Norwegian Mountains, Nordland

Sømnesfjellet, Aug 21 2008


To the main Mardalsfjellet/Sømnesfjellet page (maps, route descriptions, etc.)

 

The route

The route
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On my second day in northern Norway, the weather was still grey and rainshowers came and went (which showers do). The coastline seemed to stay clear of the worst showers and I decided to pay Sømnesfjellet a visit. I visited Mardalsfjellet - the "main" mountain on this massif the day before, and Sømnesfjellet made an impression. The face to the east was just cool. Would there be any easy routes up to this top?

The logical approach would be from the northeast or southeast. From the Sømnes road, I got a good overview. There were several candidate routes. I picked the two closest to the steep east face, and looked forward to a nice roundtrip. I parked the car along the road, and headed out 11:42am, very curious about the mountain. From distance, it did not seem like a walk in the park.

The northeast ridge

The northeast ridge
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As I came closer to the mountain, it became evident that the northeast ridge would not give me any concerns. In fact, I even found a vague track. The route was slightly steep, but even people with a low tolerance for heights should be fine here. The track became more and more visible the higher I got, and it was easy to follow. The time was 12:11pm when I reached the summit cairn.

I enjoyed this mountain a lot. Mardalsfjellet too, for that matter. Even if this is a low mountain, it's pretty rugged all around. It's just like a proper mountain, but compacted into a mini version. And you'll find many of this kind, throughout the coastline. I just think they are big fun

Inside the summit cairn, I found the visitor's register, stored in the same type of canister used by the Fjelltrimmen group. But per 2008, Sømnesfjellet has never been on the Fjelltrimmen mountain lists. After pictures and a GPS waypoint, I descended the southeast ridge. This ridge was trivial until a significant drop seemed to hinder further progress. But then I noticed a very neat cleft which brought me safely down to the ridge below. The rest of the ridge was trivial. I was back at the trailhead 12:43pm, one hour after heading out. The rainshowers were still not touching the coastline, so I drove to Vennesund and hiked Kvaløyfjellet/Ingebrigtvarden (trip report to follow)

Sømnesfjellet seen from Mardalsfjellet

Sømnesfjellet seen from Mardalsfjellet
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Pictures

The pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 300D + Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS USM F 4-5.6

 
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To the trailhead

1. Trælnesaksla details 2. Trælnesaksla details 3. The route 4. Sømnesfjellet 5. Mardalsfjellet 6. Point 220m 7. Sømnesfjellet 8. Trælneshatten 9. The trailhead

To the top

0A. Trip tracks 0B. Route profile 10. Up the northeast ridge 11. Slab section 12. A petrified animal? 13. Rock face 14. Another small top, to the west 15. Upper part of the route 16. Passing a viewpoint cairn 17. The summit cairn

Views from Sømnesfjellet

18. Wide-angle view from Sømnesfjellet 19. Steep to the west 20. Point 174m, next to Mardalsfjellet 21. Berg 22. Mardalsfjellet

Descent

23. Descending the southeast ridge 24. A steep drop to my left 25. The trailhead, zoomed in 26. Passing through a cleft 27. View up the southeast ridge

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