Geitafjellet, 970m

Mountain area: Kvamskogen

Fylke/Kommune: Hordaland/Kvam

Map: 1215-I Norheimsund (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)

Primary Factor: Geitafjellet: 152m

Hiked: Nov 2001

Click for larger image

Geitafjellet (right)
seen from Klypet pass

Byrkjesete - Geitafjellet trail


Difficulty: Low Click on thumbnail to see map
Risk: Low
Distance: Approx 8,5Km round-trip
Time: 2,5 - 4 hours round-trip
Starting Elevation: Approx. 360m


Introduction:

Geitafjellet is the highest of the three peaks that are easily reached from the Byrkjesete starting point. Geitafjellet, in addition to Botnanuten and Solhellanuten makes a perfect three-in-a-day trip. This page will only describe the Geitafjellet trail.

Primary factor:

Geitafjellet (M711: 970m, Ø.K: 970,44m) has a primary factor of 152m towards the higher Botnanuten (1024m) or Torefjellet (1050m). The saddle is found near "Klypet" (Økonomisk Kartverk) at the southwest end of lake Myklavatnet. Ref Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 820m contours on the high route, but not 815m. The saddle height is interpolated to 818m.

Access:

On highway 7 over Kvamskogen, locate a parking area by the eastern winter gate, just before the road begins to descend towards Norheimsund. Behind the nearest house is a larger parking area, just before a gate and a gravel road. Park your car here.

The trail:

The first 1,5-2Km is on the gravel road that leads to Byrkjesete. One can be tempted to drive all the way up if the gate is open, but I would absolutely not recommend this. Chances that the gate is closed when you return are good. Follow the road to Byrkjesete, and turn right over a bridge (The trailsign points to Myklavatnet).

The trail begins immediately after the bridge, and climbs easy in the north-east direction. On your far left is Botnanuten (964/992m) and on your near left is Solhellanuten (908m). Once you reach the first plateau (where the Dusgelet river comes down), there is a trail fork. The left trail takes you steep up to a new plateau to the foothills of Solhellanuten. The right trail runs in parallel to the upper plateau, and just before you move downhill towards the river (Klypet pass), the trail moves steep up to the left, onto the upper plateau. This climb has a spot where some might feel a little discomfort in slippery conditions.

Both trails soon merge, and the trail continues into the Klypet pass. I found the best approach to cross the river once I entered the valley, due to the worse terrain on the west side of the river. Once across the river, the north-east hike up to Geitafjellet is straight-forward.

Trip report 18 Nov 2001:

Another shitty Sunday - weatherwise. I checked the Eikedalen webcam before I left. Fog, rain and rotten snow would be waiting. However, I was desperate to get myself a new peak, so I got into the car and drove to Kvamskogen.

The rain was pouring down as I started to hike. I was dripping wet before I reached Byrkjesete. The climb up the mountain foothills was uneventful, and Troll was doing his part well. At the foothills, we ran into rotten snow, which slowed us down quite a bit. I had no clue where the trail into Klypet went, and I didn't feel like going all the way down the river. So we started climbing in steep terrain, and found the trail a bit further up. On this trail there is a place where a small jump is required. The trail was icy and wet, so I played it safe, and found a way around this obstacle.

More rotten snow over sharp slippery rocks was waiting in Klypet valley. I quicly realized that crossing the river would be the smartest thing, although the plan was to follow the valley all the way up. The hike from the river up to the summit was mostly about not sliding on the icy mountain. However, there were enough grassy slopes to prevent the hike from falling into the "never again" category. On top, we had entered a new weather layer. Stronger winds and snow instead of rain. After a quick meal and change of clothes we were on the way down again. The plan was a longer hike, including Solhellanuten, but the fog and the wind suggested getting back to the car would be the best idea.

I planned to take a picture of the ugly spot, but as I came to the steep cliffs, I couldn't figure out where I came up. Backtracking down would have solved the problem, but I found another trail that went in parallel with the lower trail. This trail offered a safe descent from the mountain, and I soon rendevouzed with the lower trail.

Back at the car, 3 hours after I left it, the sky opened up. The comfort was that it would be dark soon, so it didn't matter. I placed Troll into the river, as he was all-time dirty, on the border of evil. He didn't appreciate my efforts one bit, and was giving me the shivers of innocense almost all the way back to Bergen.

Pictures: (move cursor to read notes, and click on the images to see full version)

Solhellanuten and Geitafjellet seen from the highway 7 trailhead (154KB) Byrkjesete, the origin for several trails (204KB) Packed and ready for a steep climb (204KB) This cliff must be climbed. The right-hand side offered some exposure (168KB) Leaving Botnanuten behind on the way to Geitafjellet (315KB) Arriving Klypet pass, midbetween Solhellanuten and Geitafjellet (214KB) In Klypet pass, starting the Geitafjellet climb (148KB) Leaving Solhellanuten behind while climbing Geitafjellet (288KB) Geitafjellet summit, 970m (145KB) Lunch break on Geitafjellet summit (119KB) Some trail searching was required on the way down to Byrkjesete (154KB)

Pictures from other hikes:


Other hordaland mountains Other Kvam K. mountains westcoastpeaks.com