Norwegian Mountains

Solbakkafjellet, 461m (Solbakkefjellet)

Fylke/Kommune : Hordaland/Bergen
Maps : 1115-I Bergen (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Primary factor : 178m
Hiked : Aug 1999, July 2005
See also : Sveningen
See also : Livarden
Solbakkafjellet seen from Livarden

Solbakkafjellet seen from Livarden

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Introduction

Solbakkafjellet is a long forest ridge located between the road to Bontveit and the road to Haugsdal. The normal route is from Frotveit and then southbound on the forest ridge to the cairn at 457m elevation. This web page will also describe the route from Almeland and northbound on the ridge. This is a longer approach, but recommended.

The great trail guide "Turløyper i Bergens-området" states: "This area is little known to other than local people. Thus, many will be positively surprised over this hike". Things have probably changed since the trail guide was written, and locals say that Solbakkafjellet is getting increasingly popular. Bergen Turlag has also had large groups of people up here.

Primary factor:

Solbakkafjellet (M711: 458m, Ø.K: 460m is highest contour, interpolated to 461m) has a primary factor of 178m towards the higher Livarden (683m). The saddle is found at Frotveit, just E of Meåsen (Ø.K.) Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 285m contours on the high route, but not 280m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 283m.

Trail descriptions:

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.

Frotveit - Solbakkafjellet (summer/autumn)

Difficulty : Class 1
Exposure : No
Comments : Family hike
Distance : Approx. 2,8Km to the top
Time : Approx. 1 hour to the top
Starting Elev.: Approx. 270m
Vertical Gain : Approx. 190m (total)

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

From Bergen, follow highway E39 towards Stavanger. From the highway RV580/E16 junction at Nesttun, drive 6,2Km on E39 towards Stavanger and turn left at the "Bontveit" sign. Drive 6,2Km to Frotveit and the south end of Lake Frotveitvatnet. Locate a small turn-out near a farm on the right hand side of the road. Park here.

The route

Walk straight down past the farm, across the field on the left hand side of the farm fence. Head for the northern end of the Solbakkafjellet ridge which is straight ahead of you. You will walk straight onto a well-marked trail that takes you all the way to the summit cairn.

Almeland - Solbakkafjellet (summer/autumn)

Difficulty : Class 1
Exposure : No
Comments : Family hike
Distance : Approx. 4Km to the top
Time : Approx. 2 hours to the top
Starting Elev.: Approx. 120m
Vertical Gain : Approx. 400m (total)

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

From Bergen, follow highway E39 towards Stavanger. From the highway RV580/E16 junction at Nesttun, drive 6,2Km on E39 towards Stavanger and turn left at the "Bontveit" sign. Drive 1,2Km up the road to Bontveit and turn right onto "Almelandsveien". The road forks just after a bridge. Turn right and drive 250m. You should see a gate on your right-hand side. This is the trailhead. It is possible to park besides the gate, but make sure you don't block for traffic to and from Almeland. Take tractors into consideration.

The route

Follow the forest road upwards, which crosses over the Kampen northeast ridge (Vidamyra on Ø.K.) and descend into a valley S of Smørkisen. When you reach a forest road junction down in the valley, turn right. After a while, the forest road climbs up to 225m elevation. Leave the forest road (which I think just continues around "the corner") and head northbound on a forest path up a distinct forest ridge.

The path takes you to the top of Smørkisfjellet (Ø.K.) before you descend into a pass between Smørkisfjellet and Solbakkafjellet. The forest path is marked by ribbons on trees here and there all the way to Solbakkafjellet. This is useful in the boggy areas, and there are a few.

Once on the Solbakkafjellet south ridge, you can't go wrong. Follow it all the way up to the summit cairn.

Trip report July 8 2005 - from Almeland

I wanted to hike a different mountain than Ulriken this Tueday afternoon, and chose Solbakkafjellet. I thought it would be a quick hike. I had hiked Solbakkafjellet from Frotveit back in August 1999, and didn't remember it to be a long hike. Besides, the height was only 457m. That couldn't take long. I decided to find a different route. I took a quick look at the map and found a path from Almeland. Good! That's my destination.

Finding the trailhead wasn't difficult even if there were no trailsigns. I had brought along my dachsund "Troll", and we left the car 18:20PM. INSTEAD of sitting down in protest after 100m, Troll seemed more than willing to walk. I was overwhelmed. We ran into a trail junction, and very nonchalant I chose the leftmost path. After a while, I realized we were going in the wrong direction, and with the dog under my arm, I crossed very awkward terrain in order to get back to the forest road below Smørkisen.

I had planned one hour to the top and less back down. It soon became clear that this plan wouldn't hold. 19:20PM, one hour after heading out, we had just passed 360m elevation and there was still one more kilometer to go. This is when we headed into the fog, but fortunately it wasn't raining.

We reached the summit cairn 19:40PM and met Frode, Glenn and Fredrik on top. They had hiked from Frotveit. Fredrik was a young kid with sufficient energy, running back and forth on the top as we came along. While Troll was chewing on his lunch-box (earned), I had a pleasant chat with the others. I appreciate meeting people on mountains a bit off the beaten track, and especially in less favorable weather conditions. We're a small group of people then, who chose nature above the convenient sofa. It's always a small victory.

I didn't have time to spend the whole evening on this mountain, so I had to move on. But first, I wanted to measure the 460m contour 160m further north (later I realized there was another one 200m north of the first). The GPS shifted steadily between 458 and 459m and I wondered if Ø.K. could be right, not showing any 460m contours. I gave up science and headed back down to Almeland. 20:50PM, we were back at the car.

Pictures from the July 8 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. Almeland trailhead (129KB) 2. Almeland (118KB) 3. Troll catching up (187KB) 4. On the wrong forest road (222KB) 5. On the way up Smorkisfjellet (267KB) 6. View from the trail (307KB) 7. Closing in on the upper ridge (178KB) 8. Heading into fog (125KB) 9. Solbakkafjellet summit cairn (158KB) 10. Solbakkafjellet summit cairn (164KB) 11. Open field near Smorkisfjellet (135KB)

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Pictures from other hikes:

1. View from the southern Hausdalshorga viewpoint (367KB) 2. Gullfjellet region, Bergen (317KB) 3. Gullfjellet (219KB)

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