| Hellefjellet from
Øyadalen Hellefjellet |
| Estimated net time | 4-5 hours | ||
| Difficulty |
No technical difficulties, but finding the
best route across the slab and wet moss below Grøthornet requires some
careful navigation. There are some slightly exposed sections on the ridge below Hellefjellet but in summer conditions they don't give any reason for concern. |
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| Drinking water | Several sources of running water in the lower half of the route. | ||
| GSM coverage | Coverage at trail head and in the summit area, else patchy and no coverage (July 2014). | ||
| Parking | Room for several cars around trail head. | ||
| Start height | 230 metres | ||
| Vertical metres | 1050 metres for the roundtrip. | ||
| Trip distance | 9.5 km | ||
| GPS-file | X | ||
| Map |
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| Route photo |
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From Ålesund drive road E39 south towards Bergen, and get the ferry from Solavågen to Festøya. From Festøya ferry port turn right and drive road E39 in the direction of Ørsta. Measure from the ferry port:
- At 36.0 km turn left in the round about in Ørsta centre and drive road 655 in the direction of Sæbø.
- At 40.7 km continue straight ahead towards Follestaddalen, where road 655 turns right across a bridge.
- At 48.5 km turn left towards Standal.
- At 49.0 km turn right onto a smaller gravel road.
- At 49.8 find parking in the forest road junction.
From the forest road junction locate the start of the path, signed for "Harpedalen" on a small wooden sign. Follow this path through the forest and up to the small cabins at Heidane at 430m. Continue on the path, which gets less defined in a couple of places, cross the stream at 500m (the crossing is marked by red ribbons), and continue up to lake Harpedalsvatnet at 560m. The path ends just before the lake and from here turn left (east) and find a route left of and above the bush above the lake. Gradually turn right (south) and aim for the distinct top above (Grøthornet). The lower part of the route to Grøthornet looks steep, and there are a number of sections of slab with wet moss, but if you take your time to study the route from below you will find several options where the terrain allows for an easy ascent.
Once on top of the flat section of Grøthornet turn left and continue towards Hellefjellet. You will come across several narrow sections as you approach the final ascent of Hellefjellet, and there's a touch of exposure, but no technical difficulties. You can stay on the ridge all the way to the summit plateau, and the summit is marked by a large cairn. You're likely to find a summit registration book inside a metal cylinder on the ground next to the cairn.
Descend by reversing your ascent route.
Nice post work hike together with Trond, on a very warm evening. We found a good route up and down to/from Grøthornet, and the views from Hellefjellet were as nice as they get. We jogged almost all the way back down to the car in order to catch the 21:25 ferry, which we did with a few minutes to spare.
