The route up to 1600 metres runs on well marked forest road and path. From here the route is not marked across the scree, but there are no difficulties.
Route overview.
Trail head by Kyrkjebøen.
| Leinenøse from
Kyrkjebøen Kyrkjebønøse Leinenøse |
| Estimated net time | 4-5 hours | ||
| Difficulty |
No difficulties, but expect to use your
hands a couple of places along the south ridge. The route up to 1600 metres runs on well marked forest road and path. From here the route is not marked across the scree, but there are no difficulties. |
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| Drinking water | A few unreliable sources of running water through the forest. | ||
| GSM coverage | Coverage throughout the route (July 2011). | ||
| Parking | Room for many cars at trail head. | ||
| Start height | 742 metres | ||
| Vertical metres | 1115 metres for the roundtrip. | ||
| Trip distance | 11.4 km | ||
| GPS-file | X | ||
| Map |
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| Route photo |
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In Hemsedal centre locate the bridge crossing the river Trøymsåni. From this bridge drive 90 metres west, just past Skogstad Hotel, and then turn right up a road where signed for "Dalløypa" and "Tuv". Drive this road 1.1 km and turn right when signed for "Kyrkjebønnøse". Drive uphill another 300 metres and find parking somewhere on the gravel excavation site.
Start your walk by crossing the gravel excavation site towards the mountain. Here you will find the start of a forest road. Follow this forest road for 1.4 km, making sure you follow the blue paint whenever the forest road forks. Note that at the start of the route there are a couple of short-cuts shortening the hike with a few metres. When the forest road ends the route continue on a fine path, clearly marked with blue paint. Just make sure you fork left in the signed path junction not long after the start of the path.
This path will take you all the way up to the small top at 1600 metres, where you will find a cairn and a registration book. From here continue across scree to the summit of Kyrkjebønøse, which is also marked by a cairn and holds a summit registration book. Then head west down into the saddle between Kyrkjebønøse and Leinenøse and climb Leinenøse from north-east. The summit of Leinenøse is marked by a cairn.
From Leinenøse head more or less directly back to the small top at 1600 metres, and then follow the marked route back to your car.
My friend Håvard had talked about the hike to Kyrkjebønøse for at least a couple of years, and we decided to have a go this Sunday. We drove up to Hemsedal from his cabin above Nesbyen, and set out in sunny conditions a little after noon. When we got above the forest we met a couple of other hikers, and we chatted a while with one of them.
When we got up to the small top at 1600 metres we were a little surprised to see have far away the summit of Kyrkjebønøse was, and that we would have to cross a lot of scree. But the hike across to the summit wasn't as cumbersome as it first looked, and we stopped at the summit for a few minutes. Then we headed across to the slightly higher Leinenøse, which was a windy place. We didn't stay here long, and walked in a straight line back to the top at 1600 metres.
Soon after we started our steep descent down from 1600 metres it started to rain a little, but much more worrying was the fact that it started to lighten. We counted the time between the flash and the thunder, and was pleased to find that it was in the region 7-10 seconds away. But it certainly made sure we kept a good pace down to the forest. By now the lightning had stopped, but the rain had picked up considerably, so we rushed it a little back to the car.