Norwegian Mountains

Routes to Sveningen - Unnamed ridge from Brekkedalen

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.

Fun routes up Sveningen

Couloir and ridge routes up Sveningen

Hausdal- Sveningen via unnamed ridge (summer)

Difficulty : Class 2+
Exposure : Slightly airy near top
Comments : Strenuous
Distance : Approx. 4Km to the top
Time : Approx. 2-3 hours to the top
Starting Elev.: Approx. 100m
Vertical Gain : Approx. 800m

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

From Bergen, follow highway E39 southbound towards Stavanger. Turn left when you see the "Haugsdal 10" sign. This is approx. 7-8Km from Nesttun. Drive all the way (10Km) to road end. Open a gate (may be open when there are no sheep in the mountains) and find parking on the other side.

The route

Just after the parking, you arrive a trail junction. Turn right and cross the river via a bridge across Hausdalselvi river. Follow the Brekkedalen road for approx. 1,3Km. You are walking up a gentle uphill and see a large mountain hump on your right. At this point, you do not yet see the bridge providing crossing across the Hausdalselvi river. Locate the end of a distinct boulderfield on the other side of the river. You need to follow this boulderfield. If the amount of water in the river does not allow you to cross, continue to the bridge, and head back down on the other side. Note that the Drogegjelet route also begins by the bridge, so finding the correct boulderfield is important.

As the boulderfield turns into a gorge/couloir, seek right and get on the ridge to the right of the couloir. On the ridge, stay left, near the drop down to the couloir. Follow this ridge all the way to the top. This is easy class 2 terrain, except for a section high on the ridge which is class 2+. A good sign of a 2+ route is that you lower your center of gravity, rather than walking upright. The scrambling on this section is not difficult on dry rock, and even if there is not a direct exposure, you must avoid falling back down your own route. You can bypass this section by descending a little towards the left. Even on the bypass, you must show caution. You're now in grass/scree/loose rock area compared to firm rock on the high ridge.

Near the top of the ridge, you will run into another narrow gully, where you *barely* can connect from the ridge to the couloir down to your left. If you should choose to do so. There is no particular reason to scramble this gully, but it serves as a landmark, in case of fog. Once on top of the ridge, turn left, and follow the high ridge towards Sveningen. You may also continue straight south to the summit of Søtefjellet.

See the main Sveningen page for descent alternatives.

Trip Report June 24 2004

This hike did not turn out as planned. This afternoon, I drove to Hausdalen, aiming to walk up the Drogegjelet couloir. I had walked up here a couple years ago, and remembered it to be easy scrambling. I brought along the dog, planning a round-trip across Sveningen.

Just before arriving the bridge that marks the beginning of the Drogegjelet couloir, I crossed the river and followed a boulderfield upwards. The initial section was just as I remembered it. Then I ran into a more complicated section, which I for the life of me, didn't remember. I told the dog to stay behind, while I climbed up the waterfall. This was class 3 climbing. At least. Lack of handholds forced me to climb inside the waterfall. There wasn't all that much water, but enough to make me wet from top to bottom. I tried to climb with my left hand only, pretending the dog was in the other. It was way too cumbersome, and I decided to find another way around. It looked like the ridge up to my right would bypass this section, and I concluded that I must have hiked the ridge on my last visit.

I wasted another 20-25 minutes on trying to reach the ridge directly from my position in the couloir. Even this proved to be tricky. I couldn't risk a potential fall, and backtracked to the start of the ridge. I was very confused as I scrambled up the ridge, through forest. The height down to the couloir increased by every step, and I didn't remember any of this from my last visit.

Halfway up the ridge, the mystery was revealed. The couloir down to my left was not Drogegjelet. I had followed the wrong boulderfield, and ended up on a ridge that I knew nothing about. Now, since being up here, I might just as well continue as far as I could go, doing useful research on a new route.

High on the ridge, above the forest, the ridge became more distinct, and routefinding became necessary. Without a dog on the back, I could easily have scrambled the ridge head on. But I chose to bypass this section by moving slightly down to my left and walking carefully up a steep section next to the ridge. At this point, it almost looked like the ridge would connect to the upper part of the couloir. But a closer look proved that this wasn't quite so. Nevertheless, there wasn't any significant exposure down towards the couloir.

It didn't take long before we reached the top of the ridge. Along the way, I noticed another ridge, closer towards the trailhead. That ridge looked even harder, and I knew immediately that I had to come back and check it out. Once on top of the ridge, we took a little break. It had started raining, and I dropped the plan to walk across Sveningen. Instead, we went to Søtefjellet summit, and returned immediately. I was just on plan to reach the Portugal-England quarter final in the 2004 European Championship if I took the same route back down. With a very interesting hike and a hell of a soccer match, this was a perfect mid-week afternoon.

Pictures from the June 24 2004 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.

1. The lower part of the couloir (247KB) 2. Facing unexpected problems (235KB) 3. On the ridge, above the couloir (255KB) 4. On the high ridge. The couloir is close (124KB) 5. View towards Brekkedalen (160KB) 6. View down the ridge (208KB) 7. Gully high on the ridge (167KB) 8. View down the ridge (330KB) 9. Troll making route decisions (193KB) 10. View towards Sotefjellet (203KB) 11. Sea view (221KB) 12. View towards Sveningen (231KB) 13. Popular routes towards Sydpolen/Redningshytten (166KB) 14. Troll - worried about the descent ? (115KB) 15. On the way down. Airy (333KB) 16. Neighbour ridge (304KB) 17. Closer look at the couloir below (526KB) 18. A look up the mountain (221KB)

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