Storådalshornet trail head above Pusken.
The bridge across Innfjordelva, below Fokhaugstova.
Route to Storådalshornet from Nordre Ådalsvatnet.
| Storådalshornet from
Pusken Storådalshornet |
| Estimated net time | 3-3½ hours | ||
| Difficulty | No difficulties, but the route up from the lake at 899 metres is steep, and an ice axe might be a good idea of it's wet. | ||
| Drinking water | Running water both from the river early in the route, and also from the stream draining from the lake at 899 metres. | ||
| GSM coverage | Coverage throughout the route (September 2013). | ||
| Parking | Room for a couple of cars at trail head. | ||
| Start height | 485 metres | ||
| Vertical metres | 800 metres for the roundtrip. | ||
| Trip distance | 7.0 km | ||
| GPS-file | X | ||
| Map |
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| Route photo |
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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 23.9 km, passing through the village Stordal after 18 km, and turn left where signed for "Overøye". Drive another 9.1 km to the ski-centre, and start measuring from here.
- At 1.9 km drive across a narrow bridge.
- At 3.1 km drive straight ahead instead of following the main road left.
- At 3.2 km turn left.
- At 3.7 km drive straight ahead instead of following the main road left.
- At 3.8 km park on the left hand side of the forest road.
Start your hike by following the forest road approximately 300 metres, to the large cabin Fokhaugstova. Turn right onto a path immediately after having passed the cabin, where a white wooden sign point towards a bridge crossing the river. Follow this path down to the river, and cross on the metal/wood bridge. From the bridge follow the path south-east a little less than 300 metres, to a path T-junction. Turn left (east), walk 130 metres, and fork right in the path junction. Walk another few tens of metres and again fork right. This path is marked by red paint and will take you up to the lake at 899 metres in Storådalen valley.
From the north end of the lake in Storådalen cross the stream draining from the lake and continue 70 metres on path along the east shore. Then turn left and aim for the obvious gully coming down from north-east. Head up this gully, which is steep (the steepness can be categorised as "you will let your hands touch the ground in places, but you don't have to"), and then turn left at the top of the gully. The summit cairn can be found 160 metres towards north.
Descend by reversing your ascent route.
I've had Storådalshornet on the radar for a couple of years, but without any real plans to hike it. But for this Saturday it became a hot candidate since I had some time constraints, and I wanted to stay below any snow more than a few centimetres (the snow line varied between 1100 and 1300 metres). I found out Odd Arne had been to Storådalshornet, and a quick check with him gave the information I needed on what I expected to be a doable route. Next on the agenda was to call Kjetil and agree where and when to meet on Saturday morning.
After having messed around a little in locating the planned trail head (there's a number of new roads under construction to support the new cabins being built), we were ready to start our hike a little after 10am. We were pleased to find a good bridge across the river below Fokhaugstova, and just as pleased to find a good path all the way up to the lake in Storådalen: this was nice and easy hiking indeed. Another thing that caught our attention was the number of lemmings running around, including around our feet.
The route from the lake up towards the summit was steep, but not difficult, and definitely efficient in terms of gaining vertical metres. And from the summit we enjoyed very nice views, in the cold and slightly windy conditions. Then back down via our ascent route, accompanied by a vast number of lemmings.