Stig Floberghagen Photography

View Original

One night in Molladalen

I did a road trip over three days back in july. The first night a hike close to Molladalen and climbed Middagshornet for sunrise. The second night I hiked in Vetledalen and Vettisfossen. The last night I wil camped by Koldedalsvatnet in Jotunheimen National Park. More from that later

Dont miss the youtube video at the bottom of this page

I stopped by a few scenic places on the long drive to the west. This first couple of photos below are shot by the tourist road on Strynefjellet looking down towards Oppstryn and Jostedalsbreen which is a huge glacier. The photo to the right is in Ørsta close to the destination and valley where my hike started.

So when I arrived in Ørsta I set off to hike to the planned campsite which was about half the way up to Middagshornet. The hike started off in a worst possible way as the rain came pouring down with thunder and lightning. I almost had to turn back as it didnt seem wise to walk on further into the open terrain. Anyway the weather changed for the better after an hour or so and I continued to the campsite. The changing weather presented some amazing photography opportunities though...

I pitched the tent and I just sat there enjoying the views overlooking Molladalen and the alpine mountains that are framing the valley. What a place

I tried to sleep but it was difficult being very excited for the next day. I had the alarm set for 1.30 a.m and I started the climb to Middagshornet about 2 a.m in the dark. The conditions were quite the opposite of what the weather forecast had predicted. It was dark, windy and low clouds and fog were passing by. These are conditions I normally like, but I was a bit nervous for the sunrise I had in mind. Here are some photos from the climb.

So I finally reached the peak well before sunrise and there was still no light. I waited for better conditons before bringing out the camera, but the sunrise I hoped for never happened. There were some great and moody scenes with some colours in the sky, but the light didnt find a way through the dense clouds. I did feel a little dissapointed at the time, but I think the photos tuned out good anyway and they did fit the overall mood of the location. I think the next photograph captures the epicness and mood of that morning.

The two last photos are from the descend to the campsite.

This next photo are shot by the road on the way to my next location, Vetledalen. Stay tuned for more from that hike

I Climb A Mountain For Sunrise. Molladalen and Middagshornet