At 1306 metres you are near the roof of Aurlandsfjellet, the high plateau that the Snow Road crosses between Aurland on the fjord and Lærdal to the north. It is a landscape of bare rock, small lakes, patches of old snow and wide open sky, scraped flat by the ice and left almost empty. Only a few hours before, if you came up from Aurland, you were among fruit trees and fjord water; up here the plants are lichen, moss and a few tough grasses, and the snowbanks along the road can still be taller than a person in early summer.
The road is the reason to come. Fylkesvei 243, known as Snøvegen, was built across the mountain as the main link between Aurland and Lærdal, and for decades it was the only way to drive between them until the Lærdal Tunnel opened beneath the mountain in 2000, the longest road tunnel in the world at more than 24 kilometres. Since then the old road has become a summer-only scenic route, usually opened once the snow is cleared in late May or June and closed again in autumn, often by October. Check before you go, because the season depends on the snow.
The climb from Aurland is the dramatic half: a long series of hairpins up from the fjord, past the Stegastein viewpoint, a wooden platform that juts out over the Aurlandsfjord, and then on up into the high country. The road is narrow, with passing places, low barriers or none, and buses and camper vans on it in summer, so take the hairpins carefully and be ready to wait. On the plateau the road straightens into a quiet track across the rock, and the descent to Lærdal is gentler, down a long valley with waterfalls.
The weather can change fast up here, and fog, wind and cold rain are common even in July, so pack warm gloves. There is nothing on the plateau except a couple of rest areas with views, so make your arrangements below. Lærdalsøyri, at the foot of the northern descent, has fuel and food, and Aurland and Flåm, on the fjord to the south, have more. Sogndal is the nearest larger town.