Høgenipa, 877m
Knutstignovi, 871m
Hestafjellet, 839m
Kvigedalseggi, 814m
Slåttenovi, 764m
Harafjellet, 764m
Nipa, 600m (588 trig)

Mountain area : West of Dale Fylke/Kommune : Hordaland/Vaksdal Map : 1216-III Stanghelle (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000) Primary Factor: Høgenipa: 804, Store Dustingenm Primary Factor: Hestafjellet: 176m, Høgenipa Primary Factor: Kvigedalseggi: 177m (est.) Knutstignovi Hiked : Nov 2000, Apr. 2002 See also : Storafjellet See also : Petter's Høgenipa page

Norafjella seen from Flatafjellet

Introduction

Norafjella is a relative small independent massif (compared to the surrounding mountain regions - Stølsheimen, Osterøy and Bergsdalen/Vaksdal). The massif is surrounded by water (Veafjorden & Bolstadfjorden) on all sides except a short distance between Dale and Dalseid (highway E16).

The massif has two noticeable main summits - Høgenipa, 877m and Hestafjellet, 839m. But attention is also attracted to the sharp and steep Kvigedalseggi and Knutstignovi summits. Far south, just above Stanghelle, Storafjellet, 641m, stands out mighty towards Sørfjorden, despite the modest height.

Hiking on the massif is exciting. Do not expect to get up or down anywhere you like. The terrain is rugged and wild. You will find narrow trails here and there, but expect to find your own way. The main trail from Dale up to lake Krokavatnet is easy to follow, although the climb from approx. 30m to 700m can be strenuous.

Primary Factor

Høgenipa's factor towards Store Dustingen across the highway is 804m just E of the highway. Last 5m contour line is 75m, giving an interpolated saddle of 73m. Hestafjellet's factor towards Fylenipa is 176m. The saddle is near lake 662 between the two mountains. Last 5m contour line is 665, giving an interpolated saddle of 663m. Kvigedalseggi's factor towards Hestafjellet is 151m via a pass S of lake øvre Krokavatnet. Last 5m contour line is 665, giving an interpolated saddle of 663m.

Trail descriptions:

Dale - Lake Krokavatnet (summer/winter) Difficulty : Strenuous Risk : Low Distance : Time : 2-3,5 hours to the lake Starting Elev.: Approx. 30m Click for detail map Access: From Bergen, take highway E16 (Oslo). At Dale (approx. 50Km from Bergen) continue on the highway a few hundred meters when you see the exit towards Dale centre. You will see a small grassy parking on the left hand side (before the road descends down to Dalseid). Park there. All summits, off-trail Read the trail description to lake Krokavatnet. As you are halfway up the last valley, with Kvigedalseggi on your right, start ascending right up to Kvigedalseggi. If you exit the trail too high, you will have to cross point 720, with an interesting descent on west side to the Kvigedalseggi foothills. From the Kvigedalseggi summit, locate a steep pass east of the summit that runs down towards the Lompesekken stream. Pass the stream on a rocky bridge and climb straight up Knutstignovi. This is a hard climb due to the steep side. From the Knutstignovi summit, head south-west to the foothills of Høgenipa and follow a straight east line up to the summit. From Høgenipa, head back the same way you came, but descend a rocky pass south-east down to the lake. Follow the lake on the west side to the point where you can cross between the lower and upper lake. From here, you can climb up west towards Fylenipa. Go back the same way you went up. Follow the upper lake to the southern end and climb Hestafjellet. Go back the same way you went up. Cross the Brattreim pass high until you are at the foothills of Harafjellet and Slåttenovi. You will have to descide how you approach these summits. Both can be climbed from where you are, but Slåttenovi requires an extra descent so it can be approached directly from south. You can not easily cross from Harafjellet to Slåttenovi, so best choice is perhaps to do Slåttenovi first, backtrack down before heading up Harafjellet. Then head towards Kvigedalseggi and pick up the main trail. Slåttenovi/Hestafjellet from the Nipa pass Read the trail description to lake Krokavatnet. As you are in the pass with Nipa to your right, climb straight up to the left (don't descend) and you will immediately be on the Slåttenovi ridge, leading straight to the summit. At the summit, head south, but move to the left to find the safe descent down. Once you're down on the first plateau below the summit, move northwest towards the south end of lake Krokavatnet. Before you get to the lake, you should be able to locate a safe descent down to the Brattreim pass and get on one of the ridges that lead up to Hestafjellet. Go back the way you came, but for variation, climb up between 780 and Harafjellet, and pick up the main trail. You may also hike down the pass between Harafjellet and Slåttenovi down to Storebotnen, and pick up the main trail from there. The trail: The trail begins at the parking. A sign towards "Norafjella" point the way up the first section, which probably once was a forest road. On this section, be careful if you move over the small rocks in the road. They may be slippery or loose. The trail continues into the forest. You ignore the "Kvil" (rest) sign and head up steep a birch forest section before the trails runs into denser forest for a short distance. Just before the dense forest, the trail forks. Follow the right-hand trail, marked "Norafjella" with a sign. In general, the trail is marked with red paint on trees and rocks. After the dense forest, the trail runs up a small rocky pass (but the trail is good). Out of the pass, you are now at "Dalane", a small open space plateau. Straight ahead, you see the next pass you will be climbing. It may be difficult to pick up the trail over the wetlands, but aim for the pass and look out for a sign pointing towards "Krokavatnet". The trail runs next to the sign. You will have to cross a small stream on this section - a small and easy jump, or a wide stretch of legs. The trail up is the pass may be difficult to see at times, but the red paint should help you. As you advance in the pass, you will see another pass to the left. But keep heading 2'o' clock towards the rightmost pass. At the top of the pass, you have the Nipa summit (600m) onto your right. Climb up for some great views towards the north. The trail runs through the pass, turns left, and takes a dive into the Storebotnen valley floor. From here, the trail will run up a the valley, with Kvigedalseggi to your right and Harafjellet to your left. You will reach approx. 700m at the top of the valley before the trail descends, partly steep, down to the lake. More trails can be found down by the lake.

