Skiing in Norway – Part Three

16th April 2013

Last modified on August 31st, 2021

Norway used to be popular with the British but recently numbers have dwindled. That may be about to change – next winter Crystal is offering holidays again. PlanetSKI is in Norway and we have a series of special reports. Here we visited Hemsedal – one of the biggest resorts that rivals what the Alps has to offer.

The growing popularity of the Alps, the UK economic situation, expensive local prices and a poor exchange rate have combined with a lack of marketing and promotion to ensure a fall in British numbers to Norway in recent years.

It was in danger of being forgotten about by UK skiers.

Next winter though Crystal Ski, the largest UK tour operator, is offering it again with a weekly charter flight available. Other tour companies are also looking again at Norway.

With this in mind the PlanetSKI content editor, James Cove, decided to visit the Norwegian resorts of Geilo, Hemsedal and Beitostolen.

So what is skiing in Norway like?

For the first PlanetSKI blog from Norway see here.

And here is Skiing in Norway – Part Two.

The country prides itself on family skiing so he travelled with his 13-year old son, Max, to see if it is all that it is cracked up to be.

Father and son on tour.

Boys on tour. Image © PlanetSKI

The Alps in Norway.

Now if you think Norway is a quiet backwater with hills rather than mountains, little après ski to talk about and gentle, rather tame, skiing then you have clearly not been to Hemsedal.

It has some steep slopes, great off piste and a selection of fun parks that go through to some huge kickers and jumps. There is nightlife to match.

On Friday and Saturday nights the hardcore skiers and après skiers from Oslo come here in their droves to burn the candle at both ends. The Swedes are in evidence to. Apres ski starts at the Skistua and Stavkroa bars and then heads into town.

The resort is more like a typical Alpine resort and is run by the Swedish company, Skistar, that owns several resorts in Scandinavia and also manages the lift system in the Swiss resort of Andermatt.

It has some of the best downhill skiing in Norway.

There are 47 kms of slopes accessed by 24 lifts.

It also has tobogganing, snowmobiling, and dog sledding. Plus of course cross-country skiing.

When Max and I passed through we happened to take a lift up with the British Junior team that was putting in some late season training and testing next year’s skis.

Team GB in training

Late season training

Hemsedal. Image © PlanetSKI

It also has a series of end-of-season events as we have already reported in this related news story on PlanetSKI.

Its end of season event takes place this weekend with a huge party.

It is well-signposted – if you can decipher the names that is.

Which way?. Image © PlanetSKI

The Norwegian language is attractive to the ear but hard to decipher.

It sounds like they are saying every word backwards. Fortunately for Max and I everyone speaks English well and they take pride in helping foreigners.

Hospitality and friendliness is the norm is this part of the world.

Sadly we only had one day in Hemsedal on our whistle-stop tour of Norway.

We could have stayed for a week.

Next stop was the opposite end of the scale – Beitostolen.

The skiing is aimed at families and beginners. We were going to go husky sledding, snow rafting and we skied in an area where we were the only two people on the slopes. We had the area of Raudalen to ourselves. Literally.

I had one of my best skies of the entire winter as we zoomed round the perfectly groomed slopes with not a soul in sight.

More of that in the fourth and final part of our Norwegian journey.

For a video report on the visit of James and Max then see below.

FACT BOX

James and Max travelled with Crystal Ski.

For more information about the holidays that Crystal is offering to Norway for the 2013/14 winter season then see here.

Hemsedal
Crystal Ski (0871 231 2256; www.crystalski.co.uk) offers a week’s stay at the three-star Ski Per Apartments in Hemsedal from £1461 for a family of four including direct flights from Gatwick to Fagernes and transfers, departing 5 January 2014. Special limited offer on selected dates: 2for1 lift pass. Free kids place.

For the spirit of the mountains