|
Grønahorgi and Veskreshorgi seen from Grim |
Grønahorgi is one of the many "Horgi" mountain in the Voss region. Like the rest of these peaks, the mountain has a steep side facing south, while the mountain rises gently from the north.
The northern and eastern views are excellent. The west view is partly obscured by the higher Gråsida mountain massif. In the south, the views are blocked by Storeflåtten on Hardangervidda and Folgefonna glacier. Karaldenuten, Grim, Vassfjøra, Lønahorgi, Horndalsnuten and Skipadalsnuten are mountains that are easily seen from this summit.
This mountain contains a twin summit, where Håsethorgi is the lower of the two (1155m). The two summits are divided by a pass, where the Håsethorgi cliffs are steep. It is however easy to find a route between the two summits. Veskreshorgi is the name of a hill further south on the plateau, distinct through the steep cliffs facing south. As the primary factor is less than 100m (81m), I am not describing Veskreshorgi as one of the ranked summits on this plateau.
Primary Factor
Grønahorgi has a primary factor of 533m, towards the higher Herdabreida. The saddle is west of lake 616 (east of Svinanakken). Lake 616 drains east, and the saddle is found on wetlands just west of the lake. The last adjacent 5m contour lines (Norgesglasset) are 640m. The saddle height is interpolated to 638m. You will also find another 640m pass (interpolated to 638m) just south of lake. This ranks Høgahorgi as #26 in Hordaland, when measured on primary factor.
Note: Class ratings are in reference to YDS (Yosemite Decimal System).
Note: The trail described below is not necessarily the easiest trail to this mountain.
|
Litlere - Grønahorgi (summer/autumn)
|
|
Access
Coming from Bergen on highway E16, and driving through Voss, continue straigth ahead through the traffic light (don't go left on highway E16). Continue through Voss approx. 300m, then turn right towards "Rong/Gjernes". Then turn left towards "Rong" immediately after (don't follow the road to Gjernes). Follow the road towards Rong for approx. 6Km and turn left onto a narrow paved road running upwards. There are no signs. Follow the road up towards a farm, where the road turns sharp to the right, and you enter a junction. The junction is approx. 400m from where you exited the Rong road. Go right (straight ahead) on the smaller of the two roads and continue on the gravel road for approx. 700m, where you see a gate (may be open). You are now at Litlere. Find parking here. Consider ringing the nearest doorbell and ask for permission to park.
The route
Go through the gate just behind the last house on this road. A dirt road forks off to the left while the forest road continues ahead. Go left on the dirt road. Higher up, you may see a single cabin, high up on the hill. The dirt road runs to the left of this cabin, and then around it on the backside. Pass three gates (make sure you lock them, as there is a lot of sheep here in summer) and you are in the forest. Within minutes after the last gate, the dirt road forks. Go left.
The dirt road now starts to climb significantly, and you have a hard stretch in front of you. On top of this hill, the road levels out a bit before you face another steep uphill. Above the second hill, the road climbs far more gentle. Follow the dirt road all the way to Otledalen cabins. You will be passing a river over a small rockbridge along the way.
At Otledalen cabins, the nice road ends. You have one ridge up to your left and one ridge up to your right. The most favourable thing would have been to leave the dirt road earlier, and follow the high ridge up to your left. If you, like me, can't figure out where this trail begins, then follow a narrow path behind the cabins through the forest until it fades away. Then seek towards the ridge up to your left. Once on the ridge, follow a trail all the way to Håsethorgi (1155m).
From Håsethorgi, set course towards Grønahorgi. When you get to the steep cliffs above the pass between the two summits, seek left, and you will find a good and safe route down to the pass. Then go straight up to the summit of Grønahorgi, marked by a proper cairn.
Descend your ascent route, or follow the other ridge (across Færesfjellet) until you decide to set course towards Otledalen cabins. Most likely, the end of this ridge connects to a trail, but I never followed the ridge all the way down. Note that once you set course for the cabins, you will have to cross the river at some point. The river is just wide enough to cause some problems, and you would have to follow it until you find a place to cross.
|
The excellent weather had been forecasted several days ahead, and so was this hike. Still picking from the top #30 primary factor list, Grønahorgi would be the only mountain I hadn't done yet, that could be done on a week-day afternoon. I drove from Bergen 16:00PM and started the hike from Litlere trailhead 18:00PM sharp. I fumbled with the forest roads, went in the wrong direction, but found the right forest road, eventually. Troll was in the backpack due to the many sheep in the area. Once past the last gate, Troll had grown stuck there. So, I carried him up long and steep hills towards Otledalen cabins. On top of the steepest hills, I yanked him out and yelled WALK! Loud and clear. Dogs know when a debate is pointless. He walked. The main reason for my grumpy mood was a tornado of flies, constantly hovering above me, attacking my skull. I've never seen anything like it, and nearly lost my mind. They left the dog alone. Life ain't fair. Those damned insects followed me all the way to Håsethorgi at 1155m, which is the first of the two summits. There was enough wind at the summit to reduce the insect problem, and I could finally focus on the great views from up there. We then went over to the main summit, which we reached 19:50PM. We left the summit 20:00PM, and I decided to follow the west ridge on the way down. There was no trail on this ridge, and I didn't gamble on locating one down in the forest. So I left the ridge and headed towards Otledalen cabins, where I could join the dirt road. While heading down, I got a glimpse of the river, and realized that I was on the wrong side. When I arrived the river, I had to follow it for a while, as there were no obvious places to cross. But below a waterfall, I got my chance. On first glance, the distance seemed a little too long. On second glance, I decided to jump it. I strapped the dog firmly in the backpack before I jumped across. Once over, I quickly joined the forest path back to the cabins. By now, we were once more surrounded by flies, but as we walked rather quickly downwards, they really weren't able to bother us that much. We reached the car 21:30PM sharp, and I had a great drive back to Bergen on this lovely evening.
|
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.
Pictures are presented in the order they were taken.
CORRECTION:Otledalen cabins are a few places mistakenly referred to as Otlebogane.
Other hordaland mountains
Other Voss K. mountains
westcoastpeaks.com
