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Skarpefjellet seen from Lauvtonipa(No Javascript) |
Skarpefjellet is a hill on the north side of the vast mountain region that spans Tverrvassfjellet, Horgi, Ådneburen and Torhaugen west of highway E39 in Romarheimsdalen. This is not a very distinct hill, but access from the Haugsdal valley is quite spectacular. This should not be your first hike, as the route is both steep and treacherous. An awkward passage high in the forest has a fixed rope. In addition, river crossings may be difficult when there is river is high.
From the top, you get a good feeling for the "endless" landscape of mountains reaching from Masfjorden to the Stølsheimen mountain range.
Skarpefjellet (M711: 744m, Ø.K: 744,43m) has a primary factor of 136m towards the higher Torhaugen (834m). The saddle is found in a pass between the two tops. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 610m contours on the high route, but not 605m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 608m.
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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Haugsdal - Skarpefjellet (summer/autumn)
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From Bergen, follow highway E39 northbound. After the Nordhordlandsbrua bridge, pay (NOK 45,- for passenger cars per May 2005) at the Toll station. Drive approx. 51,4Km and turn right onto the road towards Haugsdal. Follow the road towards Haugsdal approx. 5,1Km, then turn left and drive across a bridge. Turn right just after the bridge and drive 600m to road end. This is private propery. Either park near the bridge or ask for permission to park near the houses.
Pass the inner house and head towards an old barn. Pass the barn to the left and locate a vague path that takes you to the river. Cross the river near the steep slabs and move over to a narrow forest ridge on the other side. Make sure you locate the path on the other side. Another stream must be crossed (might be dry). Cross directly over and locate the path on the other side.
The path switchbacks up through birch forest, initially moving a bit away from the river before it heads towards the river when the terrain gets steep. The path is more easy to follow the higher up you come. Small stairs of rocks have been built in the boulder sections. As you reach a distinct waterfall (cliff) above the forest, turn right and scramble up a steep section. A fixed rope is (per July 2005) found here, but not everyone will need to use it.
Above the waterfall, cross the river and head southbound towards some cliffs that provide direct access to the Skarpefjellet north ridge. If you are not able to cross the river, you will have to walk all the way up to Lake Haugsdalsvatnet and go around it. Once on the north ridge, stay left (east) and follow it all the way to the summit. The summit is marked by a small cairn. Return your ascent route.
It turned out to be a terrfic day, but I didn't feel like driving far after work. I had made up my mind to visit a low mountain in Samnanger, but ended up knowing that I couldn't "waste" such a beautiful day by visiting a mountain I had been to before. For some strange reason, driving to Masfjorden seems shorter than driving a similar distance in the other directions, and my choice fell on Skarpefjellet. A trail would take me from the car and directly onto a mountain. Excellent for an afternoon hike.
I arrived Storemyri and surprised a couple of girls taking their sunbaths (no, it wasn't the Surfer Girls). Storemyri is one of the places where you don't expect strangers to suddenly appear on your lawn. I moved quickly past the house towards the old barn near the river. I found the path and tried to convince that this would be a GREAT hill for him to walk. He didn't buy it, and I ended up carrying him nearly all the way to the top. The hillside was steep and strenuous. It turned out to be a tremendously HOT afternoon.
Once up by the waterfall, we were able to cool off for a little while. In order to get above the waterfall, we had to scramble up a section that was slippery. A fixed rope was hanging there, but I didn't need to use it. I then took a shortcut up to Skarpefjellet's north ridge, which involved some fun scrambling. There was a lot of possilities for short scrambles throughout the ridge. The amount of rock (vs. grass) was noteworthy. I walked on rock almost all the way to the top. Troll walked on the upper part for a little while until the sun got to him. I rolled his tongue back into his mouth and let him ride the backpack on the way to the top. We reached the summit 19:40PM, and it had taken us 1,5 hours to the top.
An infinite number of mountains could be seen from the summit. I was able to identify most of the nearby mountains, but couldn't tell how far into Stølsheimen I saw. I assumed my views didn't reach beyond the Sundagsfjellet - Eldhusfjellet range. I considered the possibility for a round trip, but it would be late enough when I got back home, so I decided to head back down the same way.
I carried Troll down past the waterfall, and he walked down from there. Walking down the forest was much more scary than going up. The grass covered the path in most places, and the ground was slippery. Without any incidents, we were back at the car 20:55PM and I had 1,5 hours of driving still ahead of me. All in all, a good way to spend the afternoon.
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Some of the thumbnails may have been cropped to fit the format.
Towards the top
On top and descent
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