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Kvitanosi seen from the air(No Javascript) |
Kvitanosi ("the white nose") is the highest mountain west of highway RV13 (across Vikafjellet), and is also known as the highest mountain in the Stølsheimen mountain range. As there are no other mountains exceeding 1400m in Stølsheimen, Kvitanosi is a landmark that can easily be recognized from mountains in a 50Km radius.
Kvitanosi is popular in winter and most people ski from Gullbrå or on top of Teigdalen valley. In summer, you can drive up to (or close enough) Lake Store Volavatnet, where Kvitanosi is just a short afternoon hike away. While Kvitanosberget is just an extension of Kvitanosi towards the south-east, Bjørndalshesten is ranked as an independent mountain on this web-site.
You have extensive views from Kvitanosi. On a fairly good day, you see the Jostedalsbreen, Folgefonna, Fresvikbreen and Hardangerjøkulen glaciers. You can also see Hårteigen - the Hardangervidda majesty.
During WW2, a Focke Wulf FW 200C-4 Condor crashed onto Kvitanosi, for reasons unknown. 4 crewmembers died in the incident, and the plane wreck is still an attraction on the mountain. From what I have heard, red circles painted on rocks will guide you to the wreck, which (I think) is located above Breidhjellen.
I have chosen to use the name Bjørndalshesten (the Bjørndalen horse) for point 1222m S of Kvitanosi. The top has no name on the map, but the entire ridge down to Rapadalen is known as "Hesten" (the horse) due to its characteristics. The lower part is in dialect known as "Hestahove" (the horse's head) while the upper part is known as "Hestarøve" (the horse's ass). I found the name Bjørndalshesten a bit more ... graceful. Bjørndalen is the valley west of this mountain ridge.
Kvitanosi (M711: 1433m, Ø.K: -) has a primary factor of 503m towards higher mountains around Lake Store Muravatnet. The saddle is found N of Tverrgavlane, between Finnbunuten and Grøndalsfjellet. Ref. the M711 map (20m contours), you cross the 940m contours on the high route, but not 920m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 930m.
Kvitanosberget (M711: Highest contour is 1280m - interpolated to 1290m, Ø.K: -) has a primary factor of 80m towards the higher Kvitanosi. The saddle is found NE of Kvitanosberget (towards Høgevarde). Ref. the M711 map (20m contours), you cross the 1220m contours on the high route, but not 1200m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 1210m.
Bjørndalshesten (M711: 1222m, Ø.K: -) has a primary factor of 112m towards the higher Kvitanosi. The saddle is found between Bjørndalshesten and Kvitanosberget. Ref. the M711 map (20m contours), you cross the 1120m contours on the high route, but not 1100m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 1110m. My own GPS reading was 1106m which indicates that the interpolation is fair.
Notes: Class ratings are in reference to YDS. Click here for more information.
The trails described below are not necessarily the *easiest* trails to this mountain.
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Volavatnet - Kvitanosi via Bjørndalskjeften (summer/autumn)
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From Bergen, follow highway E16 towards Oslo. From the E16/RV7 junction at Trengereid, follow highway E16 46,3Km to the Evanger junction. Turn left towards Evanger and follow the road up Teigdalen 11,9Km and turn right towards Brekkhus where the road that continues towards Eksingadalen makes a sharp left turn. Follow the road towards Brekkhus until you reach a gate at 1,8Km. This gate marks the start of the service road up to Lake Store Volavatn. Follow this road as far as it takes you, but not further than the lake - should it ever be extended.
Walk along the dam on the north side of the lake. There is a trail junction on the far end. By turning right, you'll end up at the Volahytten cabin. Turn left and try to follow the path that heads northwest up to a pass that you can see. The path runs to the right of (east) the stream from Snjodalen, and high above. This path is not marked in any way, except for a random pointy rock here and there.
Once in Snjodalen, head towards the pass between point 1222m (Bjørndalshesten) and Kvitanosberget. Cross the pass and descend towards Bjørndalskjeften. Locate a path that climbs up the stream coming from the pass between Kvitanosi and Kvitanosberget. When you get a chance to get onto Kvitanosi's south ridge, do so, and follow the ridge upwards to the summit. At the lower end of the ridge, you will have to look for ways to advance on the ridge. The terrain is easy, providing you go for the easy alternatives.
Variations
a) From the Bjørndalshesten - Kvitanosberget pass, head directly up to Kvitanosberget and follow the ridge to the top. Descend to the Kvitanosi - Kvitanosberget pass, turn left and head for Kvitanosi's south ridge.
b) From Bjørndalskjeften (below Kvitanosi), enter a plateau that will take you up to a very distinct gully that traverses Kvitanosi's southwest side.
c) Follow Snjodalen all the way to the top, go around Lake 1206m and head directly up to Kvitanosi from the east. I have only walked this route on snow.
