Estimated net time	3-4 hours
Difficulty	No difficulties, but the final climb to the summit is steep and is likely to have little snow.
Drinking water	No access to drinking water during winter, except possibly from under the bridge by lake Heggdalsvatnet.
GSM coverage	Coverage throughout the route, except through the valley before and after lake Heggdalsvatnet (January 2010).
Parking	Room for 3-4 cars by trail head.
Start height	35 metres
Vertical metres	750 metres for the roundtrip.
Trip distance	13.0 km
GPS-file	X
Map		Google Interactive Map
Route photo	Start of route to Oppstadhornet at Nord-Heggdal.

From Ålesund drive east on road E39, and turn left towards Vatne/Brattvåg onto road 661. Continue to Brattvåg, drive through Brattvåg centre, and turn right where signed for the ferry to Dryna. Get the ferry across to Dryna (note that this ferry doesn't sail very frequently). At Dryna follow road 668, and drive 4.8 km before turning left, continuing on road 668. Continue another 9.4 km, making sure you fork left after 8.0 km, and turn right where signed for "Heggdal" at the top of the small hill. Drive 13.6 km along this road, and park on the right hand side of the road before you get to a small bridge at the bottom of a small hill.

Walk down across the bridge and turn left immediately after the bridge. Ski uphill towards the farm and turn left into the valley heading north-west on the forest road. There are likely to be machine made tracks along this forest road, all the way to lake Heggdalsvatnet. From Heggdalsvatnet head west/south-west towards the lowest point on the ridge ahead of you. Get onto the ridge where it obviously is easiest, and then turn left (south/south-east) towards Oppstadhornet, first passing point 635. The last 100 vertical metres can be difficult to ski if the snow is blown away, but can then easily be hiked without skis. There is an old trigonometric point at the summit, place very close to the steep south wall.

The descent is best done by reversing the ascent route.

16. January 2010

I was going to Midsund this Saturday to coach my boys-14 football team at an indoor tournament, and decided to head off early to hike Oppstadhornet before the first match at 14:30. The initial plan was to include also Heggdalshornet, but I soon realised I wouldn't have enough time to do both mountains. One of the reasons for me running out of time was that I got excellent company from two locals from trail head and up the valley, but these two guys were in no rush to beat existing track records, which suited me well both in terms of getting good guidance and getting useful information about hiking in Midsund.

A little before lake Heggdalsvatnet I decided to continue on my own, still with the intention to include Heggdalshornet, and increased the speed a little.

When I got to the bottom of the last steep hill towards the summit I decided to change from skis to snow shoes since the snow was not favourable and there was a fair amount of stones sticking out of the snow. Walking up the steep hill was hard work, but well worth the effort given the fantastic view at the summit.

After having walked back down to my skis I had a very enjoyable run all the way back to the car. From here it was a rush in order to be back before the warm-up for the boys' first match.
Photos 16.01.2010