Norwegian Mountains

Navene, 970m
Britahaugen, 985m

Fylke/Kommune : Hordaland/Voss
Maps : 1216-I Eksingadalen (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Primary Factor: Navene: 100m
Primary Factor: Britahaugen: 95m
Hiked : Sep 2005
See also : Kvitanosi
See also : Byvasshovden
See also : Budalshovden

Slettefjellet seen from Navene

Navene

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Introduction

Navene and Britahaugen are two tops on the plateau that descends from Kristnipa/Kvitanosi towards Brekkhusfjellet. Seen from the west, it can be difficult to identify these tops, as they blend in with the much higher background. This plateau is very good for cross-country skiing, and one of the winter routes (not marked) to Kvitanosi runs between Navene and Britahaugen.

"Navene" means "the fists" and the series of distinct ridges and gullies makes the name understandable. "Britahaugen" means just "Brita's hill", but I have no idea who Brita (female) was. The natural starting point is Vinningsleitet on Brekkhusfjellet, the high point between Teigdalen and Eksingadalen valleys. From Vinningsleitet, you can also reach a number of other peaks on the other side of road - winter as well as summer, and they are documented on the Byvasshovden page.

Primary Factor

Navene (1216-I: 750m, Ø.K.: -) has a primary factor of 100m towards the higher Britahaugen (985m). The saddle is found W of Lake Blåvatnet. Ref. the 1216-I map (20m contours), you cross the 880m contours on the high route, but not 860m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 870m. Over a 5-minute period, I measured (GPS) the (assumed) high point (32 V 344455 6740510) to 967m. I measured another point (32 V 344461 6740581) to 966m, and have doubts that this mountain is 970m above sea level. The GPS reading from the saddle point (32 V 344897 6739417) is inconclusive, and ranged from 865m to 874m. Navene is surely a candidate for dropping out of my list of independent Hordaland mountains if correct measurements are brought forward.

Britahaugen (1216-I: 985m, Ø.K.: -) has a primary factor of 95m towards the higher Kvitanosi (1433m). The saddle is found NW of Lake Horgasettjørni. Ref. the 1216-I map (20m contours), you cross the 900m contours on the high route, but not 880m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 890m. Over a 5-minute period, I measured (GPS) the high point (32 V 345984 6739077) to 987m. As such, Britahaugen is not found on my list of independent Hordaland mountains.

Trail descriptions:

Notes: Class ratings are in reference to YDS. Click here for more information.

The trails described below are not necessarily the *easiest* trails to this mountain.

Vinningsleitet - Navane - Britahaugen round trip (summer/autumn)

Difficulty : Class 2 (YDS)
Exposure : No
Comments : Easy terrain
Distance : Approx. 8,5Km round trip
Time : Approx. 3-4 hours round trip
Starting Elev.: Approx. 730m
Vertical Gain : Approx. 400m (total)

Map of the area
Map of the area
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Detailed map
Detailed map
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Access

There are two alternatives from Bergen:

a) Teigdalen

From Bergen, follow highway E16 towards Oslo. At the E16/RV7 junction at Trengereid, follow highway E16 for 46,3Km to Evanger. Turn left towards Eksingadalen. Follow the road up Teigdalen 18,2Km (follow signs to Eksingadalen). You are now at the Vinningsleitet pass between Teigdalen and Eksingadalen. Find parking in a turn-out at the top of the pass, or nearby. Note that even if the road up to the pass is open, the road quality is bad in places, and road is also narrow. Drive carefully!

b) Eksingadalen (description lacks details)

From Bergen, follow highway E16 towards Dale. 2,7Km after Dale, turn left towards Romarheim/Mo. After approx. 11,7Km, you reach another junction. Continue towards Romarheim (don't take the Gammersvik exit) I lack details from here on, but make sure you end up in Eksingadalen, opposed to taking the tunnel towards Mo. Continue towards Nesheim and drive southbound to the top of the Teigdalen/Eksingadalen pass. Find parking in a turn-out at the top of the pass, or nearby.

The route

Navene

At Vinningsleitet, locate a path that runs southeast from the east side of the road. The path forks soon (200-300m from the road). Go left, around the knob above you and ascend up a hill that is obvious in the sense that this is the first place you can ascend. After approx. 450m, the trail forks (hard to see). Go left and follow a path that runs directly northbound towards Navene. The path fades away after a while, but you're so close to the top that it doesn't matter. Either ascend the ridge above you, or follow the plateau below the summit and climb up a hill that takes you to the summit.

The summit plateau consists of two tops, and I am not sure which is the highest. Visit both to be "on the safe side". There are no cairns.

Britahaugen

From Navene, go southeast along the Navene's southeast ridge. Gradually alter your bearing towards Lake Blåvatnet. There is a cabin at the north end of the lake. Proceed eastbound up to Britahaugen. The high point has no cairn, but you will find a small cairn at the viewpoint next to the high point.

Descent

From Britahaugen, head westbound towards a distinct pass halfway between Britahaugen and Svartenipa. You probably noticed this pass on your way to Britahaugen. Once down, seek for the path runs southwest towards a small lake and a cabin. On the west side of the lake you will find a path that runs northwest and takes you back to your ascent route.

Trip Report Sep 11 2005

The day before, I visited Baksafjellet and Ruvlenuten in gorgeous weather, but this Sunday was a bit miserable in comparision. The weather forecast promised rain in the afternoon, and I decided to drive up to Vinningsleitet and check Navene and Britahaugane "off my list". This would be my third trip from Vinningsleitet in 2005. I had some memorable ski-trips from this pass last winter.

I left the trailhead 13:17PM and reached Navene 13:55PM. I had carried my dachshund "Troll" all the way to the top, and now he wanted lunch! I couldn't figure out which of the two humps on the summit plateau was the highest, but settled for the southernmost of the two. The GPS reported 1m higher elevation than on the northern point. The GPS elevation was 967m, and I normally subtracts at least 2 meters. That would mean that Navene would drop out of my list of mountains with primary factor >= 100m. I let the map height (970) supersede the GPS height and decided to keep Navene on the list until further "evidence" suggested otherwise.

I moved on towards Britahaugen, and stopped in the Navene - Britahaugen pass and watched the GPS "traverse" up and down. The range 865m-874m didn't make me much wiser, and I continued up to the high point which I reached 15:05PM. Fortunately, Troll had discovered the beauty of walking on Navene and was now trailing along. The GPS reported 987m and vs. the map height (985m), the results seemed reliable. My conclusion is that Navene is probably a few meters lower than the map height given.

It had started to rain now, and I decided to head back. If the weather had been good, I would have taken a trip up to Kristnipa - a plateau west of Kvitanosi. This is excellent skiing terrain and if I ever wanted to ski to Kvitanosi then this would be my route. Once down from Britahaugen, I followed a path to a cabin named "Torsteinsbu" (at least the name contained "Torstein") and had to scare off a flock of lonely sheep. This path took me back to my ascent route and I was back at the car 16:00PM.

Pictures from the Sep 11 2005 hike:

1. Persistent goats on Brekkhusfjellet (243KB) 2. Navene seen from the road (214KB) 3. Mountains on the west side of the road (730KB) 4. On the way to Navene (244KB) 5. Navene summit view (912KB) 6. Vinningsleitet pass (377KB) 7. Summit views from Navene (794KB) 8. Troll on Navene (225KB) 9. Navene seen from distance (540KB) 10. On the way to Britahaugen (992KB) 11. Lake Blaavatnet (374KB) 12. Kristnipa (308KB) 13. Kristnipa (452KB) 14. Passing below Navene (185KB)

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Pictures from other hikes:


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