Report from Trysil - Norway

A snowHead

Just on my last evening here after a week's family ski holiday to Trysil in Norway. This was our first time in Norway and I was slightly hesitant about booking Xmas week in a country where everyone seems to dismiss it by telling you it's expensive, dark and cold. But having had a really enjoyable week, the positives certainly far outweighed any downsides.

The Norwegian countryside is beautiful. Trysil and surrounds are nothing like the mountainous Alpine peaks so less dramatic views but it is full of tree-lined hills and peaks for miles around. Catch it in the sunlight and you get some stunning sights. Trysil itself starts off at 350m so very low compared to Alpine resorts, it tops out at 1100m. However, given it is much further north, altitude becomes less important. There was decent enough snow cover before we arrived and during our stay. We only had rain rather than snow at town level one day, other times it ranged from slightly damp snow to feathery white stuff higher up (not dissimilar to my memories of Morzine). The snow line was never far off.

They were running 90% of the lifts and 75% pistes during our stay which wasn't bad for Xmas week. Wind high up caused a few problems but much of the pisted area runs through the trees which shelter you from the wind and break up any flat light. Pistes were very well maintained, some nice wide areas, rarely busy and finding you had the piste to yourself wasn't unusual. Likewise, lift queues - until the Friday and Sat (when people started to arrive for New Year's week) - were fairly non-existent. The lift system is efficient although I do wonder why modern resorts still bother with T bars ?!? True, the ski area isn't huge but as this was a family trip and never meant as a hard-core ski holiday, there was plenty to entertain us. Mainly reds and blues in the main area with a series of blacks in the mid section and mostly greens / blues on the far side. Trysil is made up of 3 main areas across the same mountain, each of which can be easily accessed from the other. I'm not into off piste so can't comment on that although there was some fun to be had playing around in the trees between pistes.

A big plus is the layout and accessibility of the resort. Much of the area is ski in / out. We stayed at the Radisson Blu, the ski room leading right out onto a nursery slope then button lift up to the main chair. Alternatively, a covered escalator would take you effortlessly up the 100 yds to the same lift. The ski hire is close by and staff were very friendly and efficient, happy to change skis for free during the stay (the OH swapped hers for blades after a couple of days). Ski boots were the best I have ever hired and helmets provided free of charge. Overall, ski hire was cheaper than anywhere I've been in a France (booked in advance = 20% discount).

As for the short days, lifts in Dec open at 9am and close at 3.30pm so yes, shorter ski time than the alpine equivalent. Light wasn't really a problem, daylight was good until at least 3.45pm, the lower slopes were lit up anyway and there is night time skiing until 8pm three nights per week. As for the cold, maybe we were lucky but lowest temp all week was minus 3, often around the -1 degree mark in the day. I've certainly been much colder in other places, even with a bit of wind chill.

The Radisson is a very smart hotel (fantastic buffet breakfast), we booked a 2 bedroom apartment which was well appointed and had plenty of space. Hotel had a pool, spa area, bowling, games room, small gym, après ski bar, extremely cool piano bar and 5 restaurants. I would certainly stay here again.

As for price, the total cost was relatively comparable to big French resorts. Yes, alcohol is pricey (£8 for a small beer, £9 glass of wine) but this is off-set by mountain-side hot chocolate for £1 (as said, this was a family holiday). However, buy your wine and spirits from duty free at the airport and job done. Eating out could be expensive but all depends where and what you wanted. We found we were full up from breakfast (taking the obligatory supplies back to our room for later) so didn't need to spend extra on lunch - cheapskates that we are.

Overall, I was really impressed by what Norway had to offer as a ski holiday. I would certainly come back.

A snowHead

Hi, cracking report, thank you. We are off to this hotel in Feb half term and can't wait. Like you, we are a family and alcohol not a big issue, but will get a couple of bottles of wine in for the room. We'll also definately be using our "doggy bag" routine .......... again! I had heard that the leisure facilities and bowling alleys were expensive so don't know how much we will use them. Just wondering if you used ski school and if it was any good. The kids have done one week in learners ski school (in Austria) so they are the next stage up. I really need to work on my confidence so am considering ski lessons too. Also, which ski hire/lift pass company arrangemnts were best. Is there anything you would do differently next time. Cheers

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bambionskiis, I'm sure you will have a great time. Feb should give you more daylight hours and the snow seems to keep on falling. I'm sure the temps will keep low enough to retain the snow base from now on. I think we had slightly unusually 'mild' temps during our week but have heard the temps can be far more extreme.

