Norwegian Mountains - Route Descriptions - Skolma, Sneldelida, Signalhornet

Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal

Skolma, 636m
Sneldelida, 633m (Snellelia)
Signalhornet, 627 (Skinnalihornet)

Fylke/Kommune :	Møre og Romsdal/Hareid,Ulstein
Maps :	xxx (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000)
Primary factor :	Skolma: 483m
Primary factor :	Sneldelida: 104m
Primary factor :	Signalhornet: 83m
Visited :	May 2006
See also :	Melshornet
See also :	Løkeberget
See also :	Kiberget/Breifjellet
See also :	Storebroren
See also :	Hovdenakken

Skolma seen from Godøya

Introduction

Skolma, Sneldelida and Signalhornet are the three highest points on the north side of Hareidlandet island. In this context, the north side is everything north of RV661 between Hareid and Ulsteinvik.

Skolma and Sneldelida are the 3rd and 4th highest of the independent mountains in Hareid kommune (more than 5 x 20m contours encircling the summit. See primary factor) Signalhornet does not fully satisfy this criterion. And when it comes to number of encircling contours, Skolma is the 3rd most prominent top on the entire Hareidlandet island, only preceeded by Blåtind and Melshornet.

The landscape is quite different from the surrounding mountain regions, and even different from the south side of the island. The north side can be described as one large plateau, with local tops spread around. This does perhaps not sound too exciting, but the sudden drop down into the ocean is great scenery. The north side of the island is a windy and rough place, as there is nothing on the outside to block for the incoming weather.

The Hareid/Ulstein kommune border runs across Sneldelida and Skolma summits, but Signalhornet fully belongs to Hareid kommune.

The normal routes to Skolma runs from Ytre Flø (southwest) and Brandal (southeast). This page will describe the route from Brandal, and how you can include Sneldelida and Signalhornet on your hike. All tops are popular and frequently visited by people living on the Hareidlandet island.

Being part of the coastal defense system during the Viking age, there were a handfull of beacons (cairns) on Hareidlandet island.

One was known as "Viten på Fløhorn". This is most likely Veten above Ytreflø. Another was found on "Snelidhornet" as Sneldelida was called back then.

The third on the north side of the island was "Signalehorn", or Signalhornet as it is called today.

There were also beacons on Melshornet and Blåtind on the south side of the island.

(Source: Den Norske Leidangen, 1950)

Primary factor:

Skolma (M711: 635m, Ø.K.: 636m, UTM 32 V 342806 6924489) has a primary factor of 483m towards the higher parent mountain Gardnestua (653m). The defining saddle (approx. UTM 32 V 340092 6916205) is found near Hareidseidet, the highest point on RV661 between Hareid and Ulsteinvik. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), the saddle is within the range 150-155m, interpolated to 153m.

My GPS reported 639m on the summit (on the ground, and averaged over at least 5 minutes) Sneldelida (M711: 633m, Ø.K.: highest contour is 630m, UTM 32 V 341822 6922772) has a primary factor of 104m towards the higher parent mountain Skolma (636m). The defining saddle (approx. UTM 32 V 342575 6923063) is found between Sneldelida and Signalhornet. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), the saddle is defined as a fixed point; 529m.

My GPS reported 634m on the summit (on the ground, and averaged over at least 5 minutes)

Signalhornet (M711: 627m, Ø.K.: 626,87m, UTM 32 V 343066 6923789) has a primary factor of 83m towards the higher parent mountain Skolma (636m). The defining saddle (approx. UTM 32 V 343126 6924103) is found between Signalhornet and Skolma. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), the saddle is defined as a fixed point; 544m.

My GPS reported 631m on the summit (on the ground, and averaged over at least 5 minutes)

Skolma (left) seen from Storhornet

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.

Brandal - Sneldelida - Signalhornet - Skolma roundtrip (summer/autumn)

Difficulty : Class 1 (YDS)

Exposure : No

Comments : Partly off-trail, but on grass

Distance : Approx. 9,8Km roundtrip

Time : Approx. 3-4 hours roundtrip

Starting Elev.: Approx. 110m

Vertical Gain : Approx. 700m (total)

Map of the area
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Detailed map
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Access

From Ålesund, follow highway E39 towards Bergen, and then RV61 towards Hareid. Take the Sulesund - Hareid ferry to Hareid. When you depart the ferry, turn right in the first roundabout. Drive 4Km to Brandal. You're now in a 30Km/h zone. Turn left onto a gravel road just after crossing a bridge. Follow the narrow road 600m upwards until it ends up by the waterwork (or whatever those buildings are for) and park there.

