Vengsøytraversen (02.08.2013)

Written by hmsv1 (Hannah Vickers)

Start point	Roadside by Storelva on Vengsøya
Endpoint	Vengsvika
Characteristic	Hike
Duration	7h 00min
Map

Ascents	Horntinden (719m)	02.08.2013
	Kvantotinden (750m)	02.08.2013
	Vengsøytinden (764m)	02.08.2013

A lush sunset photo to start off the story..... a panorama from Kvantotind south towards Kvaløya and horntind & Vengsøytind on the right hand edge

Originally I had thought I would finally get the chance to try the trip up Store Lakselvtinden during the weekend, one of those peaks which has (and still is) on my wishlist of mountains to visit. I asked anngjel (Ann Kristin Gjelsten), who I knew from the Tafeltinden trip (Tafeltinden med overnatting) with FSG if she would be interested in trying it out with me, and it was a definite ‘yes’ – which I must admit I had not expected. So began a little research. I was aware that Store Lakselvtinden is not usually one of the usual destinations people head to in summer time. On the other hand I knew it wasn’t impossible since Sondre had written a report about his trip there (http://peakbook.org/tour/41645/Store+Lakselvtinden.html) from a visit in August 2012. Ann Kristin decided to ask some people she knew about how the trip up there was like at this time of year. To cut a long story short, we both came to the conclusion that it could be done, but with quite a lot of loose rocks – so maybe not so fun. It turned out though that neither of us had done the Vengsøytraversen and both of us had lots of enthusiasm to try this trip out instead. So Vengsøytraversen it was.

Beginning of the traverse from the top of Vengsøytinden

We thought it would be cool to find out if there was anyone else interested in joining us by adding a post to the FSG group on facebook since all trips usually end up being a fun experience with more people. Surprisingly there was a bigger response than either of us expected to get, and in the end we had Bo, Renate and Harald joining us. Vidar should have come too but he was stuck in a meeting and couldn’t make the ferry on time. The plan was to catch the kl.17.10 ferry from Belvik to Vengsøy, and do the traverse from west to east (the most straightforward direction we found out) through the evening. A little word on the weather (since this always is a topic for much discussion on trips); both storm and yr had forecasted lighter cloud cover for the evening/nighttime from Friday to Saturday, but the whole of Friday had been grey and overcast and the likeliness of a bright sunny sky didn’t look all that hopeful when we met up at Eurospar on Kvaløya at kl.16. Nevertheless, we kept fingers crossed that the evening would be as beautiful as it was forecasted to be and believe it or not, both forecasts were right. During the time we were on the ferry the sky underwent a super-speedy transition from grey and overcast to almost completely blue and cloud-free. Excellent!

Since we had two cars between the five of us, we were able to leave one car at the eastern end and use the other to transport us all to the western end to start the trip. We were even more fortunate in that a lady who was living in one of the houses by the side of the road came to ask us if we knew where we were going. At that point we hadn’t actually spotted any kind of path, and she was helpful by directing us to the start of a vague but nonetheless useful little path that went up through the forest. It definitely made the first half-hour of the trip more straightforward! It was quite exciting to see the ridge leading up to Horntind above us to our right while we had gorgeous views of Grøtfjord and the northern side of the Ersfjord peaks to our left.

View south towards Kvaløya (Grøtfjord and Tromvik, possibly Senja in the far distance too). Bo at the right side of the photo.

First matpause on the summit of Vengsøytinden

Renate approaches the start of the descent from Vengsøytinden

Soon we approached some mix of rocks and grass that took us onto an edge and we more or less followed this all the way up to the top of Vengsøytinden. It was a great atmosphere and we decided it would be an ace opportunity to take our first break and eat something while soaking up the warm evening light. After feeling satisfactorily fed, it was time to start the more exciting part of the traverse along the ridge. It started with a short walk along the top, and the ridge became narrower as we approached the descent down to the pass between Vengsøytind and Horntind. The descent went fairly slowly because it was necessary to take care climbing down some parts. It wasn’t difficult, but it was not just a walk anymore. Good fun nonetheless, even though the rocks were pretty cool to touch by now since this part of the ridge was in shadow.

Ann Kristin and Renate on the descent; Horntinden straight ahead of us!

