route (February 2013). | ||
| Parking | Room for many cars at car park by trail head. | ||
| Start height | 502 metres | ||
| Vertical metres | 355 metres for the roundtrip. | ||
| Trip distance | 7.5 km | ||
| GPS-file | X (descent only) | ||
| Map |
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| Route photo |
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From the intersection of roads 5 and 55 a few hundred metres east of Sogndal centre, follow road 55 17.4 km towards Lom. Turn right onto a gravel road where signed for "Mollandsmarki". Continue 2.3 km along this road until you get to a car park on the left hand side of the road. Park here.
From the car park ski approximately 100 metres back down the road from where you arrived. Turn left onto a forest road, and fork left after 50 metres where you see red paint on a tree. Follow this forest road south and the south east for a little less than 1 km. When you get out of the forest continue south-east, on a farm road, another 500 metres to the farms at Modland. From the buildings turn right and ski more or less directly west, and find your best route past and through the forests, all the way up to Bondehaug. You will first get to a local top, where most people seem to stop, but for the true summit you should continue 300 metres west and south-west. The summit is not marked in any way, but you might find an orange/white orienteering control point.
Descend by reversing your ascent route.
We had spent the night at Hafslo and my plan was to ski Krokberg from top of the ski lifts at Sogn ski-centre. But it had been snowing all night, and was still snowing after breakfast, with poor visibility, so I wasn't keen on a long hike in unknown territory. Hence I decided to take on the much shorter hike to Bondehaug.
The road up to the Molden trail head was well ploughed, including the car park at trail head, but this was my last success in a while. I started skiing on the wrong forest road (the one leading to the cabins further along the road), and did a big number 8, before I remembered that I had read that the forest road to use was back along the road. When I eventually got there I was pleased to find some red paint on trees, as well as some very old tracks just visible underneath the night's snow fall. I followed this track to where I got out of the forest, and did my next mistake; I turned sharp right in the direct direction to the summit, and ended up having to fight some really dense and cumbersome forest.
When I had been fighting the forest for a long while I thought I saw the old tracks below me in an open area, and was very pleased when I could re-join these tracks a little later. These tracks took me to the top 708 metres a little east of the summit, and since I've learned a lesson or two over the years I had a way-point for the summit, which told me I had another 300 metres or so to go.
After a short summit stop I started my descent, and had the pleasure of much easier skiing since I could follow my own tracks. Back down where I had re-joined the old tracks I met a father with two kids, and they advised me where to ski in order to get back to the Molden trail head in the best way. This worked out relatively well, but with another section of deep snow without the benefit of my own tracks, and a nasty blister on my right foot, I was starting to get pretty fed-up with the whole project. And from the farm at Modland I had a considerable uphill, and with no skins on I ended up carrying my skis until I was back to where I had turned right when I left the forest. From here it was easy skiing back to the car.