Hordaland Mountains - Route Descriptions - Austlirinden / Austrerinden / Austefjellet

Austefjellet, 808m (Austlirinden, Austrerinden)

Mountain area :	Gullfjellet
Fylke/Kommune :	Hordaland/Bergen
Maps :	1215-IV Samnanger (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Primary Factor:	230m
Hiked :	Jan 1999
See also :	Redningshytten (feature article)
See Also :	Toro
See Also :	Hausdalshorga
See Also :	Gullfjellstoppen
See also :	Sydpolen
See also :	Sletteggi
See also :	Livarden
See also :	Skåldalsfjellet
See also :	Trengereidhotten

Austlirinden/Austefjellet

Introduction

It is my guess that Austlirinden is the most visited summit on the Gullfjellet massif. It is easily accessible from the lake Osavatnet trailhead, as well as from the Redningshytten hut. There are no steep sections, and the summit can be easily reached both on skis and on foot. There are trails up from most sides of the mountain, but the most convenient trail is to Redningshytten and then along the cairn trail all the way to the summit.

The views from Austlirinden are excellent. And as the summit is just 1-2 hours away from the parking (depending on your pace), Austlirinden qualifies for an excellent afternoon hike. The saddle to the higher Gullfjellet mountains is the top of Hestabotnen pass, near Redningshytten. The saddle is approx. 580m, and with a 10m interpolation, the primary factor is 238m (808-580+10).

See also this page, giving a brief background on Redningshytten.

Primary Factor

Austlirinden's factor towards the Gullfjellet massif is 230m in Skaret pass, near Redningshytten. The 580 contours meet, and the saddle has been interpolated to 578m.

Trail descriptions:

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

The below trail description cover 3 routes to Austlirinden. All trails are class 1 hiking.

Lake Osavatnet - Austlirinden (all seasons)

Difficulty : Class 1

Comments : See description above

Distance :

Time : 1,5-2,5 hours to the summit

Starting Elev.: Approx. 300m

Map of the area

Access

On highway E16 from Bergen, between Nesttun and Indre Arna, take the first exit (right) towards Bjørndalen/Unneland. Drive 1,9Km and exit right at the road junction. Follow the road upwards for 4,2Km and enter a large parking area at the end of the road. You are now at lake Osavatnet. On some week-ends, there is a fee to access the parking (currently NOK 20,-).

The routes

Via Redningshytten

From lake Osavatnet, follow the main trail which runs all the way to Redningshytten (hut) at approx. 600m. Make sure you take the trail to the right at the trail junction by the bridge (15 min from the trailhead). Make also sure you turn left at the information board 10 minutes from the trailhead. The road straight ahead leads nowhere. The wide gravel road runs about halfway to Redningshytten, before the road turns into a trail. From Redningshytten, follow a cairn trail south-west up to Austlirinden.

Via Kurlarinden ridge

From lake Osavatnet, follow the main trail towards Redningshytten. Just after the trail fork by the bridge, follow the trail to Redningshytten for a few meters. Locate a narrow trail that runs up the north side of the Kurlarinden ridge. If you don't see a trail, just get up on the ridge, and you will eventually pick up the trail. The trail continues over the ridge and takes a small dive at the foothills of Kurlarinden look-out point (724m). Continue straight up where you find it convenient, and head south towards the Austlirinden summit.

Via the Vaslii ridge

From lake Osavatnet, exit right onto the bridge located closed to the parking. Locate a trail that switchbacks upwards to the ridge. When you get to the first plateau (you will see a trailsign), adjust the course south-east towards Austlirinden (off-trail), or continue south-west until you reach the cairn trail from Sletteggi. Then, head south-east towards Austlirinden summit.

Via Katladalen valley

See Sletteggi page.

Via Snøgjelrinden Added Mar 31 2003

This ridge has no name on the general maps, but is the ridge just west of Snøgjelet pass.

Walk from the lake Osavatnet parking to the trail junction a couple of hundred meters ahead. To your right, you see a distinct ridge between Kurlarinden ridge (the long and dominating ridge going upwards) and the Vasslii ridge (which you've already passed). You will need to cross the river from lake Korlatjørni and head towards the base of the ridge. If there is large amounts of water in the river, then cross the bridge down at lake Osavatnet. On this picture, you see the Snøgjelrinden ridge in center.

Once you get to the ridge, follow it upwards. The ridge is not difficult in any way, but if you don't have a solid head for heights, you may feel somewhat dizzy early on. If dizzy, then stay left on the ridge. It feels better the higher you get. The ridge leads you straight to the cairn trail running towards the summit. On your way down, try a parallel route. Facing the ridge on your way down, seek left, and locate a grassy slope that curves downwards. To your left you see a stream which ends in a waterfall (Kringleholane). Just seek right when you get to the waterfall, and find a smooth route down to Munkebotn. You may also try the couloir between the two routes described here.

Snøgili couloir may also be a interesting route, but it is steep in the upper part. May be suitable for winter climbing.

Trip Reports

Pictures from the Nov 30 2002 hike via Kurlerinden:

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.
Pictures are presented in the order they were taken.

Pictures from the Dec 21 2002 hike via Redningshytten:

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.
Pictures are presented in the order they were taken.

Trip Report, Feb 19 2003

It was one of those days you just have to go hiking. I was tired of the daily trips to Ulriken, and decided to visit Austrerinden. I wanted company, and asked my colleague Tore to come along. We met at lake Osavatn, and left the trailhead at approx. 19:10PM. It was darker than dark, and I realized what effect the city lights from Bergen has on the local mountains. But the sky was ever so clear, and the Orion and Big dipper was crystal clear above us.
Tore is a hard-core engineer, and well on the way, I asked him how many bugs he had thought about on the way. "None" he replied, and I concluded that mountain life was doing him good. The snow changed between icy and soft all the way, and I gave Tore my ice axe, as my boots seemed to cope better on ice than his. The conditions were just like I hoped they would be. Snow blows off this ridge, making this route doable most parts of the winter.
Even if I knew the direction to the summit, it was too dark to get a clear understanding on where we were at times. Almost like in fog conditions. Fortunately, there were tracks that we could follow. And the tracks led all the way to the summit, which we arrived 20:20PM. There was a significant breeze above 700m, but it was not cold. From the summit, we decided to go back via Redningshytten. We drifted off, and without the cairn silhouettes, we would have ended up in a steep section, a bit away from Redningshytten. A nice evening walk!

Trip Report, Mar 31 2003

I needed a break from work, and decided to try a new route up Austrerinden before I went back for overtime work. I reached the Osavatnet trailhead at 17:00PM. The weather was OK, but it looked like something was 'in the air'. I was well equipped with crampons and axe, assuming the upper section of this ridge would be steep. Well on the way on the ridge, it started snowing. It had been snowing the last few days, and in addition to the snow already covering the mountain, the snow was quite deep at times. When I arrived the upper part, I was a bit disappointed. No ugly sections, no steep parts, no climbing. I reached the summit in exactly 1 hour.
On the way down, I decided to try a parallel route down. I had also perceived this section to be steep, but it wasn't. After descending, I went to the waterfall and climbed up a steep section of snow. I was nearly on the top of the waterfall. Only some class 3 scrambling, and I would have been on top. But the rock was extremely slippery, and I decided not to take any chances. I will have to visit this route again when the waterfall is dry on the left hand side. Interesting route! I just made it down before some real nasty weather arrived.