 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi guys,
I was wondering if anyone has been to Hemsedal.
In a fit of madness I've arranged a trip there this weekend, and need to find somewhere to stay.
Any recommendations?
Cheers,
CW
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Try the website. Good booking section:
http://www.hemsedal.com/
Take a thick coat. It is very cold there right now. Snowdepths are roughly 20% above-average. Some of the best conditions in Europe.
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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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Whitegold,
Thanks for the hint... I'll pack an extra pair of long johns!
CW
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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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cardweg, Norway is a wonderful place to go skiing - and Hemsedal is probably the best resort (IMHO) in Norway.
I've stayed in The Hemsedal Hotel, which was very nice. You'll need to get a ski bus to and from the resort, but these are regular and reliable.
Have fun .. you'll love it!
By the way, make time to go to the Hemsedal Cafe, for a great night out!
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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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Guys,
Just for the record - we went on Thursday and drove from up from Oslo. Skied Friday, Friday night, Saturday and Sunday and headed back.
Snow was wonderful!
Not as dear as I had expected, nor as cold. Hot chocolate £2; bottled beer £4, Grilled chicken breast with guacomole and salsa, £12. Coldest experienced was -6 centigrade, but windchill would have been a major feature up at the mountain top.
Stayed at the Fossheim hotel a couple of km down the valley - very comfortable. Would recommed the Oxen bar and restaurant at the ski hill and Peppe's pizza in Hemsedal itself. Apent Bar was the dearest place we visited, but a good vibe. Also worth a visit is the Skarsnuten hotel up on the mountain itself. On a good day, the view must be absolutely spectacular.
Definitely would consider it again for a long weekend, might ski it out in 3 or 4 days at full tilt.
Cheers,
CW 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Hi cardweg, glad to hear you had a good time.
I'm looking at Hemsedal for a weekend at the end of the month, mainly due to the range of 19p flights available!
My main worry is the drive up. The cheap flights are to Sandefjord which according to a route planner is 180 miles and 4.5 hours way. Given how the roads look on the map (first 50 miles on a motorway, then a road with few towns, no obvious congestion spots) this seems a bit of a cautious time. But on the other hand a quick snowheads search brings up talk of lower speed limits and difficult driving conditions.
So I was wondering what your experience of the drive was (I realise you probably did it from Gardermoen), and how long it took?
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JimiHendrix, as a matter of interest, which airlines fly to Sandefjord?
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jonflat2, Ryanair have 3 daily flights each way from "London" Stanstead to "Oslo" Torp, which is a few km north of Sandefjord.....and 110km South West of Oslo.
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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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JimiHendrix, thanks.
It might be possible to get a train from Oslo to Hemsedal. I know there's a direct service between Oslo to Bergen that stops at Geilo (a little resort down the road from Hemsedal) - so it's possible that Hemsedal is also served by the same line.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Back last night from a weekend Hemsedal trip. Highly recommended
Took the more expensive flights to Gardermoen (£140 return with taxes) in the end as BA currently do a 8.30pm return which enabled us to spend Monday on the slopes. Drive took 4 hours up (with a massive wrong turning right through the middle of Oslo) and 2 hours 45 back (with some speeding). The drive was a pleasure once we found the right road. Hired through e-sixt who were comfortably the cheapest, with