Norwegian Mountains

Møsnuken, 639m
Tyssdalsfjellet, 605m (Not ranked)

Mountain area : Os
Fylke/Kommune : Hordaland/Os
Maps : 1215-III Fusa (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Primary factor : Møsnuken: 451m
Primary factor : Tyssdalsfjellet: 41m
Closest villages : Os
Hiked : Apr 99, Mar 02, Feb 04
See also : Sveningen
See also : Rødsfjellet
See also : Gråfjellet
Moesnuken seen from Ulriken

Møsnuken seen from Ulriken

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Introduction

Møsnuken is a classic destination, and perhaps more so for hikers than for skiers. It is not typical skiing terrain up to the mountain, the summit plateau isn't that large large (3Km above 500m elevation) and proper snow seldom stays for long. With the ocean nearby, the mountain is subject to rough weather. Bad weather on this mountain can be just as severe as on mountains twice the height.

The views towards a long list of well-known mountains can be enjoyed from this summit. The northern views are dominated by the Bergen city mountains. Gullfjellet, Bergsdalen and Kvamskogen mountains form the horizon in the northeast, while Fusa mountains dominate the eastern view. Further behind to the east, the Folgefonnhalvøya mountains rise above Hardangerfjorden. Further southeast, mountain regions such as Rosendal, Uskedalen and Tysnes offer majestic peaks such as Melderskin and Ulvanosa.

Primary factor:

Møsnuken (M711: 639m, Ø.K: 639,36m, N60 13.984 E5 31.202) has a primary factor of 451m towards the higher Sveningen (842m). The saddle is N of Rødssætri, E of lake 185m, S of Midtsæter. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 190m contours on the high route, but not 185m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 188m. 188m.

Tyssdalsfjellet (M711: 605m, Ø.K: 604m, N60 13.778 E5 30.066) has a primary factor of 41m towards the higher Mønuken (639m) The saddle is 100m SE of the summit. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 565m contours on the high route, but not 560m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 563m.

Trail descriptions:

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.

Tyssdal - Tyssdalsfjellet - Møsnuken (all seasons)

Difficulty : Class 2
Exposure : None
Comments : Forest trail and off-trail hiking
Distance : Approx. 4Km to Mønuken
Time : Approx. 2 hours to Møsnuken (w/o pause)
Starting Elev.: Approx. 50m
Vertical Gain : Approx. 600m (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. Locate a gas station (X) near Ulven before you get to Osøyro. Just a bit further ahead, locate a narrow road that forks to the left. This junction is approx. 4,7Km after the "Lysekloster" exit at Søfteland (measured on map, not by odometer).

Follow the narrow road for 1.3Km to the Tyssdal trailhead (not that after 1Km the road Y-forks. Go right).

The route

Important note:

I have not walked the entire trail as described in this section, and I have used some assumptions describing the part from the forest trail up to the mountain plateau.

Follow the forest trail from the trailhead. Go through a gate a cross the Tyssdalselva stream on a bridge. Follow the forest road which soon turns into a bumpy and rocky forest trail. You will join another rocky forest trail before you head into the forest. The forest trail is quite visible and easy to follow. At 360m elevation, you may see an arrow, painted in red on a tree. Ignore this arrow and stick to the main trail.

At 420m elevation, the trail leaves the valley and climbs up towards the pass between Tyssdalsfjellet and Møsnuken. From distance, this seems like the only logical place to ascend the mountain, but the route runs through boulderfields. I imagine there is a some kind of path halfway up the mountain. If not, make the best of it. It is not very steep. Once in the pass between the two high points, turn right and follow a wide ridge leading to Møsnuken summit. The summit is marked by a pole with a mailbox. On your way back, stop by Tyssdalsfjellet summit. This summit is marked by a trig. point. The true high point is a few feet away from the trig. point, towards Møsnuken. You will see steep cliff below the summit. Pass this cliff to the left and find a very convenient route up to the summit.

Trip Report Feb 22 2004

The weather the day before was surprisingly bad, and I could not in any way picture a perfectly good Sunday. Awaking late, I missed the opportunity for a great ski trip in the higher mountains. Perhaps it was for the best. The chill factor in the city was quite noticeable. I settled for something not-so-high, something familiar with fjord views, and headed towards Møsnuken by Osøyro.

I had been up here two times before. Back in '99 me and a friend walked around the mountain, and then back across the plateau. We found a trail down near the SW end of the mountain, but I had no recollection of this trail. I remembered it to be a very long hike. In 2002, I climbed Tyssdalsfjellet in deep snow. I remembered where I had left the trail, but could not remember which direction I took up the mountain. I had a very casual attitude towards this hike, and did not even bring a map. I was just going up for some pictures. How hard could that be?

Back to the present, the dog and I left the Tyssdal trailhead at 10:30AM. We took our time up the forest. Troll had to sniff both sides of the trail. At the same time. The weather was gorgeous, but I would not be taken by any windy suprise and came well prepared. At 360m elevation, I remembered the red arrow on a tree next to the forest trail. The snow depth was moderate, and the trail (yes, there was a trail) was easy to follow. At 400m the trail had vanished, and so had the red dots on the trees. I was left to my self and an incredible jungle of juniper bush that seemed to cover the next 100 vertical meters.

For the life of me, I couldn't remember which route I took back in Mar '02, and I certainly couldn't remember anything about bushes. The cliffs 100m above my head seemed steep, but I couldn't worry about those now. If I came up here once before, I certainly could do it once more. With Troll firmly seated in the backpack, I took on the bushes. It was bad in the beginning and it got gradually worse. This was by far the worst bush war I have ever fought. The thought of turning around was present, but unbearable.