Fortunately we were standing in lovely warm sunshine again once we reached the pass.
The views of the western ridge of Horntind had been superb all the way down Vengsøytinden, and this was the part I was in one way, looking most forward to and in another way most concerned about. Some guys who had already done the traverse and given us advice told us that there were some fairly exposed parts where some people might want to use a rope as security. One way or another, it looked exciting from what I had already seen of it. I got the sense that everyone else (except for Harald who I was surprised to discover has høydeskrekk) was just as keen to get on with it, so there was not much hanging about and we got started on the way up the ridge.

Evening sun lights up the northern side of the Vengsøytraversen

To start with there wasn’t a huge amount of scrambling, and I did start to wonder whether all the fuss over needing a rope was just plain exaggeration. Almost a bit like last years trip to Breidtinden where I had been promised some fine ridge scrambling. That I remember had not been so exciting at the start, but then it really DID become superb….. so I thought I ought to be patient see what happened. As it happened, there were some excellent bits of scrambling to be had, and with views over the sea to both sides of us it was like an experience for only the privileged. There was no hurry and everyone went at their own speeds, with some waiting around for each other. On the plus side, it meant that there was masses of time to take even more photos than usual! And the neat thing about the ridge is that there are always possibilities to make it harder or easier, so it’s not like you only have one choice. Most times we opted for what looked to be straightforward and that suited everyone.

First part of the ridge up Horntind is easy

Ann Kristin and Renate look for a knee-based solution

Anyway we all made it up Horntind, and the descent down the other side was pretty straightforward, probably more so than the descent from Vengsøytinden. Then we only had to go up to Kvantotind, which was comparatively easy. By now the sun was on its way out and the mountain was a really burnt orange colour. I loved it. I think it was turning out to be a top-class trip for all so far. We took another food stop just below the top of Kvantotind at around 10.30pm, on the sunny side of the ridge. The air was noticeably chillier in the shade so it made sense to make the most of whatever sun warmth was left. Happy, chatty turfolk having a break with sunset views over only sea and little islands. Sighs of satisfaction. Big smiles. We couldn’t have asked for a more awesome evening. I’d definitely have to rate this at the same level of awesomeness as the trips to Breidtind and Store Lenangstinden. And perhaps the end-of-season Tafeltind trip.

As we continued after the break and reached the top of Kvantotind, it became a bit more obvious to me that we were only about halfway along the ridge, albeit having done the slower part of it. It was both a good and bad realization, good because it meant there was still plenty of fantastic ridge walking to enjoy, but slightly bad news because I noticed that my knees had already become sore. Started to think maybe I could have spared my knees a little by not doing my daily 12km walk to and from work earlier. Anyway, I would have to just grin-and-bear it and go carefully on the descent.

Some panoramas

Mountain, sea, sun, islands AND happy people: ingredients for a memorable summer hike :D

View north(ish) from Vengsøytinden to Kvantotinden

Horntind and Vengsøytinden seen from midway along the ridge to Kvantotinden

Although the real scrambling was more or less over with, both the ascent and the descent to/from the top in-between Kvantotind and Stortind was probably the most exposed part of the traverse. Bo more or less ran along like it was no big deal while the three ladies – me, Renate and Ann Kristin – opted for usage of our bums to negotiate some of parts of descent where it was more or less knife-edge narrow. Harald chose a somewhat different technique for that particular part while the rest of us observed with some frowns on our faces.

I enjoy the rest of the sun before it disappears

Bo and Renate comparing photos on the way to Stortind

Anyway, after that ordeal it was just another easy and scenic walk up to the final top, Stortind. It was about kl. 00.30 and not completely dark when we got there, but darker than I expected. And some rocks and vegetated areas were becoming a bit damp and slippery now in the cool air so even though some of us were beginning to feel sleepy by now, it was still a fairly good idea to concentrate. Fortunately there was a good path to follow and we were pleasantly distracted from thoughts of sleeping by plucking multebær on the way down.

Renate on the way down the more 'exposed' part of the ridge between Kvantotind and Stortind

I would have preferred to follow the path all the way down the road and walk the short way back to the car, since it seemed like the simplest and more pleasant way of descending. Harald on the other hand thought it would be worth taking a short cut through the forest instead to avoid walking extra distance along the road. Forest detours more or less translate into ‘enforced tree bashing’ in my dictionary so I wasn’t immediately struck on this alternative, but since he’d already disappeared at high speed down the hill we sort of ended up following on without discussion! Anyway, despite the short-lived jungle-type finish to the trip, we ended back on the road again around kl.01.40 feeing mega-satisfied and looking forward to a well-deserved rest in our sleeping bags. What a terrific traverse we’d had – with unbelieveable luck with the weather too!