Norwegian Mountains

Førdesveten, 284m (Veten)

Fylke/Kommune : Hordaland/Sund
Maps : 1115-II Austevoll (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Primary factor : 271m
Hiked : Apr 2000, Apr 2005
See also : Liatånet

Fordesveten seen from Liataarnet

Førdesveten seen from Liatårnet

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Introduction

Førdesveten is the second highest coastal mountain on Sotra island (after Liatårnet, 341m). The mountain is found on the south tip of Sotra, just west of Klokkarvik, and offers a fine view towards the Bergen and Sunnhordland mountains.

A radar station has been built on the Førdesveten summit. Next to the radar station, a large summit cairn with the name "Veten" marks the top of the mountain. An extensive nature trail infrastructure has been developed, and several trails lead up the mountain from various trailheads. This page will describe a round trip from the place Førde.

Førdesveten is also known from a plane crash;

September 6 1948, a Catalina airplane from the Norwegian airforce, crashed into Førdesveten.

13 of crew of 15 died in the accident that happened in heavy fog. This was the worst accident the airforce experienced in peace time.

September 6 1998, 50 years later, a memorial of the casuals was raised on Førdesveten (284m) and at Sund kirke (church) in Klokkarvik. The memorial on Førdesveten contains the remainders of one of the engines from K-AK.

(source: http://home.no.net/janor/fly.htm ) Norwegian text.

Primary factor:

Førdesveten (M711: 284m, Ø.K: 284,03) has a primary factor of 271m towards the higher Liatånet (341m). The saddle is found in a pass between Dalseidet and Høgevarden. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 15m contours on the high route, but not 10m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 13m.

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.

Førde - Førdesveten (summer/autumn)

Difficulty : Class 1
Exposure : None
Comments : Nature trail
Distance : 4,6Km round trip
Time : 2 hours round trip
Starting Elev.: Approx. 30m
Vertical Gain : Approx. 250m

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

from Bergen, follow highway RV555 towards Sotra. After the Kolltveittunnelen tunnel, turn left towards Klokkarvik. You have two options:

Long route:
Follow the main road around the south tip of Sotra for 25,3Km until you see the Førde exit.

Short route:
Follow the main road for 10,4Km. Turn left towards Klokkarvik. Follow this road (through Klokkarvik) for 8,9Km until you see the Førde exit.

From the Førde exit, drive 500m to the top of a hill. A small parking is found on your right-hand side. Park there.

The route

From the parking, facing the mountain, you have a gravel road in front of you. Further right you see a narrow paved road from a house. You will be coming down this paved road.

Follow the gravel road until it ends (less than 200m from the parking). You will see sticks with red paint mark the trail towards Førdesveten. In short, follow this trail all the way to the top. At 160m elevation, you will see two signs; "Hansahytto" and "Revura". "Hansahytto" is a small shelter under a large rock, while "Revura" is probably a place where foxes have been known to hide.

After reaching top, either follow your ascent route back to the trailhead, or try this variation;

Follow your ascent route down to 190m elevation and turn left when you see the "Kyrkjestien" (Church path) trailsign. The trail runs east and north of a lake. At the northwest end of the lake, another Kyrkjestien trailsign points you in the northeast direction. In general, you follow a route parallel to your ascent route back towards Førde. At approx. 40m elevation, you will see a forest road on your right. Follow this road back to the trailhead. The trail you are on most likely continues down to the road you were on before you parked.

Trip report Apr 28 2005

Almost 5 years after visiting Førdesveten for the first time (Apr 23 2000), I decided to return for an evening hike. I had taken no pictures on my previous hike, and hoped that I got some good shots this time. Unfortunately, the haze made it almost impossible to spot the Bergen mountains.

It was a nice afternoon, but a bit windy. It is always windy when I visit Sotra, so it didn't come as a surprise. I remembered the trailhead, the trail and its details, but I could not remember the weather from Apr 2000. I vaguely recall dense fog, but couldn't tell if it was raining or not. I do remember that my dachshund Troll was on top of this mountain back then, and today he would be on top for the second time.

I took the long route to Klokkarvik and arrived at Førde approx. 45 minutes after leaving home. I had always regarded Sotra as "just down the road", but 45 minutes would have taken me to Dale along E16, to Kvamskogen along RV7 and Vikanes along E39. The time was already 18:40PM when I left the Førde trailhead, but due to the short hike it was by no means late.

We reached the summit 19:30PM, and due to the haze and wind we turned around very quickly. I decided to follow Kyrkjestien back down. I didn't know exactly where this trail led, but I could always go off-trail if it was going in the wrong direction. A ladder down by a lake caught my attention. I wondered why in earth had someone put up this ugly ladder up here. To scale the small cliff, obviously, but why not just go around the cliff?

I followed Kyrkjestien down towards Førde. In addition to painted rocks, very elegant markers confirmed that I was on a trail. Of course the very visible trail gave me a fairly good confirmation as well. We were back at the car 20:15PM.

Pictures from the Apr 28 2005 hike

Move cursor to read notes, and click on the images to see full version.
Some of the thumbnails may have been cropped to fit the format.

1. Passing Liataarnet (145KB) 2. The start of the trail (146KB) 3. On the trail to Fordesveten (151KB) 4. Revura, playground for the fox? (184KB) 5. Did Hans build this shelter? (212KB) 6. Sorry, Troll. Humans only (247KB) 7. Limited view from Fordesveten trail (541KB) 8. Approaching Fordesveten (131KB) 9. So we do not get wet.. (159KB) 10. Is this the memorial? (97KB) 11. Arriving the top (170KB) 12. The summit cairn (191KB) 13. West view from Fordesveten (267KB) 14. Fordesveten can be a windy spot (275KB) 15. Pretty? (163KB) 16. Good trail infrastructure on Fordesveten (152KB) 17. Soon back at the trailhead (132KB) 18. The last bit on a forest road (222KB)

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Pictures from other hikes:

1. Bergen seen from Liataarnet (1762KB) 2. View from above Turnerhytten (703KB) 3. Førdesveten (490KB) 4. Førdesveten, Sund

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