Nøtnesåsen
Nøtnesåsen is a 200-meter peak (exactly 198 meters above sea level). It is located in the southeast of the country, right at the intersection of roads 32 and 35, near the town of Sundbyfoss, near the E18 highway. Honestly, I didn’t plan to climb this hill. That day I had a different goal, but I was surprised by the protective conditions on the western side of the Oslofjord. In my area it was almost spring, and snow lay only sporadically. After crossing the ferry to the other side of the fjord, I found winter in full swing.
The route I took was under a thick substance access to weapons of considerable value ice rink on the side road, where the entrance to the hike came from. so it was so that I returned home “on the shield”. I was already heading back into traffic on the E18 motorway when I saw an interesting-looking hill from my car window, which wasn’t quite covered in snow. I pulled over and opened the ut.no app on my phone. A moment later, I had a new destination for a weekend hike. It was called Nøtnesåsen.
I drove up to a small parking lot on a side gravel road, slung my backpack over my shoulders and was ready to go. The trail is a loop, so it doesn’t matter which way you go. I headed north. It was quite pleasant walking on a wide road along the shore of Lake Vikevannet. At least until I reached a sign with the trail name, pointing to the right and uphill. Here it turned out that the approach was covered in a thick layer of ice. The last few days had been quite warm, so the snow on the road had started to melt. But then the frosts came again and all the water that had flowed down froze, creating a giant ice slide. The approach on such a surface was slow and quite difficult, but I soon reached a place where the snow had replaced the ice and the further walking was better.
At one point, the trail turns south and leads along the edge of a cliff, and from between the trees you can see the frozen lake below. You can count on a better view at two viewpoints, where there are benches and a place for a bonfire. In the warmer months the trail is probably popular with the locals, but I was still walking on numerous footprints in the snow.
Right after the second viewpoint, located at the top, the trail turns 180 degrees, for a while you go north again and after another turn you go down south. When going down from this side I also came across an ice slide, but walking along the side of the road I managed not to turn eagle. I reached a gravel road leading along another lake, Hillestadvannet, passed some farm and was already at the car.
In total, there is about 5 kilometers to walk. Quite a pleasant walk, especially in the summer months, when the ice does not pose a risk of falling and potential injury.