We didn't have lessons this year as the kids are fairly proficient teenagers now so I can't comment on the standard of lessons etc. As for building your confidence up, the pistes are nice and wide on the whole, there are plenty of reds and blues to cruise on. The lifts tend to have various options from the top which allow you to choose pistes of varying difficulties so your group can easily get to the same place even if some want more / less of a challenge - I found most of the mountain accessible for most ski abilities which was great for my OH who lacks confidence but could still get around the mountain with us. The resort has a good website which is worth checking out for which lifts / pistes are open. Good info about weather forecasts and booking ski pass / kit hire etc.

http://www.skistar.com/en/

Are you booking the trip independently or via a travel agent ? Unusually for us, we booked via an agent (ski safari) who were very good in all honesty. However, they advertised discounted early booking prices on lift passes and ski hire which I would have booked until I realised (on the resort website) that their 'discounted' price was actually the normal price. Checking further, I found Ski Star (who seem to be the management company / owners of the resort and have something of a monopoly on passes and kit) were offering a proper discount (10% off passes, 20% off ski hire) if booked in advance. Might be worth scanning the website for any offers. We booked 6 day lift passes for each of us, they charge less for teenagers and young kids are free, same for ski hire. I would recommend Ski Star's own rentals. Very close to the piste and best boots I've ever had, most kit looked new. I booked and paid for lift passes in advance and they posted them to me in the UK a few days later.

As said, the hotel is great. The lobby is really welcoming with a bar and casual relaxed area, reindeer and sheepskin (?) rugs on big wooden stools around a table with a fireplace in the middle ! There is a choice of pizza restaurant (not bad value tbh), burger bar (we didn't try it), a buffet restaurant (great choice of cold starters - meat, fish platters, great salads, pasta, all fresh and plentiful. Not too keen on the hot courses but puddings very nice too), and an à la carte restaurant - said to be good but perhaps limited options for the whole family. Are you going half board or B&B ? We went for B&B which I'm glad as it gives you the option to eat out. We tried the Big Horn (!) by the lifts - very good. Food can be expensive but worth noting in the hotel that they charge half price in the buffet for teenagers and quarter price for under 10s.

Breakfast covered every palate and style, cooked, continental, fresh fruit, cereals, meats, cheese etc or all of it ! Everyone took stuff out with them for snacking later.

Have you arranged transfers to resort yet? We took the Trysil Express. Very comfy with free wifi and took about 2hrs 45mins. Just a slight pain having to get your bags to the hotel (5-10min walk on snow / ice). Had a 2 hr wait in Oslo for the transfer coach to arrive but found a Starbucks with free wifi (2 teenagers can't cope without wifi for more than 5 mins!!) so time passed quickly. There is also a duty free on the arrivals side so can top up duty free once you have landed.

What room type have you booked ? We had a 2 bedroomed appartment, very spacious and well designed. Some of these (ie ours) seem to be privately owned and leased back to the hotel. These don't seem to be covered by daily housekeeping but you get all the other hotel functions. Had I known this in advance I would have queried what it entailed and the difference compared to other rooms (we went through a travel agent so didn't think to query it).

The pool area is free of charge, this included one jacuzzi and a dry sauna. The pool is large with some oversized fun floats for kids, underwater currents, a climbing wall over a plunge pool etc. There is an adult only wellness centre for £20 each a day with more saunas etc but we didn't use this. The kids enjoyed the Flowrider which wasn't bad value at £20 each for an hour. The sauna is mixed gender but for the British prudes amongst us, you will be glad to hear it was strictly cossies on ! We didn't try the bowling though.

I would say the hotel is good value for the quality it offers.

Hope you enjoy it. Let me know if you have any more questions. Have fun !

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Steffa, Oh yes, when I'm freezing my bits off, give me a hot chocolate (and cake!) any time over alcohol. bambionskiis, For mountain-side stops, try the Knettsetra area on the piste map (a couple of really nice lob cabin type coffee stops / restaurants) or there is one at the bottom of the main lift called Låven or something similar.