When we eventually reached the cliffs, I couldn't see any walkable route in any direction. Everything I considered looked impossible, until I spotted one route that called for serious research. I left Troll and the backpack behind, and climbed carefully using roots and branches. After a few minutes I was on top of the cliffs and then returned to (literally) pick up my companion. There was no way I could carry him up the cliff, so I pushed him upwards with one hand while climbing with the other. From a remote perspective, this must have looked incredibly stupid. I made a solid promise of not trying to return this way.

Once on the plateau, I noticed the winds from hell. The temperature was somewhere between -6 and -8 deg. C., but the chill factor made conditions far more harsh. Troll was shivering in the backpack. I had brought along a wind jacket for this type of weather, but it was clear that the dog needed the jacket most. All the snow I had poured on him while climbing was now frozen solid, and the poor fellow looked quite miserable. I feel I am doing him a favour, not leaving him home alone. If he could talk, there is a chance he would argue.

Every now and then we ran into sunny places in shelter from the wind, and we took a small break. Troll was still shivering, but I assumed he was now shivering over the lack of a tasty lunch-box. He stopped shivering when I tested him with familiar words like choc-o-late. In order to get some good pictures, I had to move out of the safe spots. The winds made it difficult to hold the camera steady, and I couldn't even hear the familiar clicking sound that indicates that a picture has been taken. My eyes were soaking wet, so I had no idea whether a picture had been taken or not. I hit the "shoot" button over and over, hoping to get some useful material. Within 40-50 seconds, the gloves had to come back on. It was that kind of wind.

We reached Møsnuken summit 13:15PM, but moved rapidly on after a very quick picture shoot. Being up here, I still had no recollection of where I ascended more than 4 years ago. Below me were steep cliffs, but I thought I saw a doable route down and around the cliffs. A very short section of this route was on the border of being very difficult, and I didn't see any alternatives nearby. Happy to have left the worst part behind, we took our well deserved summit break below the Møsnuken cliffs. Troll didn't look his usual himself while waiting for the goodies.

We had a good walk ahead of us, and it became apparent that I had chosen a more complicated route towards the trailhead. I went up to Hegglandsfjellet to get a better view of the terrain and then understood that I could have stayed much higher below the Mønuken cliffs. From Hegglandsfjellet, I also got a good view towards the standard route up to Møsnuken. I followed Hegglandsfjellet in the SW direction, planning to jump across the stream and join the forest trail somewhere near the point I left it. But the fun wasn't over. First, a steep climb down to the stream and then a hilarious jungle of bush and trees on the other side. After forcing my way through this jungle, I was relieved beyond words to be back on the trail. I let Troll run back down from here. He seemed equally happy, probably realizing the car was within reach.

We reached the car 15:00PM, 4.5 hours after we left it, and then I broke the happy news to Troll - "since you didn't get to hike all that much, I am taking you to Ulriken (605m)". He seemed confused, and was lacking the ususal spirit he has when I am proposing a walk. But once on the Ulriken trail, he was clearly enjoying it. A fresh layer of snow, warmed up by the sun and stomped by numerous Sunday hikers. We reached Ulriken summit 16:15PM and could enjoy the view towards Mønuken. It is fair to say that I was the one enjoying the view. Troll was busy with dog stuff. With a smile, I watched this well-aged, normally slow-moving, grey bearded comrade run frantic from spot to spot, overriding any claims for terrain domination, left by dozens of other dogs throughout the day. C'mon pal, it's been a great day. let's go home (a few pics here).

Pictures from the Feb 22 2004 hike:

1. Approaching the trailhead (112KB) 2. On the forest trail (214KB) 3. Leaving the forest trail here (241KB) 4. Easy terrain early on the climb (219KB) 5. Ach mein Gott... (222KB) 6. Finally on the plateau (503KB) 7. Moving across the plateau (434KB) 8. A cool hump on my right (241KB) 9. Nature watch (142KB) 10. North view from Tyssdalsfjellet (252KB) 11. Tyssdalsfjellet summit (109KB) 12. North view from Tyssdalsfjellet (331KB) 13. West view from Tyssdalsfjellet (419KB) 14. The pass between the two summits (287KB) 15. West view from Tyssdalsfjellet (353KB) 16. Close to Moesnuken summit (331KB) 17. North view from Moesnuken (443KB) 18. East view from Moesnuken (692KB) 19. Moesnuken summit (163KB) 20. Lonely tree below Moesnuken (163KB) 21. East/Southeast view from below Moesnuken (282KB) 22. A nice winter picture (123KB) 23. Fine southern mountains (261KB) 24. My dear friend (143KB) 25. Makes you want to climb... (336KB) 26. My kind of cabin... (236KB) 27. My kind of mountains (206KB) 28. Moesnuken steep sides (467KB) 29. Ulvanosa seen from below Moesnuken (220KB) 30. My wild ascent route (198KB)

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Pictures from other hikes:

1. View towards Moesnuken from Fusa, Apr 2001. (114KB) 2. Moesnuken seen from Livarden (146KB) 3. Moesnuken by Os seen from the air (135KB) 4. Moesnuken seen from the Fusa side 5. Hardangerfjord mountains seen from Lyderhorn (251KB) 6. Moesnuken by Os (382KB) 7. Bergenshalvoya mountains (305KB) 8. View from above Turnerhytten (1668KB) 9. View from above Turnerhytten (703KB) 10. Møsnuken seen on the way to Rødsfjellet (196KB) 11. Rødsfjellet summit views  (587KB) 12. View from Løvstakken towards Rosendal (612KB) 13. Fanafjellet (288KB) 14. Møsnuken (Os) (204KB) 15. Møsnuken (305KB)

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