How to get there:
This mountain may also be reached from Jordalen.
Alternatively, drive E-39 from Bergen via Voss to Vinje.
Fork left onto Hwy. 13 here. Continue up on Vikafjellet, there is good
parking on your left just before a small bridge, at location
N60.97783, E006.52231, elevation about 930 meter.
Route description:
Follow the powerline towards lake Muravatnet. Shortly before you
reach the col, climb more south. The west slopes above Muravatnet
are steep and the best line of descent starts near location
N60.96593, E006.58982. Descend, then turn left and ski out the
narrow passage that connects to the lake. Note that lake Muravatnet
has a variable surface due to hydro powerplant issues. It is often
quite low in winter/spring. Caution should be exercised when skiing to and
from lakes like this.
Turn right and ski directly towards the small valley that descends to the lake
just north of the mountain. Ski up and turn right. If avalanche conditions are
safe, then ski steeply directly up the north (north-west) ridge. The steepest section
will be slightly more than 35 degrees steepness. Alternatively, continue up the
small valley (going south-west), then ascend the more gentle slope towards the
summit.
Comments:
The plan was to spend 3 forecasted good weather days to complete the mountains
in Modalen, spending some time at the self-serve hut Vardadalsbu. However, the
forecast changed for the worse, except for Monday. Thus, plans changed and I decided
to make a substantial ski tour starting from Vikafjellet.
I left Bergen early, at 0430, in order to have a full day of skiing.
The weather was still overcast when I started at 0710, however I had
good hope that this would change for the better.
The first leg along the power lines went quite ok. It was about -10C and some wind, I
soon decided to put on a mountain jacket. About 10 centimeter of fresh, new snow had
fallen last night, pretty easy to break trail. My skis, quite new, got a thin layer
of blue wax.
Next, I still remembered that the slope down to lake
Muravatnet is steep, the trick is to ascend a bit right, then find a safe slope descending.
The lake was low, the long, narrow arm completely dry. Skiing up towards the peak, the weather
was still grey and the visibility higher up quite limited. I decided to ski directly up
the first ridge, this was bordeline steep, but went ok.
Arriving at the cairn, still
very limited visibility.
I left after about 5 minutes and retraced my uphill route. Lower down,
the weather
showed signs of improvement. I next traversed downhill towards the south end of the
lake. My next goal was Uraskarfjellet, this report
continues there.
