Høgafjellet
  • Høgafjellet
  • 868 m
  • Primary factor 868 m
  • Highest on the Osterøy island
  • Location: North 60:35.930, East 005:40.471
  • Climbed March 23., 2003.

Information:

How to get there: Drive from Bergen towards Oslo along E-16. After Arna and the Arnanipa tunnel you will soon see the long suspension bridge across to Osterøy. The bridge is a toll road, unlike most bridges they actually charge for passengers as well, a car including driver plus another adult and a child is 66 NOK. Continue through the tunnel and make a left turn towards Hatland and Lonevåg. From Lonevåg follow signs to Tysse. As you drive down into Tysse, look for a small, paved road that turns right before the river. Look for a big pipeline that comes down from the right, the road climbs up before (on the right side) of this pipeline. Continue up along this narrow, winding road until you locate an old white power station building right next to Osvatnet (75m). Another pipeline serving this power plant comes steeply down the hill just behind the building. Park here.
Route description: There is a trail that heads up the steep hillside just slightly before the power station (Marked with yellow paint). However, a very interesting alternative is to use the stairs just parallel to the pipeline behind the building. This incredible stair consists of about 650 small, wooden steps. Be warned that the steps are old, the handrail is old and unreliable. The steps can be very slippery in wet weather. Thus, climb these steps very carefully, this is particularly important when returning from a long and stenuous hike.
Above the steps, the trail continues along the pipeline. This is an old, wooden pipeline with a few small holes spraying water around. The pipe crosses a small depression on a bridge, the trail crosses on the same bridge. Just across this bridge there is an old totempel sitting in the hillside. After a few more minutes of hiking you will reach the narrow part of Nedre Botnavatnet lake (182 m). There is an old dam spanning across the lake, use this to cross. In late fall, if this lake is very full, then this crossing may be a bit tricky as the dam may be partly submerged in the lake. Hike along the lake until you reach and old farm (not in operation any longer), then follow the trail as it climbs more steeply towards the top section of the river that falls down from the Øvre Botnavatnet. The upper section of this trail is quite exciting (see picture below). There is a bridge crossing the river, in late fall 2001, the river was very big and water splashed you as you crossed the bridge. In 2003, the bridge was partly destroyed. Unless it receives attention and repair it may be completely washed away in another year. An alternative to the bridge is a long steep ladder that climbs the rock on the left side. In this way you can be certain to stay on the left side of river. Above the bridge, there is a small crack in the cliff that can be climbed easily to the top of the dam of Øvre Botnavatnet (462 m). There is a tunnel from the bottom of this lake that exits near the bridge. Thus, water may flow down the natural waterfall, it may come out of the tunnel, or virtually no water may flow. In November 2001, we crossed to the right side of the waterfall, then succeded to cross back higher up below the dam. From this dam, one can climb to the summit along two different routes.

Comments: This peak is number 5 in Hordaland when ranked by primary factor.

First attempt:
Pål Jørgen and I made a first attempt on this prominent peak on November 18., 2001. This trip was very memorable, the stairs was slippery (like polished with soap), the crossing of the lake was complicated due to high water. The dam was actually submerged in places requiring a very good balance (or a very cold bath). Finally, the climb by the waterfall was interesting, in particular, the fact that this trail led us to the wrong side of the river. We never considered the ladder as a serious possibility. The upper lake was completely full, with water splashing over the top of the dam and down the waterfall. Our climb proceeded into dense fog, hard snow and quite complicated terrain. Eventually, we found ourself on a peak with an impressive cairn. We strongly believed the goal had been reached. As we headed back, darkness arrived and the view from the top of the stairs was impressive. A few lights from the bottom of the valley, the slippery steps dropping into a great void. We had to carefully climb down the steps in order to reach the car. However, on closer inspection of the map after returning home led us to the conclusion that we most likely climbed a secondary summit that had a cairn way out of proportion. It was clear that we had to return in order to check this out.

Second attempt:
Erik Sonnhammer had arrived from Stockholm, I had just climbed Høgenipa (877m) on Saturday, Arnt Flatmo and Pål Jørgen also wanted to join. So everything was set for a second attempt. We started around 1030, the 650 steps were dry and quite easy. Higher up, we noticed how a small leak in the pipeline had created a very impressive heap of snow/ice. This time, the dam stood more than a meter above the lake and our hike continued easily to the old farm at the innermost side of the lake. Higher up, the trip took on a new twist as the bridge across the waterfall had partially collapsed. Fortunately, it could still be used, but only as a structure that could be used as a help when climbing across. Higher up, the lake was almost empty, it is quite deep, but there is a tunnel drilled from the bridge area in order to be able to drain it. We decided to go to the right of the lake and traverse the peak as part of a circular, counter clockwise hike. Higher up, the fog closed in and visibility was extremely limited. We climbed the peak and proceeded to the Høgaheimshytta (hut) just below the summit. Pål Jørgen climbed the local peak just behind this hut (770m) and verified that the large cairn on this local summit indeed was the one we had visited more than a year earlier. This is a subsidiary peak just north of Høgafjellet with a primary factor of only 40 meter. It should be "a crime" to build such a large cairn on such an insignificant summit! We returned to the car around 1800 after a very nice 7.5 hour hike.

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