Norwegian Mountains

Hananipa, 718m
Raudnipa, 710m
Krånipa, 706m
Raudfjell, 668m (Not ranked)

Mountain area : Trengereid-Nordbygda
Fylke/Kommune : Hordaland/{Bergen,Vaksdal,Samnanger}
Maps : 1215-IV Samnanger (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Hiked : Oct 1999, Sep 2002
Hananipa and Osteroy bridge

Hananipa and Osterøy bridge

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Introduction

Hananipa marks the beginning of a long continuous mountain region that begins east of highway 7 (Trengereid-Samnangerfjord) and ends near Voss. There is no common name for the mountains around Hananipa, and I have chosen "Trengereid-Nordbygda" as the region name for these 5 named summits. This region is easily accessible from Gullbotn, Trengereid, Vaksdal and Nordbygda. The terrain is friendly and is a very popular hiking/skiing area. But the main reason for visiting this area is the fantastic views towards Osterøy and Vaksdal. If you hike Hananipa from Skulstad, you begin at 350m, and you only face a 350m climb in vertical meters. On good trail! This hike is for everyone - young and old.

Hananipa belongs entirely to Vaksdal kommune. Raudnipa shares border between Vaksdal and Samnanger, Raudfjell and Holdhusfjellet belongs to Samnanger while Krånipa's high point belongs to Samnanger kommune.

Primary factor:

Hananipa (M711: 718m, Ø.K: -) has a primary factor of 285m towards the higher Storenuten (718m). The saddle is found E of Geitnipa. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 435m contours on the high route, but not 430m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 433m.

Raudnipa (M711: 710m, Ø.K: 710,35m) has a primary factor of 207m towards the higher Hananipa (718m). The saddle is found between the two tops. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 505m contours on the high route, but not 500m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 503m.

Raudfjellet (M711: 668m, Ø.K: 668,13m) has a primary factor of 50m towards the higher Krånipa (706m). The saddle is found between the two tops. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 620m contours on the high route, but not 615m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 618m.

Krånipa (M711: -, Ø 706m) has a primary factor of 153m towards the higher Hananipa (718m). The saddle is found E of lake Holmavatnet. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 555m contours on the high route, but not 550m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 553m. Note that on M711, the 703m point is not the high point. On Økonomisk Kartverk, the highest contour is 705m. Based on the terrain, the height has been increased to 706m.

Trail descriptions:

Note: Class ratings are in reference to YDS (Yosemite Decimal System).

The below round-trip route includes all 5 named summits, runs in friendly terrain and is graded to class 2, as parts of the round-trip runs off-trail. Even if Krånipa looks steep from distance, the ascent should not offer any problems.

All summits from Skulstad (summer/autumn)

Difficulty : Class 2
Comments : See description above
Distance :
Time : 6-7 hours round-trip
Starting Elev.: Approx. 350m

Map of the area
Map of the area

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Access

From the Trengereid roundabout where highway 7 and E39 forks, drive towards Trengereid (down towards the fjord). Follow this road downwards for 600m and exit right towards "Skulstad 2,5". Follow the narrow paved road upwards (2,4km) to the Skulstad parking area. The parking is just below the upper houses.

The trail

Hananipa

Follow the road between the upper houses. The road turns turns to the right, runs through a gate and continues all the way to the dam by lake Skulstadvatnet. Go all the way to the dam concrete, and follow a trail that runs on the left hand side of the lake. Follow this trail for some hundred meters and go left at the first small valley on your left hand side (the trail continues along the lake, so make sure you don't miss this small valley). Follow the valley trail which tops out with views towards Sørfjorden and Bruviknipa on Osterøy. From the point where you have fjordview, the trail runs along the ridge all the way to the summit.

Apparently, the high point is approx. 718m. A little further to NE, you will find the 711m summit with the summit register. This is a little confusing, but is probably because the lower point has the better views.

Raudnipa

A narrow trail runs from Hananipa to Raudnipa and is a little hard to find from Hananipa summit. As the ridge down to Vindskaret is rather obvious, you shouldn't have too much problems. The descent from Hananipa to the ridge is a little steep, but offers no difficulties or exposure. Once down on the ridge, you should be able to pick up the trail. If not, cross the ridge north-south until you cross the trail.

From Vindskaret, it can be difficult to resume the trail. Seek to the NE side of the ridge until you get view towards Vaksdal. The terrain is easier on this side, and eventually you will be on the trail. Looking towards Raudnipa, you see three distinct ridges. The leftmost two drops sudden down towards the north. Take the rightmost ridge and follow it to the top. Then cross to the middle ridge and follow this to the top before you cross to the ridge leading towards the summit.

