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Totlandsfjellet seen from Gullfjellet.
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Totlandsfjellet is located just east of the mountains surrounding Kvamskogen. The nearest higher neighbour mountains are Børdalsfjellet and Grøet. On the other side of Grøet, you find the downhill skiing centre at Eikedalen. Although the eastern view is for the most part blocked by the Kvamskogen mountains, the view towards these mountains is still great. In the SW, you see the whole of the northern side of Samnangerfjorden, with Gullfjellet and Sveningen behind. Towards the NW, you see Brøknipa on Osterøy, and Gråfjellet stretching from Vaksdal to lake Kvitingsvatnet.
The name "Totlandsfjellet" is related to the Totland place SW of the summit, near lake Frølandsvatnet. You pass this lake on highway 7 towards Hardangerfjorden. Most likely, the best trails/paths run from this side of this mountain. The route from Svensdalen, described in this document, did not provide any trails or paths.
Totlandsfjellet (M711: 540m, Ø.K: 537,5m) has a primary factor of 225m, towards the higher Flæfjellet (938m). The saddle is found in near lake 309m, in Svensdalen. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk, you cross the 315m contours on the high route, but not 310m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 313m.
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.
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Svensdalen - Totlandsfjellet (summer/autumn)
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Access
From Bergen, follow highway E16 towards Oslo. At Trengereid, follow highway 7 (Oslo) down to Samnangerfjorden. From the Statoil station at Bjørkheim, follow highway 7 approx. 8,7Km. You will go through two tunnels, pass the Tysse exit and go through Liaros tunnel on the ascent towards Kvamskogen. After 8,7Km, exit left towards Høysæter. Follow a narrow, paved road upwards for approx. 2,7-2,8Km and exit left onto a narrow gravel road. There's a lake on your right as you turn onto the gravel road. Follow the gravel road for approx. 900m. Go right in all junctions. At 900m, you should find a couple of turnouts on grass, where you can park.
The route
While you drive the final flat stretch towards the parking, you see the ridge you will follow on your left. From the parking, cross the road and then a tiny stream and step onto the very beginning of the ridge you will follow to the summit. The general idea is to stay on the high centre on the ridge. There are no trails.
Slightly cumbersome terrain in the first half of the route will force you to find good solutions to various obstacles. The first ridge hump has a cliffband on the other side. Seek left, and you will find a safe passage down. Once down, you see another cliffband on the main ridge, and access can seem a little troublesome. Go straight ahead, and you should be able to find a passage, by using a tree for handhold. This is the tricky spot of the route, class 2+. Once up, mark this point by a rotten stick, or something, if you plan to descend the same way.
Note that these cliffbands can most likely be bypassed, by seeking along the ridge until a solution presents itself. However, this is a ridge route description, and as such, I present the obstacles on this route. Once on the proper ridge, stay (in general) high and on the centre of the ridge. You will later reach a small cairn, from where you can see the summit. Either follow the ridge as it curves around some boggy ground, or make a shortcut over grass turfs. The summit has a small cairn, but no trail register.
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Totlandsfjellet was a mountain that I had to do at some point. Up to now, it had been reserved for a rainy day, as I didn't think this low hill below the greater Kvamskogen mountains could offer any serious views. A colleague of mine, Ketil Vevle, lives nearby the mountain, and it seemed to be a good idea to ask him to come along for a hike. The weather was fairly good. It was bright sunshine, and *hot*, but with some nasty looking dark clouds, shattered around. We could actually get rainshowers, if we were unlucky. I had no idea about any trails up there, and had no expectations of finding any trails, either. I picked Ketil up at 19:30PM and told him that I wanted to drive to Svensdalen and get a high start on a ridge route, leading to the top. I told him that the terrain could be a little bumpy, but what the heck. We left the car at 19:45PM, and through staying high on the ridge, we ran into a few obstacles, which called for some creative manoeuvers. In general, the terrain was fairly easy, but a few cliffbands had to be dealt with. A woman I spoke to on a nearby farm, told me she had to give up on this route. Ketil took the lead up the awkward terrain, and I saw a potential "mountain goat" in the guy. I couldn't get up with the backpack on, so I handed it up to Ketil. Once up on a ledge, I got hold of the backpack, and the dog fell out as I tried to get the backpack on. This was certainly not the right spot to fumble with a dog, but I was able to lock him tight between my legs. The dog seemed a bit confused about the various and strange activities, but spoke nothing of it, as we moved on. The walk was fairly short. We reached the summit approx. 20:40, and were quite happy with the views. A little surprising was a very strong, and cold wind on the top. There was no wind on the ridge, until we reached the top rock. This was clearly no terrain for Troll, although I let him out on the main summit plateau. Normally, he runs around, keeping the group together, but he had enough to worry about in the high grass and bumpy terrain. Ketil had never been up here before, but found it interesting, as the territory was quite familiar to him and his family. After 10 minutes we headed down, took a shortcut on the top plateau, but stuck to the route across the ridge. It took us approx. 30 mins back to the car. Once back in Bergen, the afternoon was still gorgeous, and since I already had the hiking gear on, I took a trip up to Ulriken. I reached the summit 23:05PM, and watched a beautiful sunset over Holsnøy.
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Some of the thumbnails may have been cropped to fit the format.
Pictures are presented in the order they were taken.
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Other Samnanger K. mountains
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