The route

Sneldelida

Follow a very visible trail all the way to Sætra (approx. 320m elev.). There is a main trail junction in the pine forest just before Sætra. If you are close to the creek, you may not see it. The junction is well marked with several trailsigns, but hard to see in the dark forest. In any case, you will return to this junction after having visited Skolma.

The path to Sneldelida can be hard to find, but just head upwards on the grassy fields. Set course directly for Sneldelida, and sooner or later you will cross the path. Whether you want to follow it, is a different question. The paths in this region runs here and there, and not all follow the A-to-B logic. You can reach Sneldelida in any way you choose, so just choose one. The summit is on the far side of the plateau you enter. There is a proper cairn on top, as well as a summit logbook.

Signalhornet

Take the shortest route to Signalhornet. You can follow a path that bypasses the top west of Signalhornet, to the right. A major cairn marks the top of Signalhornet. I forgot to check if there was a summit logbook.

Skolma

Take the shortest route to Skolma. There is no direct path, although you cross several along the way. A proper cairn marks the top, and there is a summit logbook.

Descent

Descend Skolma in the direction of Grøthornet. Follow the stream from Grøthornet and you will eventually find the path that runs to the trail junction mentioned above.

Skolma (right) seen from Melshornet

Trip report, May 30 2006

Very shifting weather in the region this afternoon. It was raining on Storfjorden, and the Ørsta tops were hidden in clouds. But there was blue sky and sunshine above the north side of Hareidlandet, and I decided to visit Skolma and Sneldelida on the way home from work. 16:10PM, I was ready for departure from the Brandal trailhead, but my dog "Troll" wasn't. I didn't bother arguing and put him in the backpack. The hike up the forest felt slow. My legs didn't have the usual energy, and had to settle for a slower pace. After passing Sætra, I lost the path. While the original plan was to visit Skolma first, I now decided to continue off-trail towards Sneldelida. I assumed I would encounter paths higher up on the mountain.

I ran into a vague path above 500m elevation, but chose to maintain my direct course towards Sneldelida. Once up on the Sneldelida plateau, I really got the feeling of being on a coastal mountain. The cold, gale force wind made me put on hat, gloves and jacket and seal every air inlet. The plateau on the north side on Hareidlandet was enormous and very much different to mountain regions as I know them. It looked very much the same as on Sulafjellet, but larger.

On the way towards Sneldelida, Troll began walking, and he continued to do so for the rest of the hike. We reached the top 17:15M, and I immediately looked for shelter behind the cairn. Holding the camera steady wasn't easy. Troll begged for lunch, and I had to explain that lunch was served at the next top. I noticed a green spot below Brørene and some ruins. My mind wandered off into the history, and I pictured Viking battles taking place here.

Next stop was Signalhornet. On the way down from Sneldelida, I ran into two women on their windy journey up the mountain. I asked them if the green spot was a historic place, but it was just the ruins of a cabin that had burnt down. Sigh...

We reached Signalhornet 17:50PM. Based on what the eye could perceive, I would have been willing to bet a month salary that the western top was higher. I was even further convinced when I looked towards the two tops from Skolma, and it annoyed me that I had passed it. But according to Økonomisk Kartverk, which I checked after the hike, Signalhornet was the highest of the tops. Lunch was served to the dog while I took further pictures. Then we moved on towards the final goal for the day - Skolma.

It was a short hike across. We reached Skolma 18:15PM and I was pretty cold (from the strong wind) by now. We only stayed for a few minutes before heading down the mountain. Troll needed motivation every 5 minutes, as the high grass was a bit cumbersome for him. We found the path next to Grøthornet, and down in the forest, I understood why I hadn't found the path on the way upwards. I urged Troll to keep a quick pace down the rocky trail, as I wanted to reach the 19:30PM ferry. The next didn't leave until one hour later. Troll did a good job, and we were back at the trailhead 19:05PM. A windy, 3 hour, 9,8Km hike had come to its end, and the three highest points on the north side of Hareidlandet had now been visited.