Haugafjellet is a 835 meter peak just South of Tromsø and West of the Lyngen Alps. Located on the West side of Balsfjorden what it lacks on steep skiing it more than makes up with the views from the summit. This peak seems popular for summer hiking and biking but with it having a broad shoulder all the way to the top is good for mellow skiing. That being said this is a good go to ski tour if avalanche conditions are bad or skiing conditions are horrible.
Searching for Views on Haugafjellet
After dealing with icy turns on Fastdaltinden Sean, Mollie and I decided to do a road trip towards the Lofoten Islands. Looking at the maps we wanted to break the drive up with a ski tour along the way. Spotting Haugafjellet we decided to check it out as the skiing was mellow and the views would be great.
Leaving the car in the valley below we were fortunate to find a trail through the trees before reaching the upper alpine. Off in the distance we could see the mellow shoulder of Haugafjellet rising all the way to the summit. We were fortunate that the weather was nice as this tour was all about views.
Climbing the final part of the slopes we looked back at the long ridge we had traveled up. This would be our route back down to the car. In the distance we could start seeing the Lyngen Alps in the distance.
Rewarded with Views and Icy Turns
After a few hours we made our way to the summit of Haugafjellet and were rewarded with good views of the Tromsø area. Conditions were firm so we switched over to boot packing to avoid our snowboard edges slipping out in the solid ice for the final ascent.
The turns were pretty bad but as we followed our ascent route back down. Fortunately the firm ice allowed us to keep our speed on the low angled slope. Before long we were back at the car and driving towards Lofoten.
While I would hike this route up Haugafjellet in the summer I don’t think I would ski the same route again. With that being said the North bowl does look pretty nice but with so many better options in the surrounding area I don’t really think it is worth the approach.
Thank you for reading this Trip Report.
Below is the other trips in my 2015 Spring Season attempting to find good snow.