Skoratinden trail head by Årskogkoppen.
Off-path ascent of Skoratinden.
| Skoratinden, Fossanipa
& Storehornet from Årskogkoppen Skoratinden Fossanipa Storehornet |
| Estimated net time | 3-3½ hours | ||
| Difficulty | No difficulties, but the route from the valley and up Skoratinden's west slope is steep. | ||
| Drinking water | Running water from the stream in the valley, but else nothing stable. | ||
| GSM coverage | Coverage throughout the route, except patchy in the valley and around lake Skåravatnet (June 2013). | ||
| Parking | Room for several cars at trail head car park. | ||
| Start height | 456 metres | ||
| Vertical metres | 875 metres for the roundtrip. | ||
| Trip distance | 7.1 km | ||
| GPS-file | X | ||
| Map |
|
||
| Route photo |
| ||
From Volda take the ferry across to Lauvstad (not Folkestad). From the ferry at Lauvstad drive 250 metres and turn right onto road 652, towards Syvde. Drive 14,3 km and turn left where signed "Årskogdalen". Follow this road into the valley, making sure you fork right after 300 metres. Stop and and pay toll (unmanned booth, NOK 30 per 2013) after another 1.2 km. You're now on a gravel road. Drive 3.8 km to a small car park at the end of the road, making sure you stay right 900 metres from the toll booth. Park at this car park.
Start your walk by following the path south, into the valley. When you get to the end of the flat section of the valley, 470 metres from trail head (at height 530 metres), and where there are several wooden signs, turn left and head up the steep western slopes of Skoratinden. This route looks steep, and it is, but it is not technically difficult in any way. Find your best route, which should be obvious, approximately in the centre of the vegetated section. You will reach the summit ridge very close to the summit, which is marked by a proper cairn.
From Skoratinden follow the ridge south, down to the saddle between Skoratinden and Fossanipa. You can follow a vague path, but it's just as easy to walk outside the path. From the saddle continue along Fossanipa's north ridge on a vague path, up to the summit cairn.
Return back down to the saddle and turn left down towards lake Skoravatnet. Again the path has vague sections, but the terrain offers easy walking. Pass the cabins close to the lake and head uphill towards Storehornet on a vague path. The general direction is west, and then off-path in a north-west direction when you get up to approximately 770 metres. Also Storehornet's summit is marked by a cairn.
From Storehornet return back down towards Skoravatnet but this time aim left of the hill at the north end of the lake. If you aim directly for the Skoratinden-Fossanipa saddle you should get the general direction right. Find the path that comes up from where you left the path when ascending Skoratinden, which will take you back down to the valley. From here return on the path back to your car.
I had spent this Tuesday at our Hjørungavåg offices, and with relatively nice weather, although cloudy and a little cold, I decided to take the opportunity for a hike in Vanylven. I managed to get across to Lauvstad on the planned ferry and found the trail head after some concerns about the quality of the road at the south end of Årskogdalen; the water had severely damaged a short section of the road, but thanks to driving a 4WD I was just able to get across the problem area.
When I got to the path junction I stopped and had a look at Skoratinden's steep west slopes. After a closer inspection I realised this was definitely a possible ascent route, and when I remembered that Arnt (www.westcoastpeaks.com) had descended this route I was convinced that this would be a doable ascent without any blockers close to the summit ridge. My assumptions proved right, and I reached the summit in 46 minutes, which in turn changed my plans from the 21:50 ferry back from Lauvstad to 20:25.
From Skoratinden I head south to Fossanipa, and from here I cut across to Storehornet, crossing a short section of snow. By the time I reached Storehornet it was starting to get quite grey and windy, and I was now very keen indeed to catch the 20:25 ferry. Hence it was a short summit stop, but I wasted some time finding the correct route back down to the valley and started to get concerned. I certainly wasn't keen on close to 85 minutes stay at the ferry port, where there would be no chance to buy food. But my navigation mistake didn't cost me much in lost time, and I was back down to the car well before 20:00. This allowed me plenty of time for the early ferry, and I was home before 23:00.