Estimated net time	5-6 hours
Difficulty	There are no easy routes to Hundatinden, but the problems only occur in the last few metres to the summit; there is a gap between the main mountain and the large rock where the summit is located. This section requires some climbing moves, and also includes crossing of slab in very exposed terrain.
Drinking water	Access to running water throughout Megardsdalen until you cross the river and start the ascent towards the Hundatinden ridge.
GSM coverage	Coverage throughout the route (September 2008).
Parking	Room for several cars at the trail head.
Start height	190 metres
Vertical metres	1080 metres for the roundtrip
Trip distance	9.3 km
GPS-file	X
Map
Route photo	The route from Megardsdalen up to the Hundatinden north ridge.  The route to the summit (1234) of Hundatinden.

From Ålesund drive to Magerholm and take the ferry across to Aursneset. From the ferry port drive 4.1 km towards Stranda on road 60, and then turn right across the bridge to Hundeidvik. There is an unmanned toll booth as you enter the bridge (NOK 33, September 2008). After the bridge you get to a round-about, where you continue straight ahead towards "Hundeidvik". From the round-about drive 9.4 km, and turn left where signed for "Megardsdalen". 550 metres after leaving the main road you get to an unmanned toll booth (NOK 20, September 2008), and from here continue another 1.2 km to where the road does a sharp left. Park here. Alternatively try your luck continuing uphill on the gravel road to where it stops, which will considerably decrease the length of the hike.

From where you have parked follow the road uphill in a north-east direction for 130 metres, and then turn right and follow the road south-east along Megardsdalen. This road eventually turns into a path, and you follow this path until you see a small waterfall (the total drop is something like 10 metres). Find a suitable place to cross the small river, and head directly south, and then gradually west. There are a number of ledges suitable for ascending onto the north ridge of Hundatinden. The best route is probably the ledge furthest south, and a path can be followed when you get onto the ledge. When you get onto the long ridge of Hundatinden you follow this by staying on the ridge. There is a path here, but vague in some places.

Instead of heading directly for the summit you should pass this and continue to the trigonometric point at 1222 metres. From here you will have an excellent view back to the route you will have to follow to get to the summit. From 1222 walk back towards the summit, and mentally prepare yourself for something more than "just a hike".

A few metres before you get back to the large piece of rock where Hundatinden's summit is located you will see a gully going down towards Baklidalen. Don't go down here, but instead continue another few metres towards north. Observe the small section of boulder at the bottom of the gap, and walk across horizontally to this boulder section. Cross the boulder, which will take you across the bottom of the gap, and then climb up a corner. Turn right after having climbed this corner, and you will find yourself located in a small area of heather. Above the heather there is a section of slab that you need to climb. You will now see a cut in the mountain to your right, and you need to traverse inside this cut. Ahead of you now is a relatively steep and very exposed section of slab. But the hand-holds are good and there is also a decent crack/fold/shelf where you can put your feet. After the slab you climb up to the summit inside the corner coming down from the summit.

The descent is best done via the ascent route.

12. September 2008

Hundatinden had been on my to-do list for 2008, but by now I had more or less decided to wait until 2009. But early on in this week I saw a possibility for this Friday, and started to plan accordingly. I also called Olav to ask if he wanted to come along (he had a failed attempt at Hundatinden last year), but he had other plans for the week-end and wouldn't be able to make it.

I left work in Ulsteinvik a bit early on this fine Friday afternoon, and managed to catch the Magerholm-Aursneset ferry without having to spend any time waiting, so I was ready to start my hike at 14:35.

At the trail head I decided to follow the path leading south instead of heading up the mountain road. This worked OK, but as I found out when coming back down it would have been better to stick to the road, since the path soon became both boggy and vague. After a while I therefore decided to turn a bit left to see if I could join the road. I found my way up to the road, which by now was a good path, and was able to follow this path along Megardsdalen.

When I got close to Heimstevatnet I tried to figure out what would be the best ledge to follow up to the Hundatinden north ridge. I decided to go for the one second from the south and progressed well up to the ledge itself. Here I got a bit carried away and went for a short-cut in a gully leading directly up to the ridge. This was not a wise move at all, and I ended up being stuck. When I started to climb back down I slid a few metres in the loose mud and had to dig my fingers hard into some heather in order to regain control. This wasn't terribly dramatic, but enough to feel the adrenaline rush trough the body. I therefore decided to descend a bit and get onto the ledge, which safely took me up to the ridge.

On the ridge I proceeded up towards the summit. Further up I noticed the trigonometric point and assumed this was point 1222. I also assumed that point 1234 would be located beyond this trigonometric point. My surprise was therefore considerable when I got to 1222 and couldn't see a higher point behind it! But when I looked back I immediately saw that I had passed the summit on my way along the ridge, and I had an excellent view of the gap between the ridge and the big rock where 1234 is located.

I then headed back towards the summit, and descended down into Baklidalen. I ended up descending quite a bit before I started my climb up towards 1234. First I had to climb two relatively hard corners, and then a couple of easier sections. I was now located on a patch of heather, where I could clearly see that there had been humans before, but was a bit uncertain where to go next. I first tried climbing to the left, but got into difficulties. I therefore climbed back down to the heather, hoping I didn't have to climb the section I just aborted. My next attempt was to climb up a section of slab and then into a big crack. My first impression, when looking up at what was above me, was that this wasn't the right place to be. However, I proceeded through the crack and saw that this had to be the correct route. Ahead of me was the exposed slab section Arnt had told me about, and it looked quite doable. I now went back down to the heather to change into more suitable footwear for crossing steep slab. Then up and through the crack again, across the slab and up the final climb to the summit. I made it, and never felt uncomfortable, and was quite happy!

After taking my photos and enjoying a chocolate, I started the descent. I followed my ascent route back down to the heather, and then down the first corner. From here I saw that there would be a much easier route back to the main mountain if I just traversed horizontally into the boulder section at the base of the gap. This turned out to be "a walk in the park" compared to the climbing I had done when ascending.

Back at the main mountain I followed the path along the ridge, which eventually took me down to a ledge that even had a path. This route was much easier than my ascent. And back down in Megardsdalen valley I followed the path and then the mountain road back down to the car, making my descent route much easier than my ascent.

After the hike I stopped at the local store at Ikornes and treated myself with a Coke and another chocolate, before driving up to our cabin at Fjellsetra, where I arrived five minutes before the rest of my family. Sigurd and me decided to go for a swim in lake Nysetervatnet, which was most refreshing (the water temperature was 13°C).

Photos 12.09.2008