Norwegian Mountains, Hordaland
Breifonn (1616m) & Midnuten (1463m), July 23 2010
To the main Breifonn page (maps, route descriptions, other trip reports, etc.)
The route, as seen in Google Earth
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Anne and me were enjoying a short stay in Hordaland, after having spent two weeks of our summer vacation in northern Norway. After settling in at Røldalsterrassen (our base-camp) the day before, we hiked Holmanuten and later in the afternoon, I had a quick hike up and down Elvershei. Today's goal was Breifonn - the southernmost glacier in Norway! I had been looking forward to getting here for years, and now the time had come!
The big question was if we could drive into Blåbergdalen valley. If not, then Breifonn would be a mighty long walk. But at Røldalsterrassen, we were told that we could safely drive to the end of the road. Great news!
The quality of the Blåbergdalen gravel road was decent enough, and after an enjoyable drive into the valley, we headed out 10:45am.
Towards Breifonn
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We followed a path that took us into the valley between Midnuten and Breifonn. This path faded out as we approached the glacier and the two lakes in front of it. Man, it was good to be up here! And the weather had turned out just as nice as we had hoped for. After all, the sunny weather forecast was the main reason why we went all the way to Hordaland.
After being on the trail for 1h:15m, we arrived at the glacier front. Although Breifonn is nowhere as impressive as the other glaciers in southern Norway, it is definitely (still) a glacier and we were finally on it!
On the glacier
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Being "on the glacier" was of course just for show and fun. We didn't have crampons and without them, it was impossible to walk on a glacier of this steepness. Moreover, it was not at all necessary. We followed the glacier front until it ended and headed upwards on solid rock. We took a quick break by a cairn at 1450 meters. We had no clue why this cairn was here - in the middle of nowhere, but it seemed like a good place for a pause...
Pause at 1450m
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One of my best memories from this hike was the awesome white (and dark) clouds in the big, blue sky. It was just a phenomenal view. And as gradually made our way towards the top of the mountain, it felt as we were soon about to "touch the sky"...
Approaching Breifonn summit
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After hiking approx. 6,6km, we arrived on top of Norway's southernmost glacier (and Rogaland county's only glacier - shared with Hordaland) at 1:02pm - approx. 2h:15m after heading out. On a personal note, I now had completed the top 45 mountains on my Hordaland "pf list".
Anne celebrates the ascent of Breifonn
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After a nice stay on top of Breifonn, we agreed that we should descend via Midnuten - another independent top that falls into the category of "bonus peaks - impossible to ignore". We followed (more or less) our ascent route from the two lakes, and from here we headed straight up to Midnuten's high point. Along the way, we had a great view towards Breifonn...
Looking back on Breifonn
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At 2:18pm, we could celebrate our second top for the day. We didn't stop for long, and descended northeast in a small valley that took us directly back to the trailhead. We took full advantage of the snow that was left, allowing an easier descent. We returned to the trailhead 3:05pm - 4h:20m after heading out.
It had been a fantastic day on the mountain, but I was still high on energy. So just like the day before, where I had an afternoon hike to Elvershei, I went back up on Røldalsfjellet and hiked Kvitenuten (1467m) - opposite of Elvershei. Afterwards, we had yet another nice dinner (and ... beverages) at Røldalsterrassen. Our Hordaland vacation was already a success (in every aspect) and we had still one more day of hiking...
Descending from Midnuten
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