Hordaland Mountains - Route Descriptions

Norwegian Mountains

Stølafjellet, 458m

Fylke/Kommune :	Hordaland/Tysnes
Maps :	1214-IV Husnes (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Primary factor :	300m
Hiked :	Apr 2005
See also :	Ilefjellet
See also :	Vestrefjellet
See also :	Tysnessåta
See also :	Tornessåta

Stolafjellet seen from Singelstadfjellet

Stølafjellet seen from Singelstadfjellet

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Introduction

The road from Uggdal to Onarheim is a logical divide between the western forest region and the higher mountains to the east. Stølafjellet is the highest point in the western forest region. Being the highest point outside the high mountain massif gives Stølafjellet a fairly good primary factor - 300m. This is the 2nd highest primary factor on Tysnesøya island, after Tysnessåta (Dalstuva is ranked as #2 with 336m if you look at Tysnes kommune as a whole - being the highest point on Reksteren island).

Access to Stølafjellet is very easy. A forest road will take you the start of Stølafjellet's northeast ridge (Kjeldaråsen). A forest path continues at the end of the forest road and stays visible until you have the summit cairn in view. If you like to include the true high point, this is located 340m east of the summit cairn. There is no cairn on the high point.

Although you see a lot of mountains from Stølafjellet, the higher Tysnes mountains to the east obscure the views towards Folgefonnhalvøya. Despite the lack of a visible path above 370m and some boggy terrain, Stølafjellet is a nice evening hike and absolutely worth a visit.

Primary factor:

Stølafjellet (M711: 455m, Ø.K: 458m) has a primary factor of 300m towards the higher Singelstadfjellet (511m). The saddle is found in W of lake 126m. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 160m contours on the high route, but not 155m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 158m.

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.

Rolse - Stølafjellet (summer/autumn)

Difficulty : Class 1

Exposure : None

Comments : Family hike

Distance : 2,8Km to cairn

Time : 1-1,5 hours to cairn

Starting Elev.: Approx. 40m

Vertical Gain : Approx. 410m

Map of the area
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Detailed map
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Access

There are two alternatives from Bergen:

a) The shortest:
Follow highway E39 southbound towards Halhjem (by Osøyro). Take the Halhjem - Våge ferry (fee for passenger cars per Feb 2005 is NOK 100,-) The ferry takes approx. 40 minutes. From Våge on Tysnes, drive 350m from the ferry to the E39 (Stord)/RV 49 junction. See below for further driving instructions.

b) A long drive:
From Bergen, follow highway E16 towards Oslo. At the E16/RV7 junction at Trengereid, turn right onto RV7. Drive approx. 13,9Km and turn right onto highway RV48 (Tysse/Mundheim) Follow this road for approx. 34,7Km to Kilen. Turn right onto highway 549 and follow this road all the way to the bridge across Lokksundet (follow signs towards Våge) Continue all the way to the E39 (Stord)/RV 49 junction in Våge

From the E39 (Stord)/RV 49 junction, continue on E39 for 4,4Km. Turn left towards "Onarheim/Sjukeheim". Drive 400m and locate a gravel road to your right, near a bus stop and by a mailbox. Find parking nearby.

The route

Follow the gravel road upwards. Pass one house on your right and after 200m, another on your left. After the second house, the road turns into a forest/tractor road. Follow this road until it ends after a sharp right curve at approx. 150m elevation.

Continue on a visible forest path which climbs on the east side of the Kjeldaråsen forest ridge. After a while, the path climbs up to the ridge. Make sure you recognize the point where the path joins the ridge, as it will be to your benefit upon your return.

The path is marked with red paint on trees and higher up, sticks with red paint. The path continues to climb up the east ridge, but fades at approx. 390m elevation. At this point, you should be able to see the cairn at 451m elevation.

The 451m cairn does not mark the high point. In the cairn, you may find a box with a visitor register. Continue 340m eastbound to another plateau consisting of two tops of similar height. The northernmost is the higher, but is not marked in any way. Follow the ridge you are on, northbound until you join the path.

Trip notes Apr 18 2005

It was a beautiful day in western Norway, and content after a few good ski-trips in the week-end, I wanted to go for a nice and snow-free evening hike. There were still more tops to do on Tysnes, and I decided to visit Stølafjellet. I had no information about any trails, but planned to ask around as I didn't have all the time in the world. I would go on the 16:55PM ferry from Halhjem, and planned to return on the 20:45PM ferry from Våge. This was sufficient, providing I didn't have to mess around in the forest.
I assumed there would be a trail up the east ridge, and drove to a place where I figured I could start from. I rang the doorbell on a house with cats everywhere. I counted 6 cats before the owner came out. I asked him for the fastest way up to Stølsfjellet, and he told me to just continue on the road I was on. He told me this was the overall best route up the mountain.
I drove up to the next house on the gravel road and parked there. Me and the dog left the car 17:55PM. It was simply a lovely evening. The sun was warm, and besides the tunes from singing birds - nothing. Troll broke the perfect setting with a sudden halt. I headed back to the annoying dog that was laying on the forest road and put him in the backpack. I carried him for 3 minutes and let him out again. Now, he was walking willingly. Go figure. He walked the path until we reached the ridge. The ground was very boggy, and I decided to let him rest in the backpack.
We reached the cairn 18:50PM, less than an hour after we started. I signed the summit register. Noone had been up here since late March. A bit strange, given the OK views from up here. The summit register stated that Stølafjellet was 450m. We headed over to the high point, which is 458m. Chances are that it is higher. My GPS showed 451m at the cairn and 459m at the high point. We then headed back down and I let Troll out when we were back on the path. Troll was in a much better mood now, and jumped like a rabbit down the trail. We were back at the car 19:55PM, and had plenty of time before the ferry (this trip report was written on my laptop while waiting for the ferry at Våge).