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Ulvenfjellet (center) seen from Nordhordalandskulten |
Ulvenfjellet is the southernmost mountain higher than 300m, on the Bergen peninsula. The forest is blocking any views from the summit, and the summit can prove difficult to find in foggy conditions. A good trail will take you high on the forest, but the remaining 50-60 vertical meters take some routefinding. It is easy to get lost in the myriad of small trails that seems to be going nowhere in particular.
Ulvenfjellet (M711: 316m, Ø.K: 315,54m, N60 11.875 E5 24.479) has a primary factor of 253m towards the higher Lysehornet (405m). Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours): Only two places you have to descend below 100m: a) When crossing the road at approx. 78m towards Skogafjell. b) Over Endelausmarka from Skogafjell to Raunåsen. The lowest point on this route seems to be just west of lake Kvernatj. (not labeled on the M711) map. The last contour before the saddle is 65m, and interpolation (5m contours) gives 63m.
Note: Class ratings are in reference to YDS (Yosemite Decimal System).
The route described below is class 1 hiking. A forest trail will take you high in the forest. The remaining hike to the top will most probable be on forest terrain.
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Rolls-Royce building - Ulvenfjellet (all seasons)
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Access
From Bergen, follows signs to Stavanger. At Nesttun, at the roundabout with a gas station on your right hand side, set your odometer. Follow E39 for 15,3Km and exit right towards "Ulven Leir". Follow this road for 3,4Km and exit right onto a large parking area next to the Rolls-Royce building.
The route
On the left hand side, at the far end of the parking, locate a narrow trail that takes you to a forest road coming from the Rolls-Royce building. The forest road soon turns into a trail, even if it is marked as a forest road on the map. Make sure you don't go right in the first fork. You will be heading towards the pass between Vardafjellet and Ulvenfjellet. At the bottom of the pass, the trail turns NE, and runs up to a pass between Ulvenfjellet and Veslefjellet.
Up in the pass, notice a trail fork. One trail turns sharp to the left while the other runs straight ahead. The one straight ahead is marked on the map. This might be a better route to the summit, but was not explored on my hike. As such, turn left in the fork, and follow the trail in the NW direction. Eventually, the trail turns west and moves into the forest plateau. This is where you probably lose the trail.
Head northbound into the forest, and hopefully you will head straight to the summit. Allow 20-30 minutes before you get to the summit. The summit is marked by a long pole, but there is no cairn on trail register. I have a distinct feeling that there is a higher point, slightly south of the summit, but I can not verify this. On the way down, I was also told that a trail register can be found on the Vardafjellet summit.
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The weather in 2003 has been just plain miserable. Only two days of sunshine. This Sunday, the clouds hung low, at 200-300m. But since it wasn't pouring down (like it has been for the last 14 days), I decided to go Ulvenfjellet. I had just discovered this forest hill while identifying all mountains in Hordaland with a primary factor higher than 100m. It seems like I always end up in the Os/Fana region when weather is miserable. It is perhaps unfair to the region, but there are more fascinating destinations when the weather is good. The Rolls-Royce building was not marked on the M711 map, and I had to ask for direction up the mountain. At 11:45AM, we were on our way. The dog and I. The trail was wet beyond comprehension, and Troll was just looking at me. I could read "how stupid do you think I am?" in those eyes. So I carried him to the forest road, and after some soul searching, he started to walk. After we started heading into the forest, I had a feeling that the trail was just running through the forest, towards lake Mikkelsvatnet. As I had no intention of going down there, we left the trail and made our way up through the forest. Troll struggled with boggy ground and dense bushes. His entire body language was telling me that he hated this. We had already entered the fog, and orientation was difficult. But after an hour of hiking, we found the pole that most likely marks the summit point. I checked the GPS, and the altitude reading favoured my suspicion. There was a visible trail running southbound, which I decided to follow. A few minutes south of the summit, I noticed a hill that I felt was higher. The GPS showed we were a couple of meters higher, but there was no signs of any cairn. The good sensation about the trail disappeared when I realized it was heading in the wrong direction. It was time to fight the bush again, and Troll looked even more miserable than ever. When we finally rendevouzed with the trail, Troll accelerated and saw a golden opportunity to get to a sofa. I had to run fast to keep up with him. Suddenly, the forest trail was crowded. I ran into 5 people within minutes. I stopped and talked with two going upwards. I had met them earlier on a hike on Gullfjellet. I had lost my map on the Gullfjellet hike, and when I returned to the parking, they had found the map and stuck around a bit, in case I returned. A very nice gesture. We chatted for about 10 minutes, and by now it was pouring down. Troll was howling, and desperate to get indoors. My plan was to hike Lysehornet afterwards, before completing the day with a Ulriken hike. But the pouring rain made me skip Lysehornet. But the Ulriken hike was done. Alone.
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Pictures are presented in the order they were taken.
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