Vardefjellet trail head, at Løset, looking south.
Keep going straight ahead in forest road
junction, after 800m.
Approximate route from Melsetsætra to Vardefjellet.| Vardefjellet from Løset Vardefjellet |
| Estimated net time | 3-4 hours |
| Difficulty | No difficulties. |
| Drinking water | There is good access to drinking water from Løsetelva river, which you walk parallel to. |
| GSM coverage | Coverage throughout the route (July 2009). |
| Parking | Room for one or two cars along the road at trail head. More space along the road up and down from trail head. |
| Start height | 123 metres |
| Vertical metres | 770 metres for the roundtrip |
| Trip distance | 7.5 km |
| GPS-file | X |
| Map |
|
| Route photo |
Vardefjellet trail head, at Løset, looking south.
Keep going straight ahead in forest road
junction, after 800m.
Approximate route from Melsetsætra to Vardefjellet. |
From Ålesund drive towards Magerholm and take the ferry across to Aursneset. From here there are two alternative access routes.
[a]
From the ferry drive 2.6 km on road 60 towards Stranda, and then turn left where signed for "Ramstaddal". Drive 11.9 km and turn right. Drive another 1.9 km and locate a gravel road forking off to the right. Park on the left hand side of the road.
[b]
From the ferry drive 21.9 km on road 60 towards Stranda. Turn left towards "Fjellseter", and continue 6.2 km to the Fausa-junction at the north-east end of lake Nysetervatnet. Turn left here and drive 5.6 km to the next junction. Turn left again, and drive 700 metres to trail head. Park on the right hand side of the road, a few metres after having passed a small bridge. You will see a gravel road running parallel with the river on the left hand side of the road.
Start walking by following the gravel road in a south-western direction, on the right hand side of the river Løsetelva. After 800 metres the road makes a 90° right bend, but you should continue on the road that continues straight ahead. 800 metres later the road ends and a path continues up to the old wooden buildings at Melsetsætra. From here you need to find your best route to the summit. A good option is to aim for the ridge a little to the right (north-east) of the summit, and then traverse south-west towards the summit. Note that the summit is located furthest away (furthest west) of the potential high-points when you get to the summit plateau.
The descent is best done by reversing the ascent route.
I didn't know what to do hiking wise this Thursday, and since I had a fair amount of work to do around the cabin I decided to go for a short hike. At the end I ended up settling for Vardefjellet, which proved to be an easy and enjoyable hike. Luckily I had got first hand information from our neighbour Erna (she is brought up less than 100 metres from the trail head), which enabled me to find trail head dead easy, and also made sure I took the right direction in the forest road junction.
On my way along the forest road at the beginning of the route I made a mental note of a big field of chantarelle a few metres from the road, but saw no point in picking them now and have to carry them up and down the mountain. At Melsetsætra I spent half a minute or so looking for a path for my reminding 450 vertical metres, but wasn't able to see anything except a vague trail, which was in line with what Erna had told me. I therefore hit the trail, which soon faded away. By now I was quite keen to see if I could get to the summit in less than one hour, and therefore pushed myself fairly hard up the steep hill. The heather covered ground wasn't ideal for fast walking, but I was determined to walk fast, and the ground was fairly firm under the soft heather.
At the summit plateau I soon realised that the first point that looks like the summit definitely isn't the highest point. I therefore continued across the plateau, and at the end concluded that the highest point must be the point located furthest west of the potential summit points.
The summit was very windy, so I soon put on my jacket and cap, and after taking the compulsory photos and enjoying one sandwich I started my descent. I ran all the way down to where I had noticed the chantarelle, which I picked a good portion of. Then a quick drive back to the cabin in order to go back to Sykkylven with Njål and Sigurd, in order for some football practicing.