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It's worth noting that you can buy duty-free on arrival at Norwegian airports. Spirits and wine there are probably still more expensive than buying on departure from Britain, but it's a good way of picking up some reasonably priced beers. Half the flight, Norwegians included, seemed to do exactly that when I went there Very Happy

After all it is free

£1 for a hot chocolate? I'm there. I'm considering Tyrsil and Hemsedal - anyone know how they compare?

Thanks so much Damobloke1 - so helpful. We booked through Absolutely Snow and are staying in a 2 bed apartment (I think its deluxe as it was on a special offer when we booked) and on half board. We went for this option as we had read so much about things being expensive, though no sure which restaurants will be covered. I will be packing my usual sandwich bags for "doggy bags". Transfers are included. 5-10 walk with suitcases, boots, booze etc - yoiks. Good to know in advance so that it won't come as a shock. Having said that, we stayed in an apartment in Austria last year and ours was on the top floor which was up 49 steps (always a worrying clue when people can tell you how many steps they had to climb!). The pool sounds fab; I hadn't realised it had all that. Also, that it was included in the price - I just assumed you would have to pay as I remember someone saying on trip advisor when I looked last year that they had to pay exras for everything. £20 for the flowrider seems good value too. Do you have to wear swimming caps as you do in some European countries?

Will definately book skiis in advance and from the quick look I've done, Ski Star do seem to be the "big boys", so will monitor that. The kids are 12 and 9 so probably won't get any discounts as they seem to be inbetweeners.

Pathetic as it sounds, one of the reasons I've chosen this resort is that it has plenty of green runs and I think the blues are quite gentle too. I lost a lot of confidence last year in Austria and just need to build it back up I think, at least in the first day or so. A lot of the ski-in-ski-out places were on reds to the accomodation so that would be pointless for me, but this hotel seems to have an easy slope for me so that should be good.

Am currently abstaining from anything over 10 calories so that I can get my ski boots on as I've filled out a bit since last year, but I think that hot chocolate is in fact compulsory on holiday so darn it. I will definately be buying some alcohol at the airport - this really does seem the best option, although with the trek up to the hotel, perhaps I'd better think that one through a bit. Think that's it for now!!!

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bambionskiis, We had a 2 bed prestige apartment on the 7th floor so not sure how they differ tbh. All seemed very good spec. The half board option gives you access to the buffet, pizza restaurant and burger bar, I think. The buffet costs £35 each adult a night so equates to about the same as what you paid for half board. However, the most expensive pizza was £18 with burger priced about £17 so the HB option would have worked out more for my family - much may depend on the ages of your kids and how much they eat etc. the positive of HB though is that you can eat in the pizza place for example but grab deserts from the buffet etc. Not sure if HB includes drinks ?

Pool area is definitely free. Flowrider has certain sessions at fixed times in the day. If there are less than 4 of you, make sure you book when other people are already booked (it takes up to 8 per 1 hr session) or else you will have to pay for a minimum of 4 people. No need for swimming caps and swimming shorts for the guys are fine - none of those stupid French rules where you have to wear speedos / budgie smugglers! The Norwegians seemed very relaxed about most things.

As for access to green slopes from the hotel, this is easy. Seem to be more greens on the other side of the mountain but the blues on the main slopes are relatively gentle.

Re. ski hire, my daughter is 14 and qualified for the youth skis which were just as good as the rest. These were about 60% of the cost of adult intermediate kit. Helmets are included in the price. I did note that just about everyone wears helmets - much different to my experiences in France. Plus they keep your head warm !

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Brilliant; thanks again for the info - so useful. Hubbie very relieved about the swim shorts as he hasn't worn Speedos since the 90's. Not sure if drinks included but I think kids will be learnin the art of not guzzling coke's while we are there. Thanks again.

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bambionskiis, I'm a bit anal about my holidays once I've booked them and seek out info wherever I can. Part of my OCD I suspect ! If you haven't already, check out some 360° views of the apartments

http://www.radissonblu.com/resort-trysil/apartments

Try this too, it's a flyby of the whole resort, including virtual flyby inside the hotel

http://kunder.makingview.no/2012/skistar/trysil/trysil13.html#/trysil36

Yes, speedos should belong in the past along with T-bars. Norwegian blokes do seem to like to strut their stuff in the locker rooms though, naked men lining up in a queue to use a shower was a bit....different

Awsome - nothing wrong with being OCD, especially if it is this helpful! Hmm, naked men lining up to queue for a shower - really looking forward to the hols now!

