Snøhetta (2,286 m): Hiking Dovrefjell’s Highest Mountain From Snøheim

SummitClimbs Field Note: Snøhetta (2,286 m) is the highest mountain in Norway outside Jotunheimen and the highest in Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella National Park, in Dovre, Innlandet. Its prominence of 1,675 m is the third greatest in Norway. The classic route from the Snøheim hut is a marked path of about 11.8 km there and back, roughly 5–6 hours (about 3.5 up, 2.5 down) with 815 m of ascent, partly over snowfields. It is non-technical, but it is alpine terrain with fast-changing weather.

The Mountain With a Hood of Snow

The name joins snø, snow, and hette, hood: “the mountain with a hood of snow”. For a long time Snøhetta was believed to be Norway’s highest mountain, because it was visible from the traditional Oslo–Trondheim route across Dovrefjell while the higher Jotunheimen peaks were remote and unexplored. It was first visited in 1798 on a scientific trip, and the first written account of an ascent is Jens Esmark’s from 1801. Dovrefjell’s place in the national imagination runs deep: the oath sworn at the Constituent Assembly in 1814 promised loyalty “until the Dovre mountains fall”.

Snøhetta at a Glance

• Height: 2,286 m (Stortoppen)
• Prominence: 1,675 m, third greatest in Norway
• Location: Dovre, Innlandet; Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella National Park
• Tops: Stortoppen 2,286 m, Midttoppen 2,278 m, Hettpiggen 2,261 m, Vesttoppen 2,253 m
• Start: Snøheim (DNT), reached by shuttle bus from Hjerkinn station in summer
• Distance: about 11.8 km out and back
• Time: about 5–6 hours
• Ascent: about 815 m
• Grade: demanding; marked path, rocky ground and snowfields
• Season: June to September

The Route From Snøheim

You cannot drive all the way to Snøheim; take the shuttle bus from Hjerkinn station (on the Oslo–Trondheim railway) in summer, and check the times in advance. From Snøheim, the path runs west a couple of hundred metres to a footbridge over Stridåi. Right after the bridge, turn right towards Snøhetta on the military’s old tractor road, now blocked to traffic with large stones, and follow it up to the ruins of Gamle Reinheim. Then climb steeply, partly on snowfields, up onto the east ridge, where the path to Reinheim branches off, and continue steeply up snowfields to Stortoppen. Return the same way.

Which Top?

Stortoppen and Vesttoppen are easy to reach on foot or on skis, and Midttoppen is easy from Stortoppen. The traverse from Midttoppen over Hettpiggen to Vesttoppen is a classic climbing traverse that needs a rope. On Stortoppen there is a radio link station, originally installed by the Norwegian Army, with an antenna about 17 m high, emergency generator and a helipad, so many people prefer the cleaner Vesttoppen, where a small monument honours the philosopher and mountaineer Peter Wessel Zapffe.

Before You Go

• Kit: the terrain is alpine and partly rocky; wear proper hiking shoes and bring extra clothes and food.
• Other bases: the DNT huts Reinheim and Åmotsdalshytta lie on other sides of the mountain.
• Wild reindeer: the Snøhetta area is core wild reindeer country; keep your distance.
• Winter: Snøhetta is also a ski summit, but there can be avalanche danger.

The SummitClimbs Take

Snøhetta is the giant of Dovrefjell: a long but straightforward day from Snøheim to one of Norway’s most prominent summits, in musk ox and reindeer country. Take the shuttle from Hjerkinn, carry extra layers, and choose Vesttoppen if you want a summit without the masts.

Route facts from the UT.no route to Snøhetta from Snøheim; other facts from Wikipedia and Norwegian Wikipedia (Snøhetta).