Norwegian Mountains, Møre og Romsdal
Saksa, 1073m
Leknesnakken, 529m
| Fylke/Kommune : | Møre og Romsdal county/Rauma municipality | ||||||
| Maps : | 1219-III Hjørundfjord (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000) | ||||||
| Primary factor : |
Saksa: 123m Leknesnakken: 151m |
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| Hiked : | Saksa: June 11 2006, Leknesnakken, Feb 1 2015 | ||||||
| See also : |
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| See also : | Other Møre og Romsdal mountains on westcoastpeaks.com |
Saksa
(Click for larger image)
Saksa
Saksa ("The Scissors", and it looks just like that when viewed from the place Øye) is located above the place Urke by the beautiful Hjørundfjorden and Norangsfjorden. The peak is among the lower peaks that surround Hjørundfjorden, and as the peak is snow-free already June, it is among the more popular peaks.
Saksa has 3 tops. A path takes you safely up to the south summit. The descent to the col (the scissors' pivot point) between the south and the center top is airy, but easily scrambled (YDS class 3 at one point). In spring, the remaining snow in the col can be razor sharp. Ice-axe and crampons is recommended.
Moving on to the north top (the highest) is easy. A class 2+ point is the only place where your hands come into use. If you don't have a head for heights, don't try the route over to the highest top. The views are just as nice from the south top.
Saksa is foremost a tremendous viewpoint, where you can view nearly all of the central Hjørundfjorden and Norangsfjorden peaks. Slogen stand out among the very finest of peaks. Skårasalen dominates on the other side of Hjørundfjorden. As do Dalegubben, before you set your eyes on Molladalstindane further north. Hornindalsrokken is barely seen from here, but from north to east, you have a front row seat towards the Regndalstindane massif. It is truly a view you will never forget as long as you live.
Saksa connects to Regndalstindane via Breidfonnhornet and Elsandtinden. While it seems fairly easy to reach Breidfonnhornet, Elsandtindane is advanced mountaineering. For the regular visitor, the trip ends at Saksa or Breidfonnhornet.
Leknesnakken
Leknesnakken is Saksa's lower neighbour and the path to Saksa is passing the saddle between the two tops. As I have only visited Leknesnakken in winter, I can only assume that there is also a path up here but in any case the route from the saddle is fairly obvious; up the ridge.
It goes for both tops that ascent on hard snow requires ice-axe and crampons, as a slide can easily be fatal...
Leknesnakken
(Click for larger image)
Primary factor:
Saksa (1,50:000: 1073m, Økonomisk Kartverk.: 1073,08m, UTM 32 V 372698 6902306) has a primary factor of 123m towards the higher parent mountain Breidfonnhornet (1084m). The defining saddle (approx. 32 V 372884 6902636) is found between the tops.. Ref. the 1:50,000 map (20m contours), the saddle is within the range 940-960m, interpolated to 950m.
Leknesnakken (1,50:000: 526m, Økonomisk Kartverk: 529m, UTM 32 V 372694 6900539) has a primary factor of 151m towards the higher parent mountain Saksa. The defining saddle (approx. 32 V 372658 6900706) is found between the tops.. Ref. the ØK map (5m contours), the saddle is within the range 375-380m, interpolated to 378m.
Saksa panorama
(Click for larger image)
Google map
Google's interactive map. You can zoom, pan and click on the markers.
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Route descriptions
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Route 1: Urke - Saksa
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This route description is valid per June 2006
Access
(all distances are approx. distances)
The starting point for this route description is Urke. You can get there via road RV655- Norangsdalen (might be closed in winter) or via ferry from Sæbø to Leknes.
South top:
From the grocery store at Urke, follow a forest road southwest and then north until you reach the Saksa signpost. Turn west onto a forest path that takes you to a meadow north of the Leknesnakken hill. The path continues northwest until it switches to northeast at 540m elevation. Chances are that you pass running water (to your left) at 630m elevation. The local top to your right is also a good viewpoint, so this may be a good place to rest.
The rest of the route is mixed rough path and boulder. The route is straight up (!), northbound. When you are below the south top, stay left and find a convenient route up the south top's west ridge. You can also approach the south top from the east, but this is a more *slightly* awkward route, as you run into small sections of slab rock which can be slippery. The south top has a white container for a summit logbook.
North top:
Descend north on grassy ledges until you stand above the ridge towards the center top. Scramble down an exposed step (class 3) and proceed down the ridge to the col (class 2+). This col (pass) is exposed when there is remaining snow. Continue up the hill to the center top and descend an easy step (class 2+) before you cross the ridge to the north top. The north top is marked by a trigonometric point.
The ridge seen from the summit
(Click for larger image)
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Route 1: Urke - Leknesnakken
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This route description is valid per Feb 2015
Access
Access is the same as for Saksa - see above.
The route
Follow the Saksa route up to the Saksa - Leknesnakken saddle. Then turn left and follow the ridge up to the summit. I am not sure if there is a visible path but I would be surprised if there isn't one.
The route to Leknesnakken
(Click for larger image)
Pictures and Trip reports:
- Saksa w/Anne, Sep 10 2022
- Breidfonnhornet & Saksa, Sep 17 2017
- Leknesnakken, Feb 1 2015
- Saksa, June 11 2006
- Saksa seen from other mountains, Aug 30 2014
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Other Møre og Romsdal mountains
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