Trip report Apr 27 2002:

The weather was unpredictable. You could get everything and nothing. At one moment I could not see anything of the large Gullfjellet massif, as I was driving from home. A minute later, I could see everything. I got to Dale 45 minutes later, with a winter-compatible backpack. The sun was shining as I was hiking up, so I was wondering if my long underwear and non-breathing-waterproof trousers was really necessary. And then it started to snow heavily. Whatever view I had behind me was now totally gone. I praised my dressing abilities and continued upward. To my surprise, I was moving fast and efficient. I remembered this trail to be quite strenuous. I guess the recent hiking above 2000m in the U.S was now paying off. I was on top of the Nipa pass 1 hour later (after many stops for photos) and went from grassy trail to snow at approx. 560m. As I had already done the northern Norafjella mountains, the goals for the day were Slåttenovi and Hestafjellet. I climbed a steep section up to the Slåttenovi ridge and was on the summit shortly after. I gasped when I looked down the steep western side of the mountain. This was clearly not how I had interpreted the map. Did I have to go all the way back to the pass? I decided to explore the southern side, which provided a safe descent to the lower plateau. Still I had to cross the Brattreim pass in order to get onto Hestafjellet. I decided to head towards the south end of lake Krokavatnet. There should be passing opportunities there. Walking in the snow was easy. I went perhaps 5 Cm down, but got really wet. Already at Dalane, the boots started to turn wet over the wetlands down there. Anyway, I found a safe passage long before the lake and could move straight up on one of the Hestafjellet eastern ridges. Wind was furious at times, and the backpack raincover stood like a parachute behind me. Once on the mountain, it took me only 15-20 minutes to get to the main summit. From the summit, I looked over to the other Hestafjellet high point in the south-west, 33m lower. The crossing would have taken considerable time if the high point had been on the south side. Back in the Brattreim pass, I decided to head up the pass between point 780 and Harafjellet, and do the main trail down (which was beneath all the snow). I changed my mind and moved over to the pass between Harafjellet and Slåttenovi, hoping to find a steep side, so I could slide down. It wasn't all that steep, and I headed straight for Nipa. Nipa offer some fun scrambling from the west side, if you want excitement out of the ordinary. I was back at the car 4,5 hours later, but actual hiking time was about 4 hours.

Pictures from the Apr 27 2002 hike:

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Pictures from other hikes:

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Some of the thumbnails may have been cropped to fit the format