Norwegian Mountains

Tirsåsen, 429m

Fylke/Kommune : Hordaland/Fusa
Maps : 1215-IV Samnanger (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Primary factor : 101m
Hiked : Oct 04
See also : Fossabotnsnakkane
See also : Burlifjellet
On the way to Tirsaasen

On the way to Tirsåsen

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Introduction

Tirsåsen is a modest forest hill, falling in the shadow of the high mountain plateau that stretches from Samnanger to Fusa. The prominent tops facing west on this plateau are Burlifjellet, Skorafjellet, Fossabotnsnakkane, Grytefjellet and Stemmefjellet.

Tirsåsen can easily be reached from lake Sævellavatnet and from Dale. See the Fossabotnsnakkane page for description of the Dale trailhead. Because of high trees, the views from the top are quite limited.

You will not see the name "Tirsåsen" on the M711 map. The name is derived from Økonomisk Kartverk.

Primary factor:

Tirsåsen (M711: 429m, Ø.K: 423,5m) has a primary factor of 101m towards the higher Fossabotnsnakkane (853m). The saddle is found between Sørdalen valley and Ådlandssætret cabins. Ref. the M711 map (20m contours), you cross the 340m contours on the high route,m but not 320m. As such, the saddle height would be interpolated to 99m, and the hill would not qualify on the list of independent mountains with primary factor > 100m. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 330m contours on the high route, but not 325. The saddle height has been interpolated to 328m, and the primary factor becomes 101m.

Note that on the Økonomisk Kartverk map, the height is given as 423,5m. Based on my GPS readout, Tirsåsen is considerably higher than 423,5m and I have decided to use the M711 map height - 429m.

Trail descriptions:

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.

Lake Sævellavatnet - Tirsåsen (summer/autumn)

Difficulty : Class 1
Exposure : No
Comments : Easy forest walk
Distance : Approx. 2,5Km to the top
Time : Approx. 1 hour to the top (w/o pause)
Starting Elev.: Approx. 250m
Vertical Gain : Approx. 200m (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 E16 towards Oslo. At the E16/highway 7 junction (roundabout) at Trengereid, turn right onto highway 7. Drive across Gullbotn, down to Samnangerfjorden, pass Bjørkheim and two tunnels before you turn right onto highway 48. Follow highway 48 for approx. 9,7Km. Turn left onto an unsigned road. After 650m, pay toll at the self-serviced toll booth (NOK 20,- for passenger cars per Oct. 2004). After 1,6Km you arrive at a 3-way junction. Go straight ahead. After 3,1Km, you see a bridge to your right. Turn right and drive over the bridge. The road ends 100m up the road. Park there.

The road continues (on the other side of the bridge), but you will see a gate that blocks general traffic. The road quality is fairly good, and per Oct. 2004 there were no problems for a small car.

The route

Follow the forest road upwards to lake Breidvatnet. You see a path leading to a red cabin. The path continues up to the high forest below Skorafjellet. Don't head towards the cabin. Follow the road as turns in the direction of Ådlandsætret.

300m later, you see a rock bridge to your left. This is the path to Ådlandssætret and Dale. Stick to the forest road you are on, and 500m later you have a small lake on your right. As the road makes a bend at the south end of the lake, leave the forest road and follow an ancient tractor road up to your left (note that a vague path also runs on the ridge high above you, on your right).

The tractor road ends in a valley where a stream comes down. Hike off-trail up this small valley. The path from the high ridge (see above) comes down to your right and you can follow this path up to a meadow. Cross the meadow, turn right and ascend a forest ridge. Follow the path on the high ridge. The first hump on the ridge is marked by a small cairn. You will actually have to leave the path to see this cairn, but this is not the high point. Continue approx. 180m for the true high point. This point is not marked, but a huge rock on the ridge means that you are at the highest point. Descend your ascent route.

Trip report Oct 24 2004

After wandering about on Båtevassfjellet in fog the day before, I was hesitant about where to go this Sunday. I temporarily decided on Ådni on Kvamskogen. I called the NAF Camping on Kvamskogen and asked if the road up Steinkvanndalen was still open. It was, but they reported fog above 800m elev. This meant I would have to walk in fog in a fairly complex terrain. I geared up for the hike, but when I started to count hours to sunset, I discovered I already was 1 hour late.

I decided instead to go and finish off a couple of forest hills in Fusa. I had only Tirsåsen (429m) and Beljaråsen (395m) yet to do on the 1215-IV Samnanger map. Additionally, with these two forest hills, I would have completed all independent mountains (and forest hills) exceeding 300m elev. in the area enclosed by highway 7 (Kvamskogen), highway 48 (Hålandsdalen), Hardangerfjorden and Samnangerfjorden. Besides, I probably would stay below the fog. Thus, I managed to find some inspiration to drive to Fusa and do these hills.

I started with Tirsåsen. I had discovered this hill on my hike across Fossabotnsnakkane one week ago. After some fine calculation on contours, the primary factor turned out to be 101m, thus, qualifying for my list. I could have hiked this hill from Dale (I knew the trailhead and the trail), but wanted to reach this hill from lake Sævellavatnet. I had never driven the road along the lake before. After paying the fee at the self-service toll booth, I reached the parking 12:30PM. 5 minutes later we were on our way. Troll seemed reluctant when he discovered the wet forest road. While walking, he tried to avoid contact between the paws and the ground. It looked a bit weird. Anyway, after 300m, he decided that this was just about enough, and sat down.

The fog hung low down the mountains when I started the hike. After having walked 500m, the fog was gone, and I could see the high ridge on Skorafjellet. But 10 minutes later, the fog was back. To stay, this time. I had planned to walk via Ådlandssætret, but when I came to the stream just before the cabins, the river was much bigger than one week ago. The rocks I had stepped on last week-end were now under water. I was just about to take the shoes off and ford the (cold) river when I decided to have one more look at the map. The map told me I didn't have to cross this river at all. Infact, it was much wiser to continue on the forest road I was on 5 minutes earlier.

I backtracked and followed the forest road to a lake. From here, I headed up the forest. I wasn't quite sure exactly where in the forest I was, but headed for whatever seemed to be higher ground. Eventually, I found myself on a ridge with a path ahead of me. I followed this path until I reached the highest point 13:35PM. I turned around within a minute and went back to the car. 14:15PM, I was on my way to Beljaråsen.

Pictures from the Oct 24 2004 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.

1. Lake Saevellavatnet (89KB) 2. Troll performing a sit-down (169KB) 3. Tirsaasen pops up (126KB) 4. This route is not working (161KB) 5. A clear moment (104KB) 6. Tirsaasen high point (216KB) 7. Troll expressing boredom (269KB) 8. The fog is back (186KB) 9. This path leads to Aadlandsaetret (182KB)

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