Raudfjell/Krånipa/Holdhusfjellet

A trail takes you from Raudfjell down to the east side of lake 549. Hike between lakes 549 and 525, pass point 624 on the north side and then gradually ascend towards Raudfjell summit. Hike down to the pass between Raudfjell and Krånipa and set a course south towards Holdhusfjellet when convenient. No point in climbing all the way to Krånipa. You will get this peak when returning.

The hike down to Holdhusfjellet requires no detailed instructions. Head back over Krånipa and head down Krånipa's north ridge. When convenient, leave the ridge and exit north to join the trail that runs along Holmavasselvi river. Follow the trail around the south side of lake Skulstadvatnet and return to the dam.

Pictures from the Apr 1 2005 Krånipa hike

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Pictures from the Mar 31 2005 Hananipa hike

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Trip report Sep 15 2002

I had done all these mountains a couple of years earlier, but no pictures were taken. It was due time to complete this web page. As we had a major hike on Karaldenuten and Grim the day before, I settled for Hananipa and Raudnipa on this trip. It was another sunny day, and I looked forward to the amazing views from Hananipa summit.

I was far from alone on the summit this day, and it was good to be able to share the views with others. Troll was in a complicated mood, and wandered in and out of the backpack througout the hike. Thanks to Mr. Skulstad, I learned that the 711m point was not the high point. This is an annoying "feature" with Norwegian mountains. The named summit point is often the point that can be seen where people live. And a higher point can be in the proximity.

I liked the ridge walk between Hananipa and Raundnipa. You only lose the fjordviews when passing through Vindskardet. On Raudnipa, I decided to call it a day, and headed straight SW until I reached the trail along Holmavasselvi river. When wearing shorts, allocate at least one hour to clean your socks, as you take a large portion of this mountain home with you, in your boots. We stayed on Hananipa for about an hour, and a good 20 minutes on Raudnipa. We were back at the car approx. 4 hours after we left it.

Pictures from trip Sep 15 2002:

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. Skulstad trailhead (291KB) 2. Hananipa seen from Skulstadvatnet (321KB) 3. Kraanipa (137KB) 4. Gullfjellet seen from Hananipa trail (285KB) 5. Approaching Hananipa (149KB) 6. Vaksdal panorama (269KB) 7. Hananipa high point (158KB) 8. Sorfjorden view (206KB) 9. Holsnoy view (123KB) 10. Raudnipa seen from Hananipa (286KB) 11. Hananipa point 711m (190KB) 12. Troll and Bruviknipa (163KB) 13. Olsnesoyni (119KB) 14. Hananipa and Bruviknipa (166KB) 15. View towards Sorfjorden and Vaksdal (184KB) 16. Storenuten seen from Raudnipa (225KB) 17. Raudnipa summit (122KB) 18. Troll on Raudnipa (153KB) 19. Kvamskogen view (147KB) 20. Lake Skulstadvatnet (156KB) 21. Troll cooling down (169KB)

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Pictures from Hananipa trip Nov 7 2003

This hike went from Skulstad to Hananipa on the regular route. On the way down I headed towards a hut and followed a ridge parallel to the ascent route. At the end of the ridge, near lake Skulstadvatnet I came to a trail junction. Instead of going to the left, joining the regular route, I went right and ended up on a trail going away from Skulstad. I left this trail and took a shortcut through the forest and came directly down to the houses at the trailhead.

1. On the regular trail, looking back (99KB) 2. On the ridge trail, looking back (176KB) 3. Junction where ridges meet (145KB) 4. Troll on Hananipa summit (107KB) 5. The high trail is quite visible (91KB) 6. Limited fjordview from Hananipa trail (136KB) 7. Descent route. Ascent route is down to the left (106KB) 8. The steep side of Kraanipa (120KB) 9. Arriving Skulstad (94KB)

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Pictures from other hikes:

1. View towards Hananipa from Trengereidhotten (626KB) 2. Skulstad below Hananipa (203KB) 3. Hananipa seen from Hoklane on Osteroy (86KB) 4. Raudnipa and Hananipa seen from Geitnipa (117KB) 5. Hananipa far right, seen from Javnasaata (262KB) 6. Hananipa far left seen from Geitnipa (414KB) 7. Vaksdal seen from Osteroy (395KB) 8. Vaksdal and Osteroy seen from Geitnipa parking (212KB) 9. Vaksdal/Trengereid view from Broknipa (273KB) 10. Hananipa and Gullfjellet seen from Broknipa (163kB) 11. Views from Rindebrotet (316KB) 12. Views from Rindebrotet (316KB) 13. Hananipa seen from Arnanipa (103KB) 14. Hananipa seen from Raudskredbruni (316KB) 15. South view from Raudskredbruni (614KB) 16. Hananipa seen from Herlandsfjellet (100KB) 17. Hananipa (300KB) 18. East view from Storfjellet (462KB) 19. Zoom to the east from Storfjellet (404KB) 20. East view from Grønetua (part 2/2) (957KB) 21. Hananipa and Brøknipa (259KB)

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