Other trailheads
I have not done these routes, but hope I will find the time to do so.
1) Drive to Gullbrå and walk the Gråbergsrusten ridge that will take you to Kjerringanosi and Kvitanosi.
2) Drive to the top of Teigdalen (Vinningsleitet) and head southbound to Rapp, then NE to Blåvatnet, up Dyrdalsbotnen to Kristnipa and to Toni. I think it is possible to ascend from Toni, but I am not sure. I have heard that people go up near Breidhjellen.
The day started bad. I got up around 06:00AM, ready to visit the mountains above Gudvangen. I had a bad night due to allergy and this morning I sneezed constantly for hours until I had to crawl back to bed. I woke up around 11:00AM, completely wrecked. I had to get out of the house, as I figured it couldn't get worse than this. I had to go high above the treeline. This much was clear. Exactly where had to be figured out along the way.
I got in the car and drove in the direction of Voss. I started thinking about mountains near Brekkhus and that the road towards Volavatnet perhaps would take me high up. The goal was set to point 1222m S of Kvitanosi, an independent mountain that I hadn't been to yet. I had tried to find the name of the mountain for some time. I had assumed that Bjørndalshesten was the lower part of the mountain. I had spoken to Johannes Brekkhus, who had done some research without coming up with a firm name.
As I passed Brekkhus, I asked Erling (who is Johannes' nephew) about the road conditions. He told me I could drive all the way to the powerplant. It wouldn't be far to Volavatnet from there. Since we were talking, I asked him about point 1222m, but he directed me to Steinar Århus further up the road. I met his father Olav, but he didn't know either. I figured that if none of these guys know the name, then there is no name. Olav told me to call Helge Edvardsen who had sheep up in the mountains. I later did, and Helge told me that the entire ridge was called Bjørndalshesten. "Hestehove" at the lower end and "Hesterøve" at the upper end. I was happy. Enough research already.
I was able to drive a bit past the powerplant and parked at approx. 830m elevation. Me and my dachshund "Troll" headed upwards 14:00PM sharp. It was a gorgeous day in the mountains. It was nearly 6 years since last (and first) time I was here. I had walked up to Toni without finding a good passage, and ended up walking up the traversing gully on the southwest side. I had then found a path down towards Bjørndalskjeften, which I assume is the normal route from Snjodalen. My dog was also with me back in September 1999. Back then, he walked all the way to the top. I didn't except him to do so today.
There was still a lot of snow in the mountains, but the July snow is seldom a problem to walk on. We crossed several pitches of snow on the way to Volavatnet, but didn't get continuous snow until we entered Snjodalen. Troll was in the backpack as I reached the top of Bjørndalshesten 15:36PM. The main goal was reached, but who in their right mind would turn around here? With the majestic Kvitanosi next door? Troll was on foot as we headed down from Bjørndalshesten, but he kept looking back on me, probably asking me if he really had to go through with this.
I got tempted to take a steep shortcut directly up to the Kvitanosberget ridge, and did just that. Troll was now in the backpack again, seemingly happy. I reached the top of Kvitanosberget 16:10PM and after letting the GPS "tune in", I noticed that the display said 1295m. After a long slide on snow, I was in the Kvitanosberget - Kvitanosi pass, let Troll out again and walked up the south ridge.
We reached the top Kvitanosi 17:00PM. I didn't expect to meet anyone. If anyone had visited this top today, they were probably back home for dinner by now. We had a great stay on top and took our time. The horizon was a bit hazy and I felt cheated for the best views. Some of them I got when I returned back home and looked at the pictures taken with the 300mm zoom lens. On top, I realized that I hadn't been sneezing since Snjodalen and that I could breathe the free air without ending up on my knees. Not much would beat that moment - right then and there.
I decided to descend the east side and after one long and terrific slide, I was down by the Kvitanostjørna lakes. I had to ascend the south part of the Høgevarde ridge, only to immediately descend it into Snjodalen. Troll was let out of the backpack as we entered the lower part of Snjodalen. I wondered if I could find a way to cross the river, which would save me the extra walk up to the dam. I found a crossing which worked well after tossing in 10-15 rocks. 18:45PM, we were back at the car and could start on the 1,5 hour drive back to Bergen.
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.
To Bjørndalshesten
To Kvitanosi
On Kvitanosi
Descent
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Other hordaland mountains
Pictures from other hikes:
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Other Voss K. mountains
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