Snøhetta is the highest mountain in the Dovrefjell mountain range in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

. At , it is the highest mountain in

outside the Jotunheimen range, making it the 24th highest peak in Norway, based on a

topographic prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

cutoff. At , its

is the third highest in Norway. The mountain is located in the Dovrefjell mountains in northern

Innlandet Innlandet is a county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (the municipalities of Jevnaker and Lunner were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken on the same date). ...

county in Dovre Municipality. The mountain lies inside Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park and it is the highest peak in the park. It is surrounded by several other mountains including

Brunkollen Brunkollen is a mountain on the border of Dovre Municipality in Innlandet county and Oppdal Municipality in Trøndelag county in Norway. The tall mountain is located in the Dovrefjell mountains and inside the Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National ...

to the east;

Einøvlingseggen Einøvlingseggen is a mountain in Innlandet county, Norway. The tall mountain is located in the Dovrefjell mountains and inside the Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park. The mountain is located on the border of Dovre and Lesja municipalities ...

to the south;

Skredahøin Skredahøin (also referred to as Skredho and Skredhøis) is a mountain in Lesja Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The tall mountain lies within Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park, about north of the village of Dombås. The mount ...

Bruri,

Nordre Svånåtinden Nordre Svånåtinden is a mountain in Lesja Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The tall mountain lies within Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park, about north of the village of Dombås in the Svånåtindene mountains. The mountain i ...

, and

Storstyggesvånåtinden Storstyggesvånåtinden is a mountain in Lesja Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The tall mountain lies within Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park, about north of the village of Dombås in the Svånåtindene mountains. The mountai ...

to the southwest; and

Store Langvasstinden Store Langvasstinden is a mountain in Lesja Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The tall mountain lies within Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park, about north of the village of Dombås. The mountain is located in the Svånåtindene ...

Larstinden Larstinden is a mountain in Lesja Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The tall mountain lies within Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park, about north of the village of Dombås. The mountain is surrounded by several other mountains inc ...

, and Drugshøi to the west. The mountain has several peaks: * Stortoppen is the highest summit at . * Midttoppen is the next highest summit reaching with a

of . * Hettpiggen is the third highest peak on the mountain reaching with a prominence of . * Vesttoppen is the fourth highest peak at an elevation of and a prominence of . Vesttoppen and Stortoppen are easily available by hiking or skiing, and traveling from Stortoppen, Midttoppen is easily accessible. Traversing Midttoppen, via Hettpiggen and to Vesttoppen requires

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done ...

with a rope. On Stortoppen there is a radio link station, originally installed by the

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army ( no, Hæren) is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway ...

, and now serving primarily civilian purposes. The station and its emergency diesel generator, as well as a nearby

helipad A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard ...

, detract somewhat from the aesthetics of the summit. For this reason, many recommend Vesttoppen as a better destination. A small monument for the Norwegian

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

, humourist, author and

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

Peter Wessel Zapffe Peter Wessel Zapffe (18 December 1899 – 12 October 1990) was a Norwegian philosopher, author, artist, lawyer and mountaineer. He is often noted for his philosophically pessimistic and fatalistic view of human existence. His system of p ...

is located near the summit of Vesttoppen. Under good conditions in both summer and winter, the ascent is relatively easy. Common starting points are the DNT-cabins Reinheim, Snøheim, or Åmotdalshytta.

History

Snøhetta was visited for the first time in 1798 as part of a scientific trip to the area. At that time it was assumed that was the highest summit in Norway, because the Jotunheimen area with its higher peaks was rather inaccessible and unresearched, while Snøhetta is visible from the traditional travel route Oslo-Trondheim across the Dovrefjell mountains. The expression "until the Dovre mountains fall" ( no, "til Dovre faller") was used in the oath sworn during the

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly (in Norwegian ''Grunnlovsforsamlingen'', also known as ''Riksforsamlingen'') is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in Norway, that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised t ...

in 1814, when Norway formed an

independent nation Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

after being in a union with Denmark for hundreds of years.

Etymology

The name is a compound of the Norwegian word ''snø'' which means "

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughou ...

" and the finite form of ''hette'' which means " hood", thus the name is translated as "the mountain with a hood of snow".

Media gallery

1009. Dovrefjeld, Snehætten - no-nb digifoto 20160104 00077 bldsa AL1009.jpg, View from a distance Peder Balke - Mt. Snøhetta, Dovre Mountains - TKM-1121-1972 - Trondheim kunstmuseum (cropped).jpg, Painting of the mountain by Peder Balke Snøhetta (east elevation from E6).jpg, View of the east side from the E6 highway Hjerkinn mot Snøhetta - no-nb digifoto 20151105 00042 NB MIT FNR 06490.jpg, Snøhetta seen from

Hjerkinn Hjerkinn is a village in the municipality of Dovre in Innlandet county in Norway. The village is located in the Dovrefjell mountains, about northeast of Dombås and about northwest of the village of Folldal. It is one of the driest places in th ...

StortoppenFromHettpiggenSnøhetta.jpg, Stortoppen seen from Hettpiggen in summer

History

Etymology

Media gallery

References

External links

Guidebook