Våkefjellet, 826m

Mountain area : Hålandsdalen
Fylke/Kommune : Hordaland/Fusa
Maps : 1215-III Fusa (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Maps : 1215-II Varaldsøyna (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Maps : 1215-I Norheimsund (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Primary factor : 213m
Closest villages : Holdhus, Eikelandsosen
Hiked : Nov 2003
See also : Gjønakvitingen
See also : Ottanosi
See also : Daurmålsegga
Vaakefjellet seen from Vaaganipen trail

Våkefjellet seen from Våganipen trail

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Introduction

On your way from Eikelandsosen towards Mundheim on highway 48, you will soon get Våkefjellet in view. The mountain is a long ridge with the high point just south of the grand Gjønakvitingen massif. In shape and form, Våkefjellet resembles in many ways Våganipen, a bit further south. The ridge provides a high route towards Gjønakvitingen, meaning that you can drive up to 300m, hike gentle slopes upwards and gain only 300m to the Våkefjellet - Gjønakvitingen saddle at 613m. This is over a distance of 4,8Km, so the vertical gain is extremely gentle.

Although Gjønakvitingen, Tveitakvitingen and Ottanosi blocks most of the view towards the northern directions, these mountains are quite some views themselves. Towards the south, you have a large viewsched towards Kvinnherad, Fusa and Sunnhordland. In the west, Møsnuken by Os is easy to identify. The string of mountains on Folgefonnhalvøya makes the eastern views.

Primary factor:

Våkefjellet (M711: 823m, Ø.K: 826m) has a primary factor of 213m towards the higher Loftet (1236m). The saddle is found on the ridge between Gurigrø and Våkenuten. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 615m contours on the high route, but not 610m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 613m.

Trail descriptions:

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.

Berland - Våkefjellet (summer/autumn)

Difficulty : Class 1
Exposure : None
Comments : Family hike
Distance : Approx. 4,1Km to summit
Time : Approx. 2 hours to summit
Starting Elev.: Approx. 310m
Vertical Gain : Approx. 530m (incl. Såta)

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

From Bergen, follow E16 towards Oslo. At Trengereid, exit right onto highway 7. Follow highway 7 down to Samnangerfjorden and pass Bjørkheim. After two tunnels, exit right onto highway 48 (Rosendal/Tysse/Mundheim). Follow highway 48 for approx. 29,9Km and exit left towards "Tveita/Øvre Hålandsdal".

After 200m turn right towards "Tveita/Øvre Hålandsdal". After 400m, continue straight ahead when you see a road forking off to the left (Hammersland). Continue straight ahead in another fork after 700m. After 3,3Km, exit left towards "Tveita/Gjøn". At 3,7Km go straight ahead as the road to Gjøn forks to the left. At 4,8Km, exit left towards "Åse". At approx. 6,9Km, just above the Berland houses, notice a forest road on your right. This is your trail. Find parking on a turnout 50m further ahead on the left (3 cars).

The route

Follow the forest road up to a fence opening. The (now) forest trail turns sharp to the left and heads gentle upwards in the NW direction. You pass another fence opening before the trail turns NE and switchbacks up to the ridge. The turn is before you reach the stream from lake Stemmetjørna. You pass two more fence openings on the way to the ridge.

Once on the ridge, things are both easy and complicated. First of all, the terrain is open and easy to hike in. The complicated part is the number of trails that go in different directions. Follow whatever trail that takes you towards NW. There are two parallel routes that takes you to the east side of lake Fotaretjørna (the trail passes 50m east of the lake)

The rest of the hike is trivial. Follow the path that takes you to Såta (684m). From this point, you have a clear view of the ridge ahead. The further path on the high ridge is partly visible and partly cairned. But there should be no mistake about where to go. The summit is marked by a proper cairn and a wooden box that possibly could hold a summit register. Descend your ascent route.

Trip Report Nov. 16 2003

The plan was to do Våkefjellet a few weeks ago, but some unexpected delays prevented that particular hike. But this Sunday, the weather was excellent and I had allocated sufficient time for the hike. It was dark when I left Bergen. On the road between Fusa and Eikelandsosen, I passed an extremely icy section on the road. With studded tires, only 30 hours old, I had sufficient grip, but gave a thought about those who came with regular winter tires. As I drove home in the afternoon, the police had blocked the road at this very point, as two cars were being pulled out of the ditch. One really has to be on the alert on these roads, this time of year.

