Laushornet (03.07.2025)
| Startpunkt | Vesterås (320m) |
|---|---|
| Endpunkt | Vesterås (320m) |
| Tourcharakter | Bergtour |
| Tourlänge | 4h 00min |
| Entfernung | 10,0km |
| Höhenmeter | 1.250m |
| GPS |
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| Besteigungen | Laushornet (1.502m) | 03.07.2025 |
|---|
We were travelling from Vågåmo to Åndalsnes and although the Trollstigen was closed, we opted to drive via Geiranger as neither of us had ever seen the famous fjord. Aware of the status Geirangerfjord has amongst tourists, attracting cruiseshipfulls, we searched for a route that'd give us peace and pristine views down the fjord: Laushornet ticked all the boxes.
The weather was mixed: sunny intervals between heavy showers; clag intermittently shrouding the summits. Hoping we'd get views on the summit, we left the small car park at Vesterås and followed the tourist trod towards Storsæterfossen. The path was exceptionally busy, so we opted to explore the waterfall on our return journey. The view towards Vinåshornet (a climb for next time!) and neighbour Grinddalsnibba is satisfying. Humidity in the valley combined with the somewhat warm weather made for an almost tropical sensation, and this was only exacerbated when we reached the point at which the climb up Laushornet begins and it began to rain.
Approximately 1.6km after leaving the car, we'd turned onto the path leading to Laushornet, rising steeply up the fell-side. Steep and muddy, the path requires some care when wet but is otherwise well-marked. After 300m of climbing, we arrived at a waterfall, where the path proceeds to cross the stream that flows underneath. As we continued up the trail, we both remarked how the trees and vegetation change with altitude and this was more noticeable than it had been in Jotunheimen since we had began close to sea-level. The trees were now akin to birch-shrubs and hugged the narrow path; the downpour had made the leaves wet and us soaked as we continuously brushed past them.
At around 1000m a.s.l. the vegetation ends: this is the realm of lichen. Here the gradient eases and the trail becomes a hop-scotch across large boulders. The weather improved and the clag looked high, so we kept our fingers crossed as we headed for the summit. It was at this point that we encountered the only other person on the trail we'd see that day (discounting the tourists heading up to Storsæterfossen): a man heading down the mountain. Exchanging greetings (us both in broken Norwegian), we wondered where he had come from. Navigating some lingering patches of snow, the 'summit' cairns came into view.
Arriving at the first of a series of cairns we could, for the first time, peer over the steep edge and into the deep fjord below. We were both ecstatic for we had been in suspense of this view during the entire climb, not knowing if we'd be lucky enough to see anything. 1.4 vertical kilometres separating us from the fjord below, we savoured the view. We were practically directly above the now miniature looking but very large cruise ship docked in Geiranger; presumably thousands of tourists were flooding the usual viewpoints as we stood in solitude. Walking towards the next cairn, we spotted a letterbox and Gjestebok inside. Alice signed the book with our names, writing that we'd come from Kendal, U.K., and it was revealed to us that the man we'd seen a few minutes earlier was an Australian, who'd apparently been on the phone with his partner at the summit.
We watched as rain passed over surrounding fells and clouds pushed towards us. Soon enough we were in the white-room, but we walk the 500m or so to the true summit. Laushornet bagged, we began our descent, retracing our steps amongst the boulders in the cloud. It rained, then hailed, then snowed on us, which we found rather amusing as we changed from our running clothes into waterproofs. We'd both been a little anxious about the steeper parts of the descent, owing to the fact they'd be muddier by now, but proceeded downward without any problem. Before we rejoined the tourist trail (and after the rain stopped), we sat by the waterfall crossing and ate our lunch. The sun appeared again and the sky became blue, we explored Storsæterfossen then made our way back to the car.
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