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Røyrfjellet seen from lake Kvitingen(No Javascript) |
Introduction
The Storafjellet/Røyrfjellet plateau is located far west in the Kvamskogen mountain region, and is a close neighbour to Iendafjellet (also known in Samnanger as "Såta"). The north side is known as "Røyrfjellet" (910m) while the south side is called "Storafjellet" (915m). Økonomisk Kartverk actually refers to Storafjellet as "Sør-Røyrfjellet".
The natural trailheads are Lake Kvitingsvatnet via Lake Holmavatnet (north) and Skeiskvanndalen (south). There are no distinct trails on the mountain, but it is not hard locating a place to ascend the mountain. This is not the best place to get a good view of the Bergsdalen and Kvamskogen mountains. There are higher mountains around and the nearby valleys and lakes can not be seen from the plateau.
East of the mountain you will find the path that connects Skeiskvanndalen with the Holmavatnet lakes. This paths runs through the pass between Storafjellet and Iendafjellet. The Samnager and Kvam kommune border runs across the Storafjellet summit, while Røyrfjellet (910m) is located within Samnanger kommune.
Storafjellet (1215-I: 915m, Ø.K: highest contour is 915m) has a primary factor of 167m towards the higher Flæfjellet (938m). The saddle is found by lake Skeisskardtjørni. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 750m on the high route, but not 745m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 748m.
I measured the high point (GPS 32 V 331757 6703581) to 920m. A few meters should be subtracted (error margin), but it is likely that the high point is slightly higher than 915m.
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.
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Eikedalen - Storafjellet (summer/autumn)
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From Bergen, follow highway E16 towards Oslo. At the Trengereid roundabout, turn right and follow highway 7. Pass Bjørkheim by Samnangerfjorden, drive through two tunnels, pass the highway 48 exit (Tysse) and set your odometer at the bridge by the Kvitingen exit. After 8,65Km, turn left towards "Eikedalen Skisenter". Drive approx. 500m until a gate blocks the road. Park in front of the gate. The gate may be open, but park outside.
Pass the ski-centre and follow the road to road end (approx. 1,9Km). Follow the unmarked path to the Herand cabins by the southern part of Lake Skeiskvanndalsvatnet. Most of the path runs across rock. From Herand, a visible path takes you to the Juvik cabins by the north end of the lake.
From Juvik, head northbound (off-trail) and get on a ridge that will take you towards the Storafjellet cliffbands. You may see a very distict pointy rock. Pass this one on the left-hand side and enter a small valley. Minor scrambling (2+) is required on top of this valley (a small gully). Gradually turn left and follow another distinct, tiny valley which also offers some scrambling on top. Proceed westbound upwards until you reach the high point.
Descend towards the south-west. You may stumble upon a path that takes you towards Lake Skeisskardtjørni. If you don't, look for a natural route down the mountain. From Lake Skeisskardtjørni, follow a path along the stream towards Juvik. The path is vague at first, more distinct further down. If you lose it, traverse until you find it again. It never runs far away from the stream down to your left.
From Juvik, follow your ascent route back to Skeiskvanndalen.
A gorgeous Friday afternoon, and I left work a bit earlier than usual. I had no idea where to go, but drove towards Kvamskogen, curious about where I would end up. As I passed Bjørkheim, I decided to go for Storafjellet. I had visited this mountain back in 2002, but missed out on the high point. The time had come to "bag" this one for good.
My dachshund "Troll" and I left the car near the Eikedalen ski-centre 16:25PM. After marking the territory, Troll realized that hard work was ahead of him and decided to call it the day. I put him in the back-pack and hurried upwards. Time was not on my side, and it was evident that I had to keep a fair pace to be back before dark. The plan had been to hike up to the Flæfjellet - Storafjellet pass and ascend from there. When I reached Juvik, I changed this plan and continued off-trail directly towards the mountain.
The minor scrambling that this route demanded was fun. It was a beautiful evening with spectacular autumn colors. Too bad I had to fight sunset. As I moved towards the top, I began to notice the strong wind and when I reached the top 18:00PM, it was almost gale on top. Taking pictures was a difficult task. We found a less windy spot and had something to eat.
I decided to descend towards Skeisskardtjørni and follow a familar route down towards Juvik. I hiked this trail with my friend Ketil in July 2004. Troll was not too happy in this off-trail terrain, but managed. When we reached Juvik, it started to get dark. I felt I had full control of the time. If not, I would have put Troll in the back-pack and walked fast back to the car.
