Norwegian Mountains

Ulvanosa & Geitdalstind hike, July 31 2004

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Trip report July 31 2004

There is a background story to this hike. A few months ago, I was contacted by Elysa Jacobs, living in Connecticut, U.S. She and her friend Rohan were planning a vacation in western Norway and sent me some questions, as she had noticed my web-site on the internet. They planned to stick to the traditional Bergen - Voss - Flåm - Finse track, but I recommended they should allow time for a visit to Rosendal. After some Rosendal research from her side, and having looked at my pictures from the area, they decided to pay Rosendal a visit. They would travel to Rosendal the day after they arrived Bergen. I was invited to come along for a hike, and I decided to join them. The plan was Ulvanosa. I had been to Ulvanosa two times already, but this is a mountain I would go back to anytime.

This Saturday morning, I picked them up near Baroniet just before 08:00AM. After their arrival the day before, they had hiked Malmangersnuten and Skeidsfjellet. They had camped in Muradalen and found that the start of their vacation in Norway was just great. The weather has been shitty so far this summer, but they arrived just as the warm summer was setting in. We drove to Uskedalen and were ready to go hiking at 09:00AM. Of course, Troll was joining the group, and he appointed Elysa and Rohan as his best friends from the very first minute.

It was a very warm day, and the hike would be strenuous. But Elysa and Rohan were both very fit, and we made steady progress up the mountain. Troll was showing himself from his best side and climbed the mountain with great passion with his tongue flying around. The plan was to hike across Geitadalstind before we arrived Ulvanosa (Høgeteen) summit. When we reached the boulder, I put Troll in the backpack. He could have climbed the boulder, but as we were staying on the high ridge, the insane drop down to our left made me feel more secure with the dog safely in the backpack.

We reached Geitadalstind 12:00PM. We had a couple of other hikers just ahead of us, but we never had any contact with them. As I pointed out the Rosendal alps and the Folgefonna glacier to Elysa and Rohan, I told them they were now on - and looking at - the "cream" of Hordaland mountains. They seemed very pleased with the scenery, and that's even perhaps an understatement. On our way upwards, we had hiked into a belt of clouds. That made the ascent a bit cooler, but now the clouds were breaking up, and it got warm and sunny again. We continued over to the south spur, and I took a good look at the direct route between Geitadalstind and Ulvanosa. I had only seen this ridge from this point in winter, and by the looks of it, the route looked quite doable and very interesting. But I didn't want to downclimb with Troll on the back, and Rohan didn't seem overwhelmed about the idea. We decided to descend the southwest ridge and join a "T" trail that was cutting into the Geitadalstind - Ulvanosa basin.

Elysa found moving boulder to be a bit challenging, and descended Geitadalstind carefully. But by 13:10PM, we stood on Ulvanosa summit, and could take in some of the best views that Hordaland has to offer. Troll had whined himself out of the backpack after descending Geitadalstind and had walked/climbed/jumped his way up to Ulvanosa. He was now only concerned about locating some shade, while the others were busy taking pictures. Rohan felt that this was - if not the best - at least one of the best hikes he had ever had. I guess that applied to Elysa as well. This is a grand mountain.

On descent, we took a route that bypassed Geitadalstind. Soon, the thoughts about the evening came up. They had booked rooms at Baroniet, but wasn't able to get to Voss until late Sunday. Getting to Voss from Rosendal would take considerable time, so I volunteered to drive them to Voss. If I was able to get a room, I would do some hiking near Voss on Sunday. They were quite pleased with this suggestion. We were down by the trailhead at 16:45PM, and from my Kvannto hike the week before, I knew there was a ferry leaving 17:50PM. We were OK with time, and I stopped by the gas station in Dimmelsvik and introduced the Solo drink to my American friends. They gave Solo thumbs up, but nothing like how Rohan rated the Pepita bisquits. I expect he will bring a bag of Pepita back to Connecticut.

After crossing the Hardangerfjord, we had approx. 100Km of driving until we reached Voss. I looked forward to show them the Hardangerfjord, and all the scenery along the fjord. It didn't take long before Rohan, Elysa and Troll were in deep sleep. Rohan and Elysa - due to jetleg. Troll - due to age and exhaustion. After 20 minutes, they were back among the living, and we started to discuss how the night should be spent. I phoned a few hotels in Voss, but they were all full. I then called Bavallstunet, who had both rooms and cabins available. We reached Bavallstunet just after 21:00PM, and got an excellent (almost unbelievable) offer for a cabin with two bedrooms. The cabin looked brand new, had a dishwasher, laundry machine, sauna, shower of course, and plenty of space. Elysa and Rohan, not having had a shower lately, felt like being in heaven. I called Dolly Dimples and the pizza was done by the time it took me to drive downtown. I had also a couple of beers in the car, so it was a perfect ending to a perfect day.

The next morning I dropped Elysa and Rohan off in Voss before I headed towards Bjørndalskamben on Vikafjell. They had already signed up for whitewater rafting by the time I left them. I trust they will continue to have a great stay in Norway.

Pictures from the July 31 2004 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.
Pictures are presented in the order they were taken.

1. Geitadalstind seen from Uskedalen road (85KB) 2. Vesletind and Englafjell seen from the forest road (236KB) 3. Pause below Englafjell (167KB) 4. On the way to Geitadalstind (126KB) 5. On Geitadalstind northwest ridge (283KB) 6. On Geitadalstind northwest ridge (188KB) 7. Hikers ahead of us on Geitadalstind (121KB) 8. On Geitadalstind northwest ridge (196KB) 9. View from Geitadalstind (211KB) 10. Geitadalsaksla ridge seen from Geitadalstind (253KB) 11. North view from Geitadalstind (198KB) 12. Southeast view from Geitadalstind (198KB) 13. South/Southwest view from Geitadalstind (355KB) 14. Troll on Geitadalstind (159KB) 15. Geitadalstind summit (146KB) 16. East spur of Geitadalstind (262KB) 17. Geitadalstind seen from the south spur (244KB) 18. Geitadalen ( 295KB) 19. Ulvanosa ahead (185KB) 20. The Geitadalstind - Ulvanosa ridge (308KB) 21. Crossing below Geitadalstind (125KB) 22. The Geitadalstind south spur (216KB) 23. The Geitadalstind south spur (86KB) 24. Rosendal alps (214KB) 25. Elysa and Rohan with Geitadalstind - in the bag - (161KB) 26. The Geitadalsaksla ridge (195KB) 27. The Ulvanosa summit plateau (276KB) 28. Ulvanosa summit, 1246m (142KB) 29. Geitadalstind seen from Ulvanosa (253KB) 30. Rosendal alps and Folgefonna seen from Ulvanosa (201KB) 31. Ulvanosa south view (231KB) 32. Troll on Ulvanosa (152KB) 33. Englafjell east face (273KB) 34. Hardangerfjorden view (129KB) 35. Geitadalstind (148KB) 36. Geitadalstind (108KB) 37. Geitadalstind (110KB)

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