Norwegian Mountains

Hamrefjellet, 280m (Smøråsfjellet)

Fylke/Kommune : Hordaland/Bergen
Maps : 1115-I Bergen (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Primary factor : 127m
Skied : Mar 2005
See also : Birkelandsfjellet
Hamrefjellet seen from Ulriken

Hamrefjellet seen from Ulriken

(No Javascript)

Introduction

Hamrefjellet - Smøråsfjellet is a large forest area located just south of Bergen. The forest area is enclosed by highway E39 (east), the Lake Kalanadsvatnet - Fanafjorden drain (south), highway RV553 (west) and highway 580 (north). While it is my impression that most people refer to this forest area as Smøråsfjellet, the high point is marked by Hamrefjellet on the map.

The forest area is very popular, and a good trail system has been developed around Lake Bjørnevatet, which is located centrally in the forest area. Entertainment for children is found along the trail, and Smøråstrollet (the Smørå troll - a troll carved in wood) is something the children would like to come back for.

Primary factor:

Hamrefjellet (M711: 280m, Ø.K: Highest contour is 275m) has a primary factor of 127m towards the higher Ljosvollvarden. The saddle is found along highway E39 (Vallaheiane) between Hamrefjellet and Ljosvollvarden. Ref. the Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 155m contours on the high route, but not 150m. The saddle has been interpolated to 153m.

Trail descriptions:

My route to Hamrefjellet is not worth recommending to the public. I will update this page with a proper trail description, once I visit this forest hill again.

The most popular route runs from Nøttveit, along "Militærveien", around Lake Bjørnevatnet and back to Nøttveit. This route passes near the Hamrefjellet high point.

Trip report Apr 2 2005

After a "busy" Easter, it was resting day. I brought the dog along, and headed towards Hamrefjellet. I had not done any map studies, but noticed a forest road going up from Lake Kalandsvatnet. This looked trivial - up the forest road and up the hill. Voila!

I parked below a house between Indre and Ytre Hamre by Lake Kalandsvatnet (53m), and the forest road began just behind the house. We followed this forest road up to 180m elevation, where it ended. Ahead of me (north) was a dense forest, but it I assumed there would be a path. There was easier terrain to the east, but I decided to give the forest a try.

In the beginning, I followed an awkward "channel" which stretched far into the forest. It didn't take me long to realize that there were no paths in this forest, but having come this far, I might as well see it through. In short, the forest turned out to be a nightmare. Once out of it, I stripped down to the underwear, trying to get rid of the forest that had glued onto me. The terrain was a bit more open, and I could see forest near the high point. In order to advance, I had cross very boggy ground. I tried to get around, but failed. I ended up jumping from turf to turf which eventually got me across the bog.

I stumbled onto a vague path, which I followed. It seemed to head in the right direction, and it did lead to the Hamrefjellet high point. I was very much determined to find another way down, and followed a wider path heading westbound. After a while, I ran into a wide forest road which probably was "Militærvegen." I was able to follow vague paths all the way back to the forest road I came up, and 1,5 hours after leaving the car, we were back again. We then drove back to the city and headed up to Mt. Ulriken before we called it a day.

Pictures from the Mar 28 2005 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.

1. Map of my route (142KB) 2. On the way to Hamrefjellet (265KB) 3. View from top of the forest road (259KB) 4. Entering the forest (290KB) 5. Inside the forest (296KB) 6. Out of the forest (406KB) 7. Bog ahead (371KB) 8. Top of Hamrefjellet (113KB) 9. Loevstakken seen from Hamrefjellet (122KB) 10. Stumbling onto a much wider trail (224KB) 11. Smoraastrollet (232KB) 12. Smoraasbjornen (180KB) 13. Fanafjorden seen from Hamrefjellet (174KB) 14. On the way back to Kalandsvatnet (134KB)

No Javascript:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Pictures from other hikes:


Other hordaland mountains Other Bergen K. mountains westcoastpeaks.com