April 29, 2019

2019's Best Ski Resorts in Norway

Whether you’re going on a family ski holiday with gentle blue slopes and ski schools, or are on the lookout for challenging black runs, great off-piste possibilities, or world-class snowboard and terrain parks, Norway has it all. Below, you’ll find a list of our largest ski resorts with updated snow reports.

1. Trysil – Norway’s largest ski resort

The country’s biggest ski destination with around 40 lifts and more than 70 kilometres of runs that connect three sides of the Trysilfjellet mountain into a varied alpine facility. Trysil has a good ski school and is popular with families, and was one of the first places in Europe to achieve the prestigious certification Sustainable Destination.

2. Hemsedal Ski Resort – venture off the slopes

Considered by many the best ski area in Norway, Hemsedal is versatile with over 20 lifts, more than 50 slopes and activities for all ages. The popular resort has a large children’s area, snow parks and excellent off-piste opportunities.

3. Hafjell Alpine Resort – a family adventure

As the site for the giant slalom and slalom events in the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics, family-friendly Hafjell 15 kilometres from Lillehammer is internationally known for varied skiing and snowboarding offers. Take the gondola to the top and choose between many long cruisers – the resort has more than 40 kilometres of slopes and more than 30 runs.

4. Oslo Winter Park – see Oslo, ski Oslo

Smaller than some other Norwegian ski resorts, Oslo Winter Park nevertheless offers good skiing only 20 minutes from Oslo city centre – and you can get there with local transport. With major events like X-Games, the Youth Olympics, the Snowboard World Cup and the Arctic Challenge in recent years, Oslo has really been put on the map as one of Norway’s best ski and snowboard parks.

5. SkiGeilo – welcome to the mountains

One of Norway’s oldest ski resorts, with around 40 slopes and a total of 4 terrain parks. Geilo is recognised as a world-class area for skikiting, and is also a family-friendly resort with designated slopes and plenty of activities for children.

6. Norefjell – peaceful nature near Oslo

The mountains at Norefjell, just 90 minutes from Oslo, offer good vertical runs and peaceful nature with a grand view. Norefjell was the site for the alpine skiing events during the 1952 Oslo Olympics, and here you can go skiing and snowboarding from 1,188 metres and pretty much all the way down to lake Krøderen at 130 metres.

7. Kvitfjell – the power of powder

Built for the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics. Since then, Kvitfjell has become one of the most modern ski resorts in Northern Europe and offers a range of competition-level slopes, large terrain parks and off-piste areas, as well as family-friendly slopes and a ski practice area. Kvitfjell is also proud to be a destination free from junk- and deep fried food.

8. Myrkdalen Ski Resort and Voss Resort

Myrkdalen and Voss Resort have 19 lifts in total, as well as 22 runs each, and a plethora of activities for children and adults alike. A ski bus service in weekends and during holidays will bring you from the centre of Voss and right to the resort’s doorstep. If you don’t ski, there are other activities available, or you can learn to ski with the resort’s own ski school. Guided tours and cross-country skiing is also available.

3. Hafjell Alpine Resort – a family adventure

<p>As the site for the giant slalom and slalom events in the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics, family-friendly <a href="https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/eastern-norway/hafjell/">Hafjell</a> 15 kilometres from Lillehammer is internationally known for varied skiing and snowboarding offers. Take the gondola to the top and choose between many long cruisers – the resort has more than 40 kilometres of slopes and more than 30 run</p>

<h2>4. Oslo Winter Park – see Oslo, ski Oslo</h2>

<p>Smaller than some other Norwegian ski resorts, Oslo Winter Park nevertheless offers good skiing only 20 minutes from <a href="https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/eastern-norway/oslo/">Oslo</a> city centre – and you can get there with local transport. With major events like X-Games, the Youth Olympics, the Snowboard World Cup and the Arctic Challenge in recent years, Oslo has really been put on the map as one of Norway’s best ski and snowboard parks.</p>

<h2>5. SkiGeilo – welcome to the mountains</h2>

<p>One of Norway’s oldest ski resorts, with around 40 slopes and a total of 4 terrain parks. <a href="https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/eastern-norway/geilo/">Geilo</a> is recognised as a world-class area for skikiting, and is also a family-friendly resort with designated slopes and plenty of activities for children.</p>

<h2>6. Norefjell – peaceful nature near Oslo</h2>

<p>The mountains at Norefjell, just 90 minutes from Oslo, offer good vertical runs and peaceful nature with a grand view. <a href="https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/eastern-norway/norefjell/">Norefjell</a> was the site for the alpine skiing events during the 1952 Oslo Olympics, and here you can go skiing and snowboarding from 1,188 metres and pretty much all the way down to lake Krøderen at 130 metres.</p>

<h2>7. Kvitfjell – the power of powder</h2>

<p>Built for the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics. Since then, Kvitfjell has become one of the most modern ski resorts in Northern Europe and offers a range of competition-level slopes, large terrain parks and off-piste areas, as well as family-friendly slopes and a ski practice area. <a href="https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/eastern-norway/kvitfjell/">Kvitfjell</a> is also proud to be a destination free from junk- and deep fried food.</p>

