Norwegian Mountains, Sogn og FjordaneStorehaugfjellet, 1173m (Storhogen, Storehogen)
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Fylke/Kommune : | Sogn og Fjordane/Sogndal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maps : | 1417-III Sogndal (Statens Kartverk, Norge 1:50 000) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Primary factor : |
Storehaugfjellet: 990m Storehaugen: 76m |
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Hiked : | Nov 2002, Jan 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
See also : |
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See also : | Other Sogn og Fjordane mountains on westcoastpeaks.com |
This twin topped mountain, located above the town of Sogndalsfjøra, is locally known as Storehogen (or even Storhogen). This site will however refer to the south top as Storehaugfjellet and the north top as Storehaugen - both names taken from the official 1:50,000 maps. The south top has two towers, and a mountain service road runs from Sogndal lufthavn (airport) all the way to the top. Storehaugen is located 950m northeast of Storehaugfjellet and is the primary viewpoint on this mountain.
There does not seem to be sufficient official data to determine which is the higher top, but the "Height and primary factor" section below will present the available data and explain the reason for the 1173m height for Storehaugfjellet.
As mentioned, Storehaugen (the north top) offers the best views - mainly because the two towers are almost 1km away and because you can look straight down on Sogndalsfjøra. The normal route to Storehaugen runs up the northeast ridge. This page will describe the route from Sogndal Lufthavn via Storehaugfjellet.
This is the highest mountain on a large "pensinsula" defined by Sogndalsfjorden, Sognefjorden and Kaupangerskogen. Most of the major mountains in Indre Sogn can be seen from here. Chances are that the Hurrungane mountain range (50km to the northeast) will catch your attention first. 55km to the north, you can see Høgste Breakulen - the highest point on the main Jostedalsbreen glacier.
Claim "extra bonus" for flying to
Sogndal Lufthavn Haukåsen, and ski Storehaugfjellet directly from the airport
Storehaugen (Norge 1:50,000: 1169m, Økonomisk Kartverk: 1169,19m, UTM 32 V 399243 6784442) has a primary factor of 76m towards the higher parent Storehaugfjellet. The defining saddle (approx. UTM 32 V 399363 6784190) is found between the two tops. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), the saddle is within the range 1090-1095m, interpolated to 1093m.
GPS measurement read 1175m (on the cairn - 150cm), averaged over a 10-minute period (error margin +/- 1,2m).
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Storehaugfjellet has no height on the current 1:50,000 map, but the height 1173m has been taken from a 1:250,000 map from 1971. Which leads to the following:
Storehaugfjellet (Norge 1:250,000 (1971): 1173m, Økonomisk Kartverk: -, UTM 32 V 398859 6783568) has a primary factor of 990m towards the higher parent Krokberg (1356m) - 23,5m to the north/northeast. The defining saddle (approx. UTM 32 V 403247 6787024) is found between near RV5 on Kaupangerskogen. Ref. Økonomisk Kartverk (5m contours), the saddle is within the range 180-185m, interpolated to 183m.
GPS measurement read 1174m (on the ground), averaged over a 5-minute period (error margin +/-6m), but upon the return, the GPS read 1169m and below the tower is most likely NOT a place to do GPS measurements.
Warning: A very detailed section follows. Feel free to skip...
But is Storehaugfjellet really 1173m? Relacom reports from their INRA database that the base of the new tower (the highest one, built in 1988) is 1164m. Based on their drawings, they state that the base of the old tower (built in 1959) is 5-6m higher. Providing that 1164m is an accurate height, then Storehaugfjellet seems to be 1169m or 1170m, providing the summit is level to the tower base. This needs verification. Økonomisk Kartverk lists 1212,67m, which is the height of the old tower. A page on the internet says the tower is 42m high, which gives 1170,67m as base for the tower. Again - the ground next to the tower could be slightly higher (on both visits, a substantial amount of snow had piled up on the high point). Statens Kartverk argues (in an e-mail) that if the mountain had been 1170m+, there would have been a 1170m contour. That is - unless implementation of tower details has resulted in a missing contour, as well as a missing elevation. But if we follow the contour logic, it would make sense to assume that Storehaugfjellet is approx. 1169m - the exact same height as Storehaugen. A historical map on Norgesglasset (date unknown) states that the south top (named Storehogfjellet at the time) is 3830 ft. - 1201,6 (Norwegian foot) but should probably not be regarded as solid information. Looking aside from the contour logic, the above assumptions are not very scientific, and are only provided as information. We want a height for the mountain, in order to calculate the primary factor, and until new official information becomes avaialbale - this site will use 1173m from the 1:250,000 map of 1971. The resulting primary factor ranks Storehaugfjellet as #8 in Sogn og Fjordane (source: Petter Bjørstad) |
![]() Historic map
1:250,000 map
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Storehaugfjellet and the mountain service road
(Click for larger image)
Google's interactive map. You can zoom, pan and click on the markers.
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Route 1: Storehaugfjellet via the mountain service road (all seasons)
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This route description is valid per Jan 2010
Access
(all distances are approx. distances)
The nearest bigger town is Sogndal (has an airport). From Sogndal, follow highway RV5 southeast in the direction of Kaupanger. At Kaupangerskogen, turn right towards Kaupanger/Sogndal Lufthavn (signposted). Proceed to the roundabout (200m) and continue straight ahead 400m. Turn right towards Sogndal Lufthavn and follow this road all the way (7,8km) up to the parking outside the airport.
The route
From the parking, follow the mountain service road to the west. After 300m, the road forks - stay right. 2,3km from the parking, the road forks again. Turn right. The service road now climbs continuously up to Storehaugfjellet summit and the two towers. There is no cairn or trigonometric point which marks the high point, which is found on the north side of the old tower.
Continue northeast to the Storehaugfjellet - Storehaugen saddle and ascend Storehaugen where you see fit. The summit is marked by a proper cairn. Descend your ascent route - or down the northeast ridge if you have arranged transport back to the airport.
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