Dovrefjell. Viewpoint Snøhetta
For the next mountain trip I chose Dovrefjell. I wanted to make some spectacular this time, and my target for this was to achieve two destinations: Viewpoint Snøhetta and Snøhetta Mountain (2286 m above sea level). That means I had to take a walk over 40 km. Of course I could pay 70 kr and take part of the route by bus, but I didn’t want to. So I packed a tent, sleeping bag, and other important items necessary to spend a night into the wilderness and just after I finished work on Friday, I could go to Dovrefjell.
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The Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park, together with the adjacent protected areas, covers an area of 4,367 square kilometers and is one of the largest protected areas in Norway. It was established in 1974. The symbol of the park is a musk ox, whose population it was decided to introduce in these areas in early 1930s. The first ones imported from Greenland could not acclimatize, so the attempt was repeated in the 1950s, this time successfully. There are currently about 350 Musk Ox in Dovrefjell. In addition, the park is known for its wild reindeer, arctic foxes, wolverines and birds of prey.
I spend over 5 hours in the car, driving for approx. 400 km and reach the parking lot along E6 road near to Hjerkinn just before midnight. It was so dark and cold to get outside and looking for place to set up the tent. So I lay down on the rear seat. It was not comfortable and cold night.
At the morning I check my backpack and went to my first target. To get to Viewpoint Snøhetta you must pass the military base. I found out that in this area was shooting range, which was closed in 2006. It had an area of 165 square kilometers and was used not only by the Norwegian army and allied forces but also by the Germans during the occupation at World War II. With the closing of the training ground, it was decided to clean the entire area of garbage, remains of ammunition, unexploded ordnance left behind for years.An army was engaged, which systematically combs (sometimes the same place several times) the surrounding mountains.So far, 17,000 abandoned explosives have been found in this way.590 million krons were spent on the cleaning and renovation project of natural areas.Completion of work is scheduled for 2020.In several places during the journey, I came across warnings about potential dangers due to the possibility of founding unexplosives left years ago.
In the 70s of the last century, there was a mine operated near Hjerkinn (Tverrfjellet), where iron, copper, zinc, silver and gold were mined). Mine tunnels reached 570 m above sea level (the Hjerkinn plateau lies at an altitude of 1000 – 1100 m above sea level). Mining was suspended in 1993.
The route at Viewpoint is not long. The place where the mine facilities once stood was developed for a parking lot. You can leave your car there for free and go to the viewpoint. Despite the information about the ban on staying in the parking lot, I found a few cars and two campers before seven in the morning.
Viewpoint Snøhetta makes a staggering impression when you view photos of this place on the net. Live is not that impressive but it still looks amazing. A cubic box made of sheet metal, finely lined with wood, with a glass wall facing distant peaks, with a distinctive Snøhetta in the center. Inside, a UFO-like fireplace and seating. The facility was opened in 2011, receiving the Building of the Year award in the world.
From the vantage point you can also see the central point of the shooting range. It was probably here that most of the fired artillery missiles were directed.
From the route leading to Viewpoint, you can go to other routes to the surrounding peaks and I would happily go to many of them, but my plans to climb Snøhetta were more important. And about that trip I will tell you next time.
This post was originally published 2019-08-28 on https://kraina-trolli.pl.
