 Poster: A snowHead
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Oslo Vinterpark
Where?
Probably the best suburban ski centre in the world.
Located on the back of Oslo's main mountain.
Getting there?
I was staying in the city centre and took the T (metro) from Jernbanetorget station right next to the mainline central station. Take Line number 1 to Voksenkollen. This westbound towards Froggiesomething. Voksenkollen in the second last station in this direction. It takes about 50 minutes as stops are freequent. The line is steep and twisty for a normal railway and gives views across Oslo and into the gardens and homes of its citizens. It is fantastic to see kids and grown-ups get on with all sorts of skis and boards. Some will get of at Hollmenkollen. This is home to the massive ski jumps. Stay on for the Vinterpark.
Once at Voksenkollen you have two options. Take a shuttle bus up to the ski centre. This takes 5 minute as it is a bit of a circuitous route. Or cross the tracks by the road and take a path through the woods and up past the radio mast and car parks. This takes about 10 minutes as it is a strait route. It was frozen snow with grit underfoot when I walked in city shoes.
Once at the ski centre it is highly organised but in a Norwegian way. Here's how to hire and pay.
Go to the PCs and self-register you and your party. It asks for height and weight. Instructions are in many languages. It will print you a slip with details. Take this to th hire guys. They hire alpine, telemark, boards, blades and cross-country kit. Take and try on what you choose. Once happy the ski techs will scan the barcodes on your kit and send you to the pay desk.
At the pay desk you can also pay to hire a locker. Ask for an English piste map too. You have to pay 5kr for a keycard that is your lift pass and locker pass.
The locker are down stairs. The lockers don't have an obvious key or place to tap. Go to the end of the row and look at the end . You will see a contactless touchpad. Tap your key card and it will unlock your locker and show the number of it. The small locker is big enough for an airline carry on case and some shoes. If you have to strip off and change the toilet cubicles are just big enough and clean. Though hooks are small for hanging clothes.
There is a ski accessories shop at the base station too. The cafe is a short distance away.
Leave the base station, turn right and get set to slide. You have two choices.
Take the magic carpet 50 metres to the top. And spot the ski-by waffle stand to your right.
Or ski to the left down a short schuss.
Back at the top. There you can make right. Cross under a chair and go down the big wide green. It also features a beginners fun park with low rails and jumps. From the bottom take the chair back up or bear left to take a button tow to the top of a steeper slalom training slope.
Taking the green run chair back to the topand enjoy a short trip through the Norwegian wood.
If you take the button it takes you up to the top of the slalom slope. There is a traverse through the trees to more runs. More on them later.
Back to the left schuss from the base station. It takes you to the start of the boarder cross and a winding traverse. Both take you eventually down to a chairlift mid station. There you have a choice. Return up the hill descended. At that top you connect to the big green piste via a cross over. Or head up the their side of the low valley for a short ride. This opens up the best terrain in Vinterpark
The Wylier pistes are marked red and black. But they are blue with short sharp steep steps. Half the main piste, under the chair, is taken up by race training posts and lanes. On the other side a medium level fun park generates bigger sirs. Off to the left of the main piste run some elbow runs. The first of which is a really lovey confidence builder with much shorter steep steps than the main piste. All runs meet at the bottom where facing the hill you'll find a cafe and ski service hit on the left. To the right is the mighty superpipe and a button tow. Overall the Wylier sector must be about 2km long, a decent run that can be lapped in 15 minutes that to a six man express chair.
So what's the skiing like?
I arrived as a mild spell was ending. Snow is very man made. A bit lifeless during the afternoon thanks to milder temps, however it crisped up as evening frost descended. He base seems to be a couple of feet. Runs are mostly wide so room to carve. Some of the crossovers and traverse are narrower so need care given the precocious kids zooming in and around you. The top green is the obvious warm up before tackling the winding boardcross run down to the mid station. But Wylier gives the fun. I have had two tele lessons and thanks to its wide sweeps and occasional scared steeps I soon masters it enough to goon around.
