Svartevassegga

  • Svartevassegga
  • 889 m
  • Primary factor 889 m
  • Location: Bremanger, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway
  • Location: North 61:51.361, East 005:13.405 (GPS at the summit)
  • Climbed May 16, 2008
  • Difficulty YDS class 2

Information:

How to get there: This mountain is the highest point on the island called Bremangerlandet, located south of the village Måløy, where the long fjord Nordfjord meets the sea. From the north, one can get there via the village of Måløy. Måløy can be reached from the city of Ålesund (via two ferries) further north. From Måløy, there is a ferry to Oldeide, from here, the trailhead described below is only a few kilometer away.
From Bergen, the distance is about 325 kilometer, driving time is typically 5 hours. Drive to Førde, then towards Florø, but make a right well before and follow signs to Svelgen. From Svelgen, continue towards Isane. After 61 kilometer from Svelgen, you make a sharp right turn and cross a major bridge. The road now follows the south side of the island Rugsundøya, then enters a sub-sea tunnel connecting to Bremangerlandet. Just as you exit the tunnel, make a sharp right following signs for Hunskår. This small road runs along the shore for 1.6 kilometer and ends in a small parking area just next to a chapel. Park here, this is the trailhead, location N61:52.084, E005:13.566, elevation 7 meter.
There is an alternative trail that starts at Berle, on the east side of the inlet to Berlepollen. This trail is marked on the map, the trail described in this report is not indicated on any map.
Route description: The trail starts out as a direct continuation of the road that just ended. This trail is very visible and well marked with red paint as well as small cairns all the way to the more famous peak Hornelen (860 m). Follow this trail, crossing several small creeks while gradually gaining a bit of elevation. After about 500 meter, the trail makes a distinct turn right and continues more uphill along a broad, natural ramp in the terrain. Higher up, the trail turns a bit left and runs more steeply straight uphill until it reaches a local plateau at about 600 meter of elevation. Continue south between a few small lakes and further uphill to a col at about 790 meter about 600 meter west of the summit. Continue along the red marked trail towards Hornelen, now across fairly flat terrain until you are almost south of the summit. From here, leave the trail and head directly uphill to the summit of Svartvassegga, there is a nice cairn at the top. Be aware that there is a vertical cliff immediately on the north side.
After climbing this summit it is essentially mandatory to continue the hike to the independent and more famous summit of Hornelen (860 m).
Comments: I took the 0550 ferry (the first one) from Måløy across to Oldeide and drove the very short way to the trailhead. Thus, I started out already at 0630 along the very well marked trail. After one hour, I had reached the 600 meter level and after passing the small lakes, I ran into some fairly steep snow. Some care was needed as I did not bring my ice axe along. The weatherforecast was nice and it looked like the clouds would clear, however, the summits were still hidden in the clouds. Arriving at the 790 meter col, it was foggy and I decided to follow the ridge to the summit. Big mistake! The terrain was slippery and full of huge boulders, very cumbersome indeed. To underscore my bad choice of route, I also discovered that there was a notch in the ridge and that I had to negotiate more big boulders going downhill before I could climb the final ridge. The route was not difficult, but somewhat time consuming, a YDS rating of class 2+ is most likely fair. I arrived at the summit around 0845, just as the weather cleared enough to give me visibility.
After a short break, I continued along the ridge towards the lower, but more famous Hornelen, 860 meter. This was yet another mistake as the terrain continued with huge, slippery boulders. It would indeed have been better to descend south towards the marked trail. Thus, this trip report continues under the description of Hornelen.

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