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Engelifjellet seen from Bergsfjellet |
These mountains lie rather anonymously on the south-west side of the mountain region that span from Kvamskogen in the north to Hålandsdalen in the south. The prominent mountains in this region are Tveitakvitingen and Gjønakvitingen, but the area offers a good hike and some good views. Gjønakvitingen is for the most part obscured by Ottanosi in the east, but you will get a great view towards Folgefonna glacier and the Rosendal and Uskedalen mountains.
You can do all three summits in one hike, there are no technical difficulties on the easiest routes, and they will offer some challenges if you want to make your own route. Only Grytefjellet have a primary factor of more than 100m, and as such, you will not find Stemmefjellet and Engelifjellet on my list of Hordaland mountains. But although the drop inbetween isn't very high, they do present themselves (in my opinion) as separate mountains, and not sub-peaks of one higher mountain.
Grytefjellet (M711: 805m, Ø.K: 894,94m) has a primary factor of 247m towards the higher Fossabotnsnakkane (853m). The saddle is found W of the Budeietjørnane lakes. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 560m contours on the high route, but not 555m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 558m.
Engelifjellet (M711: 798m, Ø.K: 799m) has a primary factor of 66m towards the higher Grytefjellet (805m). The saddle is found between the two tops (Drengjaskaret). Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 735m contours on the high route, but not 730m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 733m.
Stemmefjellet (M711: 771m, Ø.K: 770,5m) has a primary factor of 78m towards the higher Grytefjellet (805m). The saddle is found between the two tops (SW of Stemmehalsen) Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 695m contours on the high route, but not 690m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 693m.
Note: Class ratings are in reference to YDS (Yosemite Decimal System).
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Eikelandsosen - all summits, round-trip (summer/autumn)
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Access
From Bergen, follow higway E16 towards Oslo. Exit onto highway 7 at Trengereid, and onto highway 48 (towards Tysse) after the two tunnels east of Bjørkheim by Samnangerfjorden. Follow highway 48 to Eikelandsosen. In Eikelandsosen, exit left onto a road signed "Fusa Kraftlag". Go right in the junction near the soccer field, and go left in the next junction. Soon, on your right hand side, you will see the Fusa power plant. Go right on the far side of the building. You will arrive a gate with a gravel road continuing behind. Find parking nearby.
The route
Cross the gate and follow the gravel road onto a circular shaped building at the end of the road. The trail begins on the left hand side. The trail is not marked (random red paint here and there, from the old days), but is well worn, visible and good.
The trail climbs steep up the forest, switchbacking, but maintinaing a general northern direction (straight up). You will arrive a nice vista point just below the mountain plateau, from where you get a good overview of Eikelandsosen. Pass a service hut on your left and head across the mountain plateau. Stemmefjellet is on your left, Grytefjellet straight ahead on Engelifjellet on your right.
Engelifjellet
Pass lake Stemmetjørna on the right hand side, and follow the trail to the Grytefjellet - Engelifjellet pass. It is only a short hike up to Engelifjellet summit from here. There is no distinct summit, but you will find a minor cairn on a large rock on the north side of the Engelifjellet plateau. Go back to the pass the same way you came.
My variation was to leave the trail once I got on the mountain plateau, and head for the south cliffs on Engelifjellet. On the middle of the long wall, I noticed a distinct gully that looked suitable for scrambling. It turned out to be a little too steep, so I continued looking eastbound until I arrived a large gully. Just before entering this gully, I found a scrambling route up to Engelifjellet. If your're not looking for this type of excitement, then stick to the main trail.
Grytefjellet
Once back in the pass, go west towards Grytefjellet. First you cross a smaller mountain and then a pass to the base of Grytefjellet summit. You need to descend a cliffband here, and you might have to look a little for the easiest route. Then choose a route of the summit. The natural choice would be to go left of the summit and then turn sharp right, higher up.
Stemmefjellet
Descend from Grytefjellet down a grassy gully. From the summit, go south towards Stemmefjellet, and you will see this gully. This route will take you down to the beginning of the ridge (Stemmehalsen) going towards Stemmefjellet. Once across the ridge, the route descends to the Stemmefjellet - Grytefjellet low saddle (you might think the low saddle was where you came down from Grytefjellet, but it's not) before ascending towards Stemmefjellet.
From the saddle, you see cairns on the left and right sides of Stemmefjellet. The summit is on the left hand side. Choose a practical route to the top.
Descent
From the summit, head southbound until you reach a small valley. Go left (east) and switchback along the stream in order to descend to the lower mountain plateau. Then set course for your original trail.
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This was a day where I wanted to avoid snow alltogether. I had my share on Tverrfjellet the day before, and wanted to enjoy a summerlike hike. As Troll was injured after falling out of the backpack the day before, I decided to keep him on the back for most of the day. The trail from the powerplant at Eikelandsosen was steep enough with this extra load, and I was happy when I arrived on the mountain plateau. I decided to leave the trail and approach Engelifjellet head on. A distinct gully in the distance seemed to provide a route to the top. This gully didn't seem steep until I was in it. Then it was almost vertical. I left the dog in the backpack while I went climbing in the gully. Eventually I gave this gully up, and went further east below the cliffs hoping to find a route up. As I approached some real nasty terrain, I found a new route just when everything looked impossible. Also this route had to be testclimbed before I brought the dog. This one I testclimbed all the way to the top. This was not a place to get stuck. Well on top of Engelifjellet, we laid down and rested for a while, enjoying the lovely weather. Then we headed across the long summit plateau for the summit, located on the far side of the plateau. Next, we headed for Grytefjellet, the main target for the day. From Engelifjellet, I had already planned the return routes down Grytefjellet and Stemmefjellet, and the rest of the hike went according to plan. The descent from Grytefjellet to the Stemmehalsen ridge was steep, but without any form of difficulties. I had a good view towards the cabins by lake Stemmetjørna. A family was spending the day at one of the cabins, and had a small boat on the lake. The descent from Stemmefjellet also had its "touch", as I had to descend where the terrain would let me. Back down on the plateau, Troll decided he was fit enough to walk, and walked all the way back to the car.
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