One word of warning, around 7pm their is a fresh I out on new skiers and riders who zap past you. Older teenagers cutting folk up. One cut up a guy behind me who slammed into me. No injuries but a snapped pole.
Prices. There are no half day or evening rates. To hire kit and buy a lift pass came to £73. A bottle of sports drink was £2.50. Metro ticket was £5 return.
This place is good, worth a return visit and would make a fantastic combination with a city break stay in central Oslo. Maybe a family trip with shops, museums and skiing. Everyone happy.
So, that's the hill
Night skiing
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Great report ExSussexSnow. We went there for a weekend a few years back using very cheap Ryanair flights. Had a great time - it's an excellent little set up.
Mind it feels a bit odd clomping through a city centre to a metro station carrying skis and in all your ski clobber  .
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Been looking at this place for a while as the flights from Manchester are so cheap - great trip report, thanks!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Go for it and the Norwegians won't bat an eyelid if you danced in boots through the city centre. If Snowheads was a country it would be Norway. And glad you appreciate the report. Like you I've had my eye on this trip for a long time.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I go to Norway several times a year, and was in Oslo last week, but never went to Vinterpark. Will have to take a look. Thanks for tips how things work which saves some faffing.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@ExSussexSnow, Another great spot in Norway is Drammen about 40km outside of Oslo. Two slopes within 5 minutes of the town centre - one either side of the river - both floodlit for night skiing. Was at the Slalamklubb on Monday night - bit damp but great for some practice before hitting Flaine next week
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I could see some other flood lot pistes in the distance, could have been Drammen. There was one even closer to the town centre, a short park one near the where the east bound railway to airport dives into the tunnel. Saw it from the air when flying in.
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Well, we did it!
We took the £40 Friday night to Sunday night flights from Manchester to Rygge, five us of shared a little hire car and an AirBnB apartment in the city centre.
We got two full days of skiing in at Oslo Vinterpark without taking any time off work.
I'd recommend to anyone! Yes, it's small, but there is plenty to do for two days, with some fun little off-piste bits.
There are two sides to the resort, roughly split by whether you park / get the bus to the Top centre or the bottom centre. The top centre area has lots of pistes, but all are quite short - the bottom centre area has only 3 or 4 pistes, but these are a bit more challenging, and certainly longer.
Having skied in Hemsedal in Norway, I was surprised at how cheap the food etc was at Tryvann - we ate at a little cafe at the bottom centre car park (next to the SuperPipe!) and two pizzas with a drink was about £10 which seemed fairly reasonable.
We also had a bottle of beer at the apres bar for about £5 (about half the price of Hemsedal).
There were great conditions there this weekend, with there having been a bit of a dump last week I think. The off-piste was tracked out, but still fun. The parks were fun too, with easier and harder runs for everyone - there's a ski cross too but not particularly amazing.
All in all, I was just awed at the fact that we got off the city metro service, and were at a fully-fledged (albeit small) ski resort, alongside a lot of Norwegians who were obviously having a great time.
The only downside was that you can hire equipment (and clothes, even!) for two days, using a locker overnight, but your only options for lift passes are either daily or season-pass. This is a new development this year, from what I can gather, as it seems to have caused some complaints amongst the locals.
If you're thinking about doing it, then do it! If I could improve our time at all, I would stay a little closer to route 1 on the Metro (we were on the "Ringen" route 4/6 which added to the journey time a bit) but it was great.
Overall cost for flight (hand luggage only), hire car, AirBnB, metro passes, snowboard / ski hire, locker, lift pass was about £250 per person I think. Food and drink, we ate and had some beers in the apartment on Saturday night as we were all exhausted!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| ExSussexSnow wrote: |
| Go for it and the Norwegians won't bat an eyelid if you danced in boots through the city centre. If Snowheads was a country it would be Norway. |
I thought about this quote loads over the weekend, as I saw many, many people board the metro trains with their (mostly cross country) skis etc - really bizarre by UK standards, but lovely to see!
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@ExSussexSnow, great report@Kingofthec, +
I was lucky enough to learn to ski mostly at Oslo Vinterpark.