Cheers again.

You know it makes sense.

Damobloke1 at great write up for Trysil, to the point that the wife has said she's sold and we're now looking at booking for Christmas 2014.

It'll be our first skiing holiday as a family and I'm thinking about booking it all myself, any advise for a novice at booking a ski holiday? Is it worth the hassle, ie is there a saving etc ?

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

GT2200, yes, you can save by booking yourself - you can book ski passes and ski gear online and save money. I saved about £200 booking ski passes and ski gear online direct with the Norwegian resort. But it's a bit of a hassle. If you book through a TO it'll be easier, less hassle but more expensive.

I also get the impression that Xmas is v busy in Norwegian resorts, so you'll need to book flights and hotel etc. sooner rather than later.

A snowHead

GT2200, We booked the flights, transfers and accommodation via Ski Safari and the lift passes/kit hire via the resort direct. The savings to be made were on the lift pass / kit - book online via SkiStar, offered 20% off kit and 10% off passes if booked before end of November. They posted the passes to me in the UK - no hassle whatsoever. An efficient service.

http://www.skistar.com/en/

To be honest, it would be pretty straightforward to book it all independently. The resort website has lots of hotel deals advertised or you can simply book direct with the hotel. I didn't see any obvious price difference between what the TO charged and what the airline (SAS) and hotel (Radisson) charge. The benefit of booking flights and hotel via a TO is protection via ABTA etc which you may not get if done independently (but I am no expert so other SH may advise differently).

Xmas week in terms of the numbers of people in the hotel and on the piste was relatively quiet, the weekend after Xmas was noticeably busier as people arrived for New Year. But New Year is a peak week in most ski resorts worldwide. I wouldn't think there is a need to rush buying flights and booking hotels but no harm if you know your dates etc to get the best price.

As for transfers, take the Trysilexpress. Really good service, comfy, free wifi etc, 2.5 -3 hours. There is a timetable and price list on the website. Good value too, no need to get a hire car. They are very responsive if you want to correspond via email. Just check the timetable before you confirm flights as we had a 2 hr wait on arrival in Oslo but not a big deal.

Their website is http://www.boreal.no/trysilekspressen-hedmark/category678.html

If I went again, I would happily do it all the same way. However, I might just check what savings / offers there were if booking flights and hotel separately as they are not difficult to do yourself.

Enjoy. I'm jealous already !

A snowHead

DAMBLOKE1 Thanks for all the info, it's been really useful.

I've spent a bit of time looking at booking privately and there's definitely a decent saving to be had, before looking at the ski / lessons costs.

Time to get booking.........and reserving HOT CHOCOLATES too Smile

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Thankyou for that report. I was wondering about Trysil, it sounds far better than lillihammer ( hafjel) where we were, which was expensive and very boring in the evening. I do like Norway though so it would be interesting to try Trysil with the children. You are right I will be bringing my run with me in the suitcase. Laughing

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Steffa I've done about 7 weeks cross-country holidays in Norway, and agree with you that it's fantastic. Though I've always wimped out of hut to hut touring because I ski better having slept in a comfy bed than a DNT hut.

Joining in the recs for booking skis/lift passes/lessons direct with SkiStar - very easy.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Well we're definitely going......Hotel's and plane tickets are both booked.

We got a pretty good deals on flights through BA, so no phaffing with driving round to Gatwick and booking the hotel couldn't have been easier. A couple of emails twixt the hotel and I and it was all sorted.

Let the countdown begin Smile

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Passes arrived today. Yeehee. Far cheaper than buying through TO (probably because of the exchange rate getting better). 20 days and counting.

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We've ordered our passes and hire stuff online but I think we just print it off and take it. Hope so, as we've not received anything. Does anyone have any advice about ski school? We are looking at kids ski school from Tourist Centre and a couple of private lessons for me and OH. I can't find out times though and I read a report that said that you couldn't book kids school at the same time as other lessons, which would be a real pain for us. Did anyone book a similar arrangement and if so, how did they do it (I've emailed but had no response)? We're off later this month and can't wait. The snow conditions are looking fab so should be good. Only downside is our *&%@? travel agent booked us on a flight which seemed good, but actually means we leave the hotel at 04.15. Can't wait to wake the kids up at silly o'clock for departure:( ; it's put a real spoiler on our holiday, especially as we'll have to go to bed at about 9pm). On closer inspection there is a later flight which we would definitely have gone for but presumably not as much commission for the TO. They messed up the hotel booking too. Grrrrr. Definitely book independently in future!. Hey ho.

