Parking across the bridge is "safest" spot for hike to Snaufjellet.
Start of forest road towards Snaufjellet, and possible spot for parking.
Follow signs for "Lisetsetra" at this trail junction.
| Snaufjellet from
Giskemo (ski) Snaufjellet |
| Estimated net time | 3-4 hours | ||
| Difficulty | No difficulties. | ||
| Drinking water | No access to drinking water during winter. | ||
| GSM coverage | Coverage throughout the route (February 2010). | ||
| Parking | Where to park depends on the amounts of snow and ploughing. Ideal parking would be by the wooden building where the three forest roads fork. Alternatively, back at the main road and on the left after the bridge. | ||
| Start height | 80 metres | ||
| Vertical metres | 815 metres for the roundtrip. | ||
| Trip distance | 10.2 km | ||
| GPS-file | X | ||
| Map |
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| Route photo |
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From Ålesund drive road E39 to Sjøholt. Drive through Sjøholt centre, and turn right onto road 650, signed for "Geiranger" and "Stordal". From this junction drive 1.5 km and turn left where signed for "Giskemo". Drive 1.0 km along this road, to a small bridge. Either turn right just before the bridge and drive 200 metres to a wooden building, and try to find parking. Or cross the bridge and find parking on the left hand side of the road. If opting for the latter option walk back across the bridge, turn left, and walk 200 metres along the road to the wooden building mentioned above.
From the wooden building there are three forest roads heading south, east and north. Ski up the middle forest road, partly hidden behind a group of trees. As soon as you get onto this road you will see a no-entry sign (and some text stating that driving past this point is on your own risk). Follow this forest road 1.9 km, until you get to two wooden buildings, ignoring any roads forking off to the left. Ski past the wooden buildings at Lisetsetra, and 200 metres later turn left heading north-east. You have now entered a small valley and will soon get above the forest and get the summit cairn in view.
From above the forest either continue directly towards the cairn by staying at the bottom of the valley, or you can gradually gain a bit more height by climbing easily on the left hand side of the valley. Either way, aim in general for the cairn (a little left if not skiing the valley). When you get to the cairn you need to proceed some 200 metres north in order to get to the summit, which is not marked in any way.
The descent is best done by reversing the ascent route. As an alternative to the forest road one can select to ski "off-road".
I wasn't terribly keen on spending the whole Sunday hiking, so one of my criteria when selecting a mountain was that it shouldn't be a very long drive. Snaufjellet soon stood out as a good option, and it turned out to be one of my most enjoyable ski-trips ever. One of the factors was of course the brilliant weather, with bright sun and no wind, and when you throw in close to perfect snow and a very enjoyable route you end up with a perfect mix.
One of the reasons for not wanting a long hike was that I felt a little tired, so I was pleased to see that there were tracks only a few days old going up the forest road. These tracks continued all the way to the summit cairn, which meant I only had to break my own tracks the last flat couple of hundred metres to the summit.
The descent was particularly enjoyable, with relatively firm snow enabling me to
float on top of the snow. Just as I entered the forest I met a couple coming up
and I had a small chat with them. When I proceeded I decided to try my luck
outside the forest road, and this turned out to be a wise choice since the snow
outside the forest road was almost as nice as above the forest, whereas the snow
on the forest road was a bit hard in places.
Photos 28.02.2010