Stoltzekleiven

Stoltzekleiven climbs Sandviksfjellet on the northern side of Bergen by a stairway of stone laid in the 1970s and 1980s, rising about three hundred metres over roughly eight hundred metres of ground: 908 steps by the usual count, steep enough that the fit take twenty minutes and most people take forty. It is a Bergen institution, used daily by hundreds as exercise, and once a year in September the Stoltzekleiven Opp race sends thousands up it against the clock, with the record under eight minutes. At the top the path opens onto the plateau with a view over the city, the harbour and the islands, and trails continue to Floyen or across the Vidden. The descent is usually made by a gentler forest track rather than the steps.

What you actually see

• The stone stairway - over nine hundred laid steps up the hillside.
• The Bergen panorama - city, harbour and islands from the top.
• The daily climbers - locals using the steps as routine exercise.
• The plateau trails - onward routes toward Floyen and the Vidden.

When to go

April to October; the steps ice over in winter and become genuinely dangerous, though some climb them with spikes. Early morning avoids both crowds and heat. The September race closes the route for the day.

Honest expectations

This is a hard, relentless climb with no flat sections, and knees suffer badly on the way down, which is why the forest track is recommended for descent. The stone is slick in Bergen's frequent rain. There are no facilities at either end.

Nearby

Mount Floyen is reachable along the plateau; the Sandviken district and Bergen centre lie below.