When we reached Eikedalen, Troll was dirty from top to bottom (23cm) from the muddy trail. I gave him a bath in the river and we were back at the car 19:55PM - one hour after sunset. It was safe to say that I was back down AFTER dark. A great hike.
To Storafjellet
Summit views
Descent
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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.
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Lake Kvitingen - Storafjellet (summer/autumn)
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From Bergen, follow highway E16 towards Voss/Oslo. At the Trengereid roundabout, turn right and follow highway 7 towards Oslo. From Bjørkheim, down by the Samnangerfjord, continue through two tunnels, pass the highway 48 junction (Tysse), continue approx. 1Km and turn left when you see the "Kvitingen" sign.
Follow the Kvitingen road all the way to lake Kvitingen (13,9Km). The road is narrow and full of curves. Take it easy, as there is always some traffic on the road. The parking fee (self-served) at lake Kvitingen is NOK 30,- (per June 2002). Park at road end.
The road continues through a gate, but the road is reserved for the land owners.
Walk through the gate and follow the paved road upwards. Soon, you see a road go down to your right. Ignore this road. Shortly after, another road goes down to your right (to the power plant). Ignore this as well. At the next junction, turn right and cross a bridge. Shortly after, the paved road runs straight ahead, while a gravel road forks off to the left. Follow the gravel road to the left and follow it upwards.
The road soon begins to descend towards Sotabotnen. You'll be losing 80-100m in altitude. Down in Sotabotnen, you see the Svartavatnet dam towards the east. Looks are deceiving. The road ascends upwards and takes the long way around. Total distance up to Svartavatnet dam is approx. 4.5Km.
At the dam, cross it and head towards the first cabin. You will see "T" with red paint on the rocks. This is the start of the trail. At first, the trail is somewhat awkward, as it switchbacks up steep terrain. However, the hike upwards offers no problems. As the "T" trail turns south-east (the trail is heading towards Skeiskvanndalen valley), leave it and follow a south/south-west bearing up the ridge.
The terrain does not allow you to get a clear overview. There's always another ridge beyond the one you're on. But maintaining a steady course towards the south. Pass a moderate-sized cairn at 910m and continue towards the high point at 915m (no cairn). Descend your ascent route.
The clouds were as low as 400m this Sunday morning, and I had to find a mountain that was doable in the dense fog. I picked Røyrfjellet, as it's only an hour away from home. Besides, I wouldn't get soaking wet as this mountain does not require walking through a forest.
As I arrived Lake Kvitingen, Røyrfjellet was the only mountain where the summit was visible. I felt lucky for about 5 minutes. Then the rain came. When I reached the dam by Lake Holmavatnet, 1 hours, 10 minutes later, the fog was omni-present. And it was still raining. Based on the map, I had assumed that the climb would be a walk-in-the-park. I was somewhat confused about the relative steep climb up to the main ridge. This was just the beginning of a whole lot of confusion. I did not bring the compass, and used the GPS to make sure I was following the south/south-west direction upwards. I was looking for points 910m and 908m (indicated on the map), and 45 minutes later I reached the first. I kept the direction and hit (what I thought was) 908m shortly after. The GPS was not working well as compass, because of the complex terrain. I could not maintain the direction for more than a few seconds, before I had to pass around some obstacle. The GPS reported north, east, south and west and I when I suddenly started to descend noticeably, I could not figure out what was going on. After the descent, I followed a new ridge up to a point where I could get no higher. This turned out to be the 888 trig. point. Due to the dense fog I got no help from the terrain.
After lunch at the trig. point, the fog lifted enough to give me a glimpse of a ridge much further east. I began to realize that I had totally missed the high point and decided to head towards it. Back on 908m, I could not see anything, so I decided to give up on the high point. We still had a couple of hours of hiking towards the car. We were dripping wet, and my dachshund "Troll" started to communicate discomfort.
Typical for this kind of hike, the fog lifted when I was getting close to Svartavatnet dam. Down by the dam, the sun broke through, and all of the sudden it was a beautiful afternoon. If this had been my first hike in the area, it wouldn't have felt all that bad. But I had hiked this gravel road three times earlier, and I find it utterly boring. So next time around, I will do Storafjellet (the high point) from Skeiskvanndalen.
Pictures from the June 16 2002 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
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Pictures from other hikes:
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Other hordaland mountains
Other Kvam K. mountains
Other Samnanger K. mountains
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