Norwegian Dates

Join us on a unique opportunity to retrace the steps or war heroes and visit the extraordinary raid involving Norwegian and British servicemen to sabotage the heavy water plant near Rjukan during the Second World War. Savor the sights and ski their lines 70 years after the legendary ‘Heroes of Telemark’ raid.

• Retrace the routes of the raid, visit the remote hideouts on the plateau and see the site of the sabotage of the heavy water plant
• Visit the Vemork Museum, ride the cable car to the plateau and follow the escape route across the Hardanger Plateau
• Enjoy 2 days of ski coaching and local tours followed by a wonderful 4 day hut-to-hut tour across part of the Hardangervidda
• Ski across wide open spaces with extensive views to hills and icecaps beyond

For intermediate skiers there will be plenty of challenge; the week will be ideal to refresh and consolidate skills and to develop experience and confidence in your off-track skiing – as well as have some excellent day tours.

Join us in Norway for the 70th Anniversary of the legendary ‘Heroes of Telemark’ raid to stop the nuclear ambitions Axis powers. This is a unique opportunity to retrace, visit and savor the extraordinary raid involving Norwegian and British servicemen to sabotage the heavy water atomic plant near Rjukan in 1943.

This Nordic skiers 'must do' tour is a step up from our 'Telemark Explorer' as it's designed for our 'Advanced Nordic Tourers' wishing to not only absorb the historic events but also complete a challenging & remote tour in the footsteps of our Heroes of Telemark.

• Retrace the routes of the raid & visit the remote hideouts on the plateau where the servicemen hid
• See the site of the sabotage of the heavy water plant & visit the Vemork Museum
• Ride the cable-car to the plateau and follow the escape route across the Hardanger Plateau
• Complete a point-to-point tour across the northern Hardangervidda (plateau)
• 7.5 days skiing in this Arctic wilderness
• Ski wide open spaces with extensive views to hills and icecaps beyond

This week is for ‘introductory’ to ‘intermediate’ Nordic skiers looking for top quality day tours with the benefit of a qualified instructor/leader who will be able to give coaching whilst ‘on the move’. This allows you to do straight away what most people going to ski in Norway would like to do: go out touring and enjoy the hills, plateaus and forests on skis!

The terrain is quite gentle and the distances can be quite short; at the start of the week perhaps up to 10 or 12km, then gradually increasing as the week progresses to give some ‘good days out’. Every day will include some coaching, and in this way we can ensure you will be confident and ready for each day’s touring.

• Develop your Nordic skiing technique, enjoy centre-based half and full-day tours
• Ideal skiing terrain of plateaus, hills and forest with the stunning backdrop of the Rondane mountains
• Comfortable and hospitable base to return to each day
• Ski coaching and day tours both on-track and off-track

For intermediate skiers there will be plenty of challenges; the week will prove ideal to refresh and consolidate skills and to develop experience and confidence in your off-track skiing – as well as have some excellent day tours!

By the end of the week skiers of all levels will have the satisfaction of having completed several good day tours in untracked snow. You'll also have developed your skiing and confidence to new levels while having enjoyed fantastic views across the valley to the Jotunheim mountains or towards the Rondane. The experience will also prepare you for more ambitious day tours and/or hut-to-hut tours in the future!

The essence of this trip is a clockwise tour of areas generally to the east of Finse, including a loop through the Hallingskarvet range, crossing the Oslo – Bergen railway at Haugastol and up onto the Hardanger plateau (Hardangervidda) to complete the circle by skiing just below the Hardanger icecap back to Finse.

• A circular hut-to-hut tour exploring the craggy valleys, lakes and passes
• Savour the vast wilderness of the Arctic landscape
• Excellent accommodation and a good mixture of longer and shorter touring days, with 1 hut-based day.
• An excellent first hut-to-hut tour and ideal for those looking for a late season skiing week.

This tour is an beginner/intermediate Nordic skiing tour with coaching whilst ‘on the move’. As such this tour provides a first step on the way to doing more challenging hut-to-hut tours in Norwegian-type terrain having done, for example, our ‘Geilo & Finse’ week or one of our Nordic trips in the Alps.

The location and the itinerary have been carefully chosen to allow less experienced ski tourers to further develop skills along the way and to add to their experience to be more self-contained and confident when touring in the future. The terrain is always gentle and the distances are quite short; at the start of the week 5kmsand gradually increasing to 15 to 18km later in the week. Every day will include some coaching, especially earlier in the week, and your leader will provide the guidance to build your touring confidence on a daily basis.

• Develop Nordic skiing technique and skills; build confidence and experience in hut-to-hut touring.
• Enjoy this delightful skiing terrain of plateau and forest, with the stunning backdrop of the Rondane mountains.
• Complete a point-to-point hut-to-hut tour, with coaching ‘en route’.

By the end of the week you will have the satisfaction of having completed a point-to-point tour, you will have developed your skiing and confidence to new levels and you will be looking across the valley to the Jotunheim mountains or the Hardanger plateau, knowing you are ready for greater challenges in the future!

Enjoy traversing the Skarvheimen region passes over rolling hills, high plateaus and open wide valleys marked with frozen lakes and dark rock features. We ski from Finse, at the highest point of the Oslo - Bergen railway which, once you have stepped off the train, has such a remote feel.

Habitation in the area is minimal; you'll find just a hotel, our DNT lodge, a few holiday homes and rather a lot of snow! The area is thus unspoilt and beautifully wild. Above Finse is the brooding mass of the Hardanger Icecap, adding to the sense of Arctic wildness and wide open spaces. From here we begin our traverse to Breistolen.

• Ideal as a first hut-to-hut tour
• Relaxed days with plenty of options for different energy and aspiration levels
• Cross wild open spaces in winter
• A south to north, point-to-point tour through the Hallingskarvet mountains and across the high plateaus

This trip spends time in the villages of Geilo and Finse giving us the chance to explore two areas. We begin in Geilo which is small and picturesque with many buildings of typical Norwegian style. It is set in scenic, wooded surroundings, close to a lake and provides us with 130km of prepared track. The slopes on either side rise to plateaux then mountains beyond. Then on day four we take the train Finse where it is often possible to ski straight off the station platform! We spend the rest of the trip touring the area in an arctic landscape of snowy hills and glaciers.

• 4 days of Intensive instruction, developing confidence and experience on Nordic skis
• Instruction and guiding on piste and experience hut to hut touring
• Touring in an awe-inspiring Arctic landscape of hills and glaciers
• Excellent preparation for more ambitious hut to hut tours in Norway