At Berland, below Våkefjellet, I got good trail instructions from Hans Berland. The dog and I left the Berland trailhead 10:50AM. The forest road switched gently upwards, and the dog seemed to be happy with the grade until he suddenly froze up. As if he just realized that he was actually walking. Instant sit-down. I gave him my warmest smile, scratched his a head a little before I pointed towards the forest and yelled "woooo - that's the biggest chocolate I've ever seen!". The dog started running and didn't stop until we reached the summit. He's the cutest dumb ass I know.

We reached Såta 11:50AM. This hump provided some great views and the hike was just great. I was clearly on the right side of Hardangerfjorden. A thick layer of clouds were covering Folgefonnhalvøya, but there wasn't a cloud on the sky on this side. Hiking the ridge didn't take long and we reached the summit 12:35PM. A quick hike, even if we took it nice and easy upwards. I stopped taking photographs when I realized I had taken pictures of everything for the third time. This hike is a must for everyone, and is perfect as a family hike. A bit more snow had fallen on the mountains during the week. The snowline was roughly at 1000m, and just a thin layer of frost was found above 800m.

On the way down I suddenly lost sight of the dog. After some searching around I found him lying hidden in the grass. He was clearly tired. I laid next to him and he came creeping up to me, laying his head on mine. I watched the moon and let time stop for a little while. We were lying on soft moss at nearly 800m elevation. December was just a few weeks around the corner. It was not the usual late autumn hike. When the dog was breathing regular again, we moved on. He's turning 10 in a few days, and I was wondering how long he could be hiking these mountains. Carrying him around on a permanent basis might be inevitable, but this is clearly not a positive thought.

We were back at the car 14:00PM. While driving down from Berland, I met Hans once more, and we had a long chat about the area. It's always nice when you meet people who has a lot of interesting stuff to tell. On the way back to Bergen I decided I just had enough daylight to bag Eineråsen (335m). Yet another good day in the hills and the mountains.

Pictures from the Nov 16 2003 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.

On the way to Hålandsdalen

1. Sveningen seen from Samnangerfjorden (97KB) 2. Gullfjellet seen from Samnangerfjorden (108KB) 3. Sveningen and Gullfjellet, early morning (104KB) 4. Gjonakvitingen and Heihillerhornet (73KB) 5.Vaakefjellet seen from Skjelbreidvatnet (64KB) 6. High mountains seen from Holdhus (154KB)

Våkefjellet

7. The Berland trailhead (176KB) 8. On the forest trail (231KB) 9. Lake Fotaretjorna (157KB) 10. Kraakenosi (107KB) 11. My hiking pal (144KB) 12. Great views from Saata (213KB) 13. South view from Saata (130KB) 14. Gjonakvitingen seen from Saata (324KB) 15. Saata point (106KB) 16. Ottanosi seen from Saata (280KB) 17. Once upon a blue moon (156KB) 18. Vaakefjellet seen from Saata (233KB) 19. Eikelandsfjorden seen from Vaakefjellet ridge (90KB) 20. Gjon seen from Vaakefjellet ridge (90KB) 21. In case of a storm... (132KB) 22. West view from the Vaakefjellet ridge (156KB) 23. Saata seen from above (89KB) 24. Vaakefjellet summit (108KB) 25. Big chief (79KB) 26. Gjonakvitingen seen from Vaakefjellet (270KB) 27. Vaakefjellet summit (124KB) 28. Tveitakvitingen seen from Vaakefjellet (322KB) 29. Skrott seen from Vaakefjellet (250KB) 30. Vesoldo seen from Vaakefjellet (95KB) 31. Rosendal mountains seen from Vaakefjellet (66KB) 32. Gjonakvitingen and Tveitakvitingen (266KB) 33. This is more frost than snow (155KB) 34. Three mountains with high primary factor (88KB) 35. Troll has been on Gjonakvitingen also (146KB) 36. Daurmaalsegga seen from Vaakefjellet ridge (160KB) 37. On the way to Berland, looking back (213KB) 38. High mountains seen from lake Gjonvatnet (111KB)

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Pictures from other hikes:

1. Fusa mountains (120KB) 2. Ottanosi, Gjonakvitingen and Vaakefjellet (106KB) 3. Fine Fusa mountains (345KB) 4. Fusa mountains (183KB)

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