Norwegian Mountains

Tornessåta, 409m

Fylke/Kommune : Hordaland/Tysnes
Maps : 1214-IV Husnes (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Primary factor : 221m
Hiked : Apr 2005
See also : Ilefjellet
See also : Vestrefjellet
See also : Tysnessåta
See also : Stølafjellet

Tornessaata seen from Stolafjellet

Tornessåta seen from Stølafjellet

(No Javascript)

Introduction

There is some naming confusion on the maps, so let's go through this first. On the 1214-IV Husnes map (1980), the mountain is named Fornessåta. This is wrong. The correct name is Tornessåta, from the place Tornes, northwest of the mountain. The map states that the place is called Torsnes, but this is also wrong.

Looking at the Økonomisk Kartverk map, the place is named Tornes, and the mountain is named Tornessåta. However, the name Tornessåta is not placed on the highest point, but on a smaller hump, 607m nortwest of the 409m high point. The 409m high point is named Salsborg. While I can see reasons for this being accurate, my feeling is that nowadays, people refer to the high point as Tornessåta. Until I receive further information on this topic, this page will relate to the 409m high point when refering to Tornessåta.

Tornessåta is the southernmost independent Tysnes mountain/hill exceeding 300m, and the views are terrific. The known points that you can see are too many to mention. You have to study the pictures or go there yourself. Unfortunately, the horizon was a bit hazy when I visited the mountain, so the pictures will not tell the whole story.

Despite the good views, Tornessåta is not frequently visited. People on Tysnes seem to favor the higher mountains on the north side of the island. This has resulted in that the paths in this forest has disappeared over the years. Getting to Tornessåta today will involve some off-trail walking.

Primary factor:

Tornessåta (M711: 409m, Ø.K: 409,22m) has a primary factor of 221m towards the higher Stølafjellet (458m). The saddle is found in a pass N of Rundekultane. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), you cross the 190m contours on the high route, but not 185m. The saddle height has been interpolated to 188m.

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.

Tornes - Tornessåta (summer/autumn)

Difficulty : Class 2
Exposure : None
Comments : Off-trail
Distance : 2,8Km to cairn
Time : 1-1,5 hours to cairn
Starting Elev.: Approx. 40m
Vertical Gain : Approx. 370m

Map of the area
Map of the area
(No Javascript)
Detailed map
Detailed map
(No Javascript)

Access

There are two alternatives from Bergen:

will follow... Until then, follow highway E39 southbound from Våge to Tornes (unsigned). See pictures below for parking and the trailhead.

The route

From the parking, walk 100m (northbound) and locate a wide forest trail in the middle of the dense forest. Follow this trail upwards for 350m until the trail crosses a stream. The trail fades away soon and you can either follow the forest where it is easiest, or stick to the stream all the way to Tornessåta.

If you stick to the stream; there are no difficult parts. You'll soon run into a small waterfall which you can bypass to the left. Depending on what you like, it may just be simpler to move from rock to rock in the stream, rather than fighting bush in the forest.

After a while, you arrive at a meadow and you have two valleys ahead of you. Take the leftmost valley, which will lead you towards the foothills of Tornessåta. Find a way up to Tornessåta towards your right. The terrain is steep, but not difficult. The summit is marked by a wooden stick. Fog note: You'll arrive at a small cairn first. This is not the high point.

Continue northwest along the ridge towards a hump (approx. 396m elevation) that is named Tornessåta on the Økonomisk Kartverk map. Proceed across this hump and then return back the stream you followed upwards. A smart route will present itself when viewed from above.

Trip report Apr 27 2005

It was a beautiful Wednesday afternoon, and I was in the mood for visiting a new mountain. I figured I should be able to reach Tornessåta south on Tysnes before dark, and left on the 16:55PM ferry from Halhjem. I had looked forward to the ride across the fjord with my windows open, enjoying the Sunnhordland views. Of course I was put below the deck, but since this was my 6th trip to Tysnes in 2005, I sort of knew the views already.