I have been twice and will be there again about 2nd April for 2 days then Geilo for 6 or 7
I enjoy skiing in Norway. Even the brats who like fast steep and, "knock yourself out but I'm not going down there", are keen to join me (if I pay of course).
They have always had a great time.
But chaps, please stop telling the hoi polloi how good it is, god forbid they may decide to try it.
Lets just keep it for ourselves
Mods please kill this topic/thread
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Kingofthec wrote: |
Well, we did it!
We took the £40 Friday night to Sunday night flights from Manchester to Rygge, five us of shared a little hire car and an AirBnB apartment in the city centre.
We got two full days of skiing in at Oslo Vinterpark without taking any time off work.
I'd recommend to anyone! Yes, it's small, but there is plenty to do for two days, with some fun little off-piste bits.
There are two sides to the resort, roughly split by whether you park / get the bus to the Top centre or the bottom centre. The top centre area has lots of pistes, but all are quite short - the bottom centre area has only 3 or 4 pistes, but these are a bit more challenging, and certainly longer.
Having skied in Hemsedal in Norway, I was surprised at how cheap the food etc was at Tryvann - we ate at a little cafe at the bottom centre car park (next to the SuperPipe!) and two pizzas with a drink was about £10 which seemed fairly reasonable.
We also had a bottle of beer at the apres bar for about £5 (about half the price of Hemsedal).
There were great conditions there this weekend, with there having been a bit of a dump last week I think. The off-piste was tracked out, but still fun. The parks were fun too, with easier and harder runs for everyone - there's a ski cross too but not particularly amazing.
All in all, I was just awed at the fact that we got off the city metro service, and were at a fully-fledged (albeit small) ski resort, alongside a lot of Norwegians who were obviously having a great time.
The only downside was that you can hire equipment (and clothes, even!) for two days, using a locker overnight, but your only options for lift passes are either daily or season-pass. This is a new development this year, from what I can gather, as it seems to have caused some complaints amongst the locals.
If you're thinking about doing it, then do it! If I could improve our time at all, I would stay a little closer to route 1 on the Metro (we were on the "Ringen" route 4/6 which added to the journey time a bit) but it was great.
Overall cost for flight (hand luggage only), hire car, AirBnB, metro passes, snowboard / ski hire, locker, lift pass was about £250 per person I think. Food and drink, we ate and had some beers in the apartment on Saturday night as we were all exhausted! |
Glad you enjoyed Vinter Park.
I lived in Oslo for 2 years, great winter fun there.
Sledging at Korkertreketen, lunch at Frognerseteren, what's not to like?
We had great fun on the easier slopes, and even the beginner slope, just ad you turn right out of the ski hire building, up to the nearest lift.
We fly out of Manchester on Thursday 16 Feb, for 5 days.
Costing us a whole 9.99 each, each way, so both our flights less than 40.00 return.
We will pick up a hire car at Torp airport, Sandyfjord, and we have an AirBnB for the days we are there.
Vette.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Hi - sorry to resurrect such an old thread but think that's better forum etiquette than starting a duplicate?
Either way was hoping somebody might be able to please clarify something about the rental situation in Oslo Vinterpark. We were hoping to go for a couple of days at the end of the year but as it's an otherwise city break were planning on hand luggage only. We'd have gloves and jackets but would it be possible to rent trousers/salopettes and helmets?
Many thanks for any tips!
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| javindo wrote: |
Hi - sorry to resurrect such an old thread but think that's better forum etiquette than starting a duplicate?
Either way was hoping somebody might be able to please clarify something about the rental situation in Oslo Vinterpark. We were hoping to go for a couple of days at the end of the year but as it's an otherwise city break were planning on hand luggage only. We'd have gloves and jackets but would it be possible to rent trousers/salopettes and helmets?
Many thanks for any tips! |
If I remember correctly.... the train from the city centre terminates near the ski area, at an equipment rental shop in the middle of nowhere. And from there we took a shuttle(mini)bus to the slopes  .
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You know it makes sense.