<h2>8. Myrkdalen Ski Resort and Voss Resort</h2>

<p>Myrkdalen and Voss Resort have 19 lifts in total, as well as 22 runs each, and a plethora of activities for children and adults alike. A ski bus service in weekends and during holidays will bring you from the centre of <a href="https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/fjord-norway/voss/">Voss</a> and right to the resort’s doorstep. If you don’t ski, there are other activities available, or you can learn to ski with the resort’s own ski school. Guided tours and cross-country skiing is also available.</p>

<title>Snow guarantee | THE WHITE SEASON EXTENDERS</title>

<dc:creator>ridaninc</dc:creator>

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<p>Descend the slopes on natural white carpets, occasionally with some help from machine-made magic. </p>

<p>Your soft chin is hit by a myriad of ice cold, unidentified, microscopic objects. It is difficult to keep your eyes open, the tickle of the bullet attack makes you laugh. It must be what they call snow. </p>

<p>So, is it real or fake? During the next 24 hours the orange coloured snow machine at your left will pour out tons of this stuff, non-stop. The steep slope you are about to descend on your broad alpine skis is equipped with six such cannons. “We are able to extend the season to late April, due to a fully automated system, and the half pipe will stay intact and open until mid-May for the joy of our regular and visiting snowboarders”, says Mads Mørch, a former professional alpinist who titles himself “snow manager” when asked about his occupation. He started preparing slopes in Oslo Winter Park in 2003 with the help of steadily technically updated snow machinery. </p>

<p>He is still head of the maintenance of the 18 slopes in the capital’s popular alpine centre at 530 metres altitude, situated barely 20 minutes by public transport or car from the city centre of Oslo. The use of such white magic creating robots goes all the way back to the mid-1980s when they were introduced for the first time in the larger ski resort of Hemsedal. Mørch and his team start the production of snow at minus 2,5 degrees Celsius. High pressure pumps lead the water into the snow apparatus that, through advanced nozzles, jets small water particles that are transformed into snow as they hit the cold air. </p>

<p>The art of snow-making: The first snow machines go back to the mid-1980s in Hemsedal ski resort. Snow production starts at minus 2,5 degrees Celsius. High pressure pumps lead the water into the snow apparatus, that jets small water particles that are transformed into snow as they hit the cold air. Machine made snow has a substance that is very close to hail, pellets of frozen rain, that doesn’t melt as easily as real snow. </p>

<p>In an office at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Professor Trygve Magne Eikevik is studying a new project intended to revolutionise the experience of having white powder under your feet in places where winter usually means no show of snow. The state subsidised project he is part of is testing a new type of machinery that is supposed to be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly than today’s mechanical power. This is a new type of pump taking its principle from cooling machines like those found on refrigerators. You use the cold to make snow, and the heat surplus to warm anything from tap water to a whole building. “This is a win-win situation”, Eikevik promises. The science group’s challenge is to make these machines far more energy efficient whilst staying capable of creating 100 metres of ski slopes or tracks every day. </p>

<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p> <br>“Nature’s own method of snow creation is not easy to copy. The individually shaped snow crystals that you observe as they fall slowly to the ground derive from frozen water that takes a lot of time to form. From its very start in the mid-1970s, snowmaking equipment has only managed to produce snow with a substance that is very close to hail, small pellets of frozen rain. On the other hand, this quality makes a solid fundament for the slopes, so that they don’t melt as easily as the real thing”.</p><cite> <br><strong>Professor Eikevik. </strong> </cite></blockquote>

<p> So far so good for perfect conditions when alpine skiing. But what about the snowman we want to build by rolling two fist-sized snowballs bigger and bigger, and then put a carrot as a nose in the middle of its face? </p>

<p>“You better wait for nature’s own snowfall to create a standing snow figure. The snow should not be like powder, but rather wet, informs Mads Mørch of Oslo Vinterpark, and opens his thermos to have a quick coffee break by the slope. An increasingly number of orange painted machines will continue to blend in with colourful alpine outfits in Norway’s many sunny slopes and trails. Thanks to these hard-working devices you can count on extended, continuous seasons and freshly prepared snow, sometimes just metres away from your breakfast table. Then, occasionally, your soft skin will be hit by masses of the natural thing quietly descending from the sky to embellish the man-made fundament like painstakingly knitted carpets.</p>

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2019's Best Ski Resorts in Norway

1. Trysil – Norway’s largest ski resort

2. Hemsedal Ski Resort – venture off the slopes

3. Hafjell Alpine Resort – a family adventure

4. Oslo Winter Park – see Oslo, ski Oslo

5. SkiGeilo – welcome to the mountains

6. Norefjell – peaceful nature near Oslo

7. Kvitfjell – the power of powder

8. Myrkdalen Ski Resort and Voss Resort

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