After all it is free

bambionskiis, if you ordered ski passes more than 12 days before departure, they'll mail them to you. You should get them 1-3 weeks before departure, according to the resort. I haven't booked ski school yet - will probably book through TO, because the resort website wasn't offering good times.

We're off on Sun 16 Feb so we should get them soon. I know what you mean about times, they don't look good and we aren't sure what to do; may have to ring them ourselves - wouldn't trust our TO to book a swimming lesson let alone ski lessons!

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bambionskiis, give them a ring. Everyone speaks ridiculously good English. Good luck.

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I just did thanks and can confirm what you have said and they are looking into it. Once again, another country puts us to shame on the language front Laughing

. Sorry to be a pain but I'm a bit paranoid about helmets. Skistar say that helmets are provdided free with ski's but they also mention on their website that they don't guarantee that helmets are always available. My first worst nightmare is that they don't have a helmet for one of us in stock. The second is, as before, and that we have to buy one there. It looks as though it is one of the most expensive countries we will visit, so buying one would be a big problem for us. Therefore, I spoke to a chap there who said yes there isn't a problem. However he then said that yes, there SHOULDN'T be a problem. He finished by saying yes, there isn't a problem!!! Does anyone here know or should I post it elsewhere on the forum?

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bambionskiis, I suspect they are backside covering in case they haven't got enough of a particular size. Beg, borrow, buy one in the UK if you are worried. Sports Direct v cheap - reminds me to get one for the littly this weekend - abotu £15 (prize of a couple of beers in NO). Also, adults' heads won't grow so consider buying for you/other half. Get one that fits and take your goggles when fitting.

bambionskiis, I would be really surprised if they ran out of helmets. About 99% of the skiers wore helmets and there are 3 SkiStar hire shops in resort. Helmets come free with every booking so I would imagine they have as many helmets as customers. Hope you have a great time - looking forward to your report back.

Plus, the benefit of an early flight is being able to get all your kit sorted the day before you ski. The TrysilExpress coach is comfy and should allow you time to catch up on zzzzzz

You know it makes sense.

Thanks so much damobloke1; really helpful. I hadn't realised SkiStar is such a large outfit. I've spoken to them and they are being so helpful. Like you say dobby, I may well buy some from Sports Direct this week anyway as thinking long-term, it may work out for the best. Udamobloke, ufortunately the early flight is on the return trip so apologies in advance to anyone we might wake up in the hotel for shouting at grumpy kids!!! Snooze on the bus looks like a definate plus. Will report back.

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bambionskiis, whoops, didn't read your post properly re. the early start being on your way back! I did note the bus leaving at 4.15, when I confirmed ours was the next one at 7.45. The journey back does take a bit longer as there are more stops. Could be worth trying to contact the airline direct to see if they would offer a change of flights ?

With such an early start, the hotel will give you a doggy bag in lieu of breakfast (basic stuff but worth asking for it).

A snowHead

absolutely love skiing in Norway best place ever

A snowHead

Been to Trysil Hemsedal and Geilo and i would say that trysil has the edge, but they are all utterly gorgeous. Cant imagine skiing anywhere else

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love the search option on Snowheads.

This is an old thread, but I'll will be using all this info to book.

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Trysil does not look good at the moment! Go northwest, not notheast in Norway.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Looks like rain and melt for Norway in the next week or so, like the Alps. Very warm.

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The suggestion was Voss - Myrkdalen - about a 7 hour drive from my sister's place..

but have little idea what we can expect in turns of skiing there, will probably only be 3-4 days of skiing...

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Snow on the radar screen every day this week in Myrkdalen. Seems to have some nice freeriding possibilities and good for a couple of days of laughs, which is all we need. We will have had 14 days of Tignes by then

A sort of unknown phenomena here lately in Tignes... rolling eyes

After all it is free

As Myrkdalen gets much snow every year you can ski there very late in the season.
But yes, not a large area and laying of the main track. Shocked

Help!!

Report from Trysil - Norway

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