Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Snaufjellet, 893m

Fylke/Kommune : Møre og Romsdal/Ørskog
Maps : 1219-I Stranda (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Primary factor : 247m
Visited : Apr 2006
See also : Geitenibba
See also : Giskemonibba
See also : Høgsvora
See also : Liafjellet
See also : Sprovstinden

Snaufjellet seen from Uksenøya

Snaufjellet seen from Uksenøya

Introduction

Snaufjellet is a typical name for a large, rounded and naked mountain. Hardly a distinct description, but it matches this mountain well. If you decide to take the high route from Sjøholt to Tresfjord (as opposed to Kjersemdalen valley), you head acoss Snaufjellet and Geitenibba before taking on Høgsvora and Næremstindane. With splendid views towards Ørskogfjellet and Vaksvikfjellet.

There are several trailheads that you can choose from, but most routes join near Gamle Lisetsetra. Between this cabin and the summit is a wonderful hill for skiing. You have the summit cairn in clear view all the way, and it seems just 10 minutes away. This is of course, not the case.

The large (and fine) cairn is not the high point. The highest point on Snaufjellet is located 164m north of the cairn. This page will describe the route from Giskemo.

Primary factor:

Snaufjellet (M711: 893m, Ø.K.: -, UTM 32 V 393453 6930607) has a primary factor of 247m towards the higher parent mountain Høgsvora (1163m). The defining saddle (approx. 32 V 396391 6929857) is found between Geitenibba and Høgsvora. Ref. the M711 map (20m contours), the saddle is defined as a fixed point - 646m.

My GPS reported 891m on Snaufjellet, averaged over 5 minutes.

Trail descriptions:

Notes: Class ratings are in reference to YDS. Click here for more information.

The trails described below are not necessarily the *easiest* trails to this mountain.

Giskemo - Snaufjellet (winter)

Difficulty : Class 2 (YDS)
Exposure : None
Distance : Approx. 4,8Km to the top
Time : Approx. 2 hours to the top
Starting Elev.: Approx. 90m
Vertical Gain : Approx. 800m (total)

Map of the area
Map of the area
(No Javascript)
Detailed map
Detailed map
(No Javascript)

Access

From Ålesund, follow highway E136->E39 towards Åndalsnes. From the E136/E39/Olsvika roundabout near Breivka, follow E39 28Km to the RV650 junction just after Sjøholt. Turn right onto RV650 (Geiranger/Stordal) and continue 1,5Km on this road before you turn left towards "Giskemo". Drive 1Km on the Giskemo road and you will see the "Adamsetra/Lisetsetra" trailsign on your right-hand side. Turn right here and drive 200m to a 3-way junction. The road in center leads to Lisetsetra. Find parking nearby, but don't block for tractors. One car can park next to the cattle gate on the road to the right (in the direction of the powerplant).

The route

Follow the forest road to its road end by Lisetsetra after 1,9Km. Along this road, stay right in two junctions. From Lisetsetra, head eastbound towards Gamle Lisetsetra and up a small valley (Øyagrova) before you start climbing on Snaufjellet. From the Snaufjellet cairn (882m), proceed 164m northbound to the (unmarked) high point. Use the "glacier way" - position yourself so that you have equal view in all directions and "claim" the high point.

Snaufjellet seen from Høgsvora

Snaufjellet seen from Høgsvora

Trip report, Apr 9 2006

I had grown painful blisters, and didn't want to ruin the upcoming Easter. Thus, today's ski-trip wouldn't be very long. So I looked for a mountain that had; a) convenient access, b) snow at the trailhead and c) good weather. Snaufjellet was the answer. Thanks to extensive views from the Ålesund area, it is fairly easy to "scan" the surrounding regions for weather status. I drove to Giskemo, and hoped that a route would present itself. When I noticed the trailsign to Admasetra/Lisetsetra, I knew that there had to be a forest road. Several farms plus large forest always equals a forest road.

The dog and I headed out 10:25PM. The snow on the forest road was frozen, which was good news for the dog. Amazingly enough; yet again the dog seemed to be willing to walk on a long and boring forest road. Perhaps it is spring, and all the new smells that surface, that makes him forget about the ususal sit-down protests.

We were on a weather border. The higher mountains to the east, and Sunnmørsalpene in the south had attracted a lot of clouds. The Ørskogfjellet high tops (Næremstindan, Trolltinden and Sprovstinden) were also wrapped in clouds. Snaufjellet was therefore also a "tactical" choice. When clouds are attracted to the high tops, pick a lower top nearby.

But we had sunshine above, and it was a great day. The blisters weren't bugging me all that much, and the dog kept on walking. I stopped and chatted with a skier that I met above Lisetsetra. He had already been to the top and reported various skiing conditions higher up. Halfway up the hillside, I felt sorry for the dog, now licking ground with his tongue, slowly tailing in my ski-tracks. I put him in the backpack and let him save energy for descent. The day got warmer by the minute, and 100m below the summit, I considered taking my shirt off. As I don't fancy sunburns, I didn't.

We reached the top 12:30PM and were blessed with splendid views towards the southwest. I was so thirsty that it bordered to insanity and swallowed my 0,5 litres of water in two seconds. Troll was eating snow, and seemed to do just fine. The upper part of the mountain had soft snow, and allowed for Telemark skiing. I can't do turns with the dog on the back and let him work his way through the soft snow while I had fun. The soft snow suddenly changed into windblown snow and I let Troll stay in the backpack down the hillside. Halfway down the mountain, I chatted with 3 skiers who came from the Vaksvikfjellet side.

Back in Øyagrova, I let the dog out again. I was now skiing on hard snow, which was quite fun. Until I reached the forest, that is. Skiing down the forest road wasn't fun at all, but it was faster than walking. And the dog ran and ran. Excellent exercise. We were back at the trailhead by 13:35PM.

Pictures from the Apr 9 2006 hike

To Snaufjellet

1. Snaufjellet seen from Sjøholt (111KB) 2. Leaving the Giskemo trailhead (175KB) 3. On the forest road (275KB) 4. Lisetsetra (228KB) 5. Hard snow above Lisetsetra (214KB) 6. Skopphornet wrapped in clouds (154KB) 7. Rømerhornet (202KB) 8. Winter wonderland (228KB) 9. Looking back in the direction of Sykkylven (407KB) 10. A long hill awaits (104KB) 11. Backpack time? (80KB) 12. View towards the east (618KB) 13. On Snaufjellet summit (132KB)

50mm panoramas, 2 parts

14. 50mm panorama from Snaufjellet, part 1/2 (1131KB) 15. 50mm panorama from Snaufjellet, part 2/2 (774KB)

Wide-angle view towards Ørskogfjellet

16. Wide-angle view towards Ørskogfjellet (598KB)

Zoom panoramas, 2 parts

17. Zoom panorama from Snaufjellet, part 1/2 (752KB) 18. Zoom panorama from Snaufjellet, part 2/2 (1153KB)

Back to the cairn

19. Blåskjerdingen seen from Snaufjellet (127KB) 20. The Snaufjellet cairn (155K) 21. The Snaufjellet cairn (105KB) 22. Wide-angle view from the Snaufjellet cairn (364KB)

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