Estimated net time	4-6 hours
Difficulty	No difficulties, but the hill from a little below 1100 metres to the summit plateau is steep. Make sure you stay away from the cornices towards north and east above 1200 metres, i.e. stay away from the right edge when you ascend.
Drinking water	During spring you're likely to find water up to approximately 700 metres.
GSM coverage	Coverage throughout the route (May 2011).
Parking	Room for many cars around trail head.
Start height	390 metres
Vertical metres	1005 metres for the roundtrip.
Trip distance	6.1 km
GPS-file	X
Map		Google Interactive Map
Route photo	Approximate skiing route to Øverøystolen.

From Ålesund drive road E39 to Sjøholt. Drive through Sjøholt centre, and turn right onto road 650, signed for "Geiranger" and "Stordal". From this junction drive 24.0 km on road 650, and turn left where signed for Overøye. Follow this road 9.1 km to the ski centre (fork left after 6.4 km). During the winter you have to park at the ski centre, but at spring time it is easier to drive another 600 metres and find parking along the road.

Start your skiing by heading uphill (north-west) on one of the short forest roads, and when it ends find your best route through the short section of forest, maintaining a north-west direction straight towards the summit. When you get above the forest continue in the same direction and cross the river in the flat section at around 700 metres. From here find your best route in the open landscape, and aim for the bottom of the steep eastern slopes of Øverøystolen.

When ascending the steep slopes from a little below 1100 metres make sure you don't ski too far to the right (north), as there are massive cornices building up here. Continue all the way up to the summit plateau, and turn right towards the summit. Make sure you stay clear of the cornices to your right (east). The summit is not marked in any way, but there is no doubt what is the highest point.

Descend by reversing your ascent route.

01. May 2011

After a full day working in the garden etc. on Saturday, and not doing any hiking, I picked up some maps close to bed-time. My eyes fell on Øverøystolen, and I asked Sigurd if he wanted to join me for a Sunday morning hike. He was on, so I did some finer planning on the route.

Sunday morning was just as beautiful as the last few days, so we packed the car with snow board, skis, snow shoes and a good supply of other necessities. Then off to Stordal a little before 8 am.

My first impression when arriving Overøye ski centre was that is was too little snow for skiing today, but a closer look slowly started to change my mind. And after 5-10 minutes of driving back and forth we decided to have a go. By then I had already made up my mind not to ski, but instead use snow shoes. The rational behind the decision was based on a couple of things; I didn't fancy carrying my skis a long way, and I assumed the snow would be soft and requiring telemark turns not suitable for my weak right knee. My second argument was OK, but the first argument was definitely wrong; we were on snow after 100 metres of walking on a gravel road.

The hike through the forest was easy enough, and we soon found ourselves in open terrain. When we got up to the small basin at around 700 metres we crossed the stream and headed north in order to gain the eastern slopes of Øverøystolen in more gentle terrain than if continuing directly towards the summit. In hindsight this wasn't necessary, as the direct route didn't prove to be very steep, but neither did our small de-tour add much distance to our hike. After we had ascended the small hill after crossing the stream we had a relatively flat section before the steep hill up the last 300 vertical metres. This turned out to be very tough in the loose and wet snow, and we had a number of short stops to lower the heart beat below maximum. And at the upper few metres we had to dig into the rotten snow in order to get up on the summit plateau.

But the reward was fantastic! A splendid view in all directions, on a very warm and nice day. And the small summit point really made us feel having climbed a proper mountain.

When descending I had some problems getting down the upper couple of metres thanks to a very steep "wall" made by the snow, but some hard stamping into the snow allowed me to get comfortable foot hold. Sigurd, however, set out on his snow board in fine style, at least until the failed landing. From here on it was fine conditions for Sigurd, and I ended up sitting on my bottom and gliding down the long hill, which was a possibility I discovered after having fallen.

During our descent we met four other hikers (first one girl and later three men), who were all enjoying a fantastic day out.
Photos 01.05.2011