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@javindo, their website has rental prices for these so I’d say yes (but you might have to pay for jacket and pants even if just using the pants)
https://skimore.no/oslo/en/prices/
But if you have any doubts/questions why don’t just ring them?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Ah perfect thanks, for some reason hadn't found that page. Hmm definitely makes the bringing our own with checked bag at ~£60 return a bit more comparable albeit likely more faff!
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Poster: A snowHead
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@javindo, no problem. Can’t you just squeeze salopettes into your hand luggage (or wear them). Helmets can usually be clipped onto the outside of correct sized hand luggage (BA & EJ usually ok with this) so don’t take more room.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Ahh yes, my home hill! I am there at least once a week. If any snowheads are heading there, let me know, and I will show them "around" at Tryvann.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Lilledonmarco, good to know! I’m there a few times in Jan & Feb for work and might tag on a day
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Hi all - anyone know when Skimore Oslo is planning to open this year? Hoping to fit a weekend in December in and the webcams + weather forecast seem promising but can't find anything on their website yet about season start date.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Reviving this thread.
Off to Oslo on Saturday and planning to ski here on Sunday. I've got the app, so I can prebook our passes, but the website is stark of information about rental. I'd like to prebook to minimise waiting time and faff, but can't see anywhere to do that. Any help is much appreciated, thanks!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I'm going to answer my own question here, so it can be of use to anyone in the future.
When I was in the UK, visits to the Skimore site were fairly uninformative, with barely anything on the pages. Once I arrived in Norway, however, when I went to the website, it had ticked over to the Norwegian address, and suddenly all the booking and information opened up for me.
https://www.oslo.skimore.no/en
I was able to book all equipment last night, ready to ski this morning. To book our passes, I used the Skimore app, but that was also useable in the UK.
If you book Guest passes ahead of time, you can use them on any day of the season as they don't become valid until you collect them at Skimore. So I booked a one day pass each last night, and then collected then from the self service machine, which made them valid for today.
There's no deposit for the return of passes. Each were printed with my name on (as the booking name). They are NOK 60 each (£4.63 as it stands today). However, they are reusable, should you return.
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[Ahh yes, my home hill! I am there at least once a week. If any snowheads are heading there, let me know, and I will show them "around" at Tryvann.
If you're around by chance?
Great tips and info in this and mrgolf Nye reports thanks snow heads
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Tue 12-03-24 18:46; edited 1 time in total
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| Lost in the trees wrote: |
| Lilledonmarco wrote: |
| Ahh yes, my home hill! I am there at least once a week. If any snowheads are heading there, let me know, and I will show them "around" at Tryvann. |
I am planning to be there Tues 23rd all day and evening for what is my first and possibly only day of skiing this season. If you're around by chance?!
Great tips and info in this and mrgolf Nye reports thanks snow heads |
What a shame! I am heading to Stockholm for a work thing for a few days. Leaving Tues back Thursd night.
that said, expect it to be icy. I ws there on Saturday, and it was minus 23...Today is plus 2!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Shame I won't be able to gather with another snowhead to show me the area which would have been cool.
The webcam lookes epic last night with fresh snow falling but sadly turned to rain over the night and morning. Expecting ice/slush but happy to be skiing 
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Amazing day skiing yesterday! A great little area that is truly amazing given it can be accessed easily from the city by car as I did or by train from the city. Added bonus it's open 10-22:00 for more skiing in short time with epic sunset fjord views followed by floodlit skiing enhanced by talented locals rocking up in the evening.
Small but has enough long slopes and steep and wide areas to get some all round skiing. It also had half pipe and decent snow park and big air jumps as well as a slalom track when I was there.
Around 90cm of compacted snow with a decent fresh layer when I visited.
Cafes, bars, ski hire and even trousers and Jacket hire if you need.
Cost me about £65 to hire decent 'premium' skis boots poles helmet and salopettes plus another £40 for a day pass. 3 options onsite for food drink plus I stopped at great restaurant frognerseteren which recommend.
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads  on Wed 24-01-24 23:36; edited 2 times in total
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Good photos.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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They also had robots that deliver your food
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FAQ