I had a choice of approaching the mountain from a number of directions, but ended up with a northwest approach. I don't know why. I rang the doorbell on a house at Tornes, and had a long and nice chat with the guy in the house. He was the one who informed me that Fornessåta was not the right name. I asked if this was a local "issue", but he told me there was no place called Fornes. The name was Tornes.

He told me that I should be able to follow a path all the way to the top, and showed me where it started. By 18:10PM, my dachshund "Troll" and I were on our way towards Tornessåta. The forest trail was just excellent. Wide and well made. Unfortunately, it vanished along the way, and we were wandering about in the forest until I made the decision to follow the stream all the way to the mountain. Troll was put in the backpack, and I could practice on my balance, jumping from rock to rock in the near dry stream.

The mountain appeared in front of us after a while. I chose a steeper ascent route than strictly necessary, but by 19:30PM we were standing on top of Tornessåta. The views were tremendous, but a hazy horizon spoiled some of the views. I had no expecations regarding the views, and was completely surprised by the panorama that opened up in front of us.

After a lunch break we continued along the ridge, to the other distinct top on the ridge. I saw traces of paths here and there, but nothing that amounted to an obvious trail towards the mountain. I descended towards the stream and followed the stream back towards the trailhead. As I had messed around in the forest on my way upwards, I had missed the first part of the stream. On the way down, I followed the stream all the way and hit a small waterfall that could bypassed. A voice inside my head said I should probably climb this waterfall, in order to claim to have followed the stream all the way. I obeyed my inner voice and climbed it. It was no big deal. The voice continued and suggested that I probably should downclimb it as well. This looked a bit more challenging, but I gave it a try. Hanging onto my fingers, I desperately tried to find a place to put my feet. No place was found and I fell down when the fingers could no longer hold me. I didn't hurt myself, but I got seriously wet. When I returned to the dog, he gave me the "Yeah, you're a real hero. Can we get moving now?"

We were back at the car 20:55PM. A ferry left from Våge 20:45PM, and the plan the very first minutes of the hike was that I would reach this ferry. Just in case I didn't, I had called a friend on the way to Tysnes. He told me the next ferry would leave 22:05PM. It would still take me half an hour before I was back in Våge, and then only another half hour until the ferry left. By 21:30PM, I was standing in line for the ferry. More precisely, I was the only car in line for the ferry. 21:50PM, a guy came knocking on my window. "The last ferry left 20:45. The 22:05PM ferry only leaves on Fridays" he kindly told me. Sigh... A very long car trip was now ahead of me.

Pictures from the Apr 27 2005 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. On the way to Tornessåta (114KB) 2. Kattnakken on Stord (208KB) 3. Where I parked at Tornes (145KB) 4. Where the trail begins (142KB) 5. On the forest trail (247KB) 6. Off-trail in a near dry stream (209KB) 7. Now in a very dry stream (188KB) 8. Tornessaata appears (142KB) 9. The (approx.) 396m hump seen from Tornessaata (301KB) 10. Summit view from Tornessaata (341KB) 11. Summit view from Tornessaata (390KB) 12. Summit view from Tornessaata (307KB) 13. Wide panorama from Tornessaata (725KB) 14. Tornessaata summit, 409m (77KB) 15. Troll on Tornessaata (229KB) 16. Borgundnuten seen from Tornessaata (116KB) 17. Ridge view from Tornessaata (305KB) 18. View back towards Tornessaata (317KB) 19. Tysnes mountains seen from the Tornessaata ridge (500KB) 20. Returning along the near dry stream (216KB) 21. Climbing a small waterfall (178KB) 22. Climbing a small waterfall (209KB) 23. Sunset on the way home (209KB)

No Javascript:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Pictures from other hikes:

25. Singelstadfjellet summit view (635KB)

No Javascript:

1


Other hordaland mountains Other Tysnes K. mountains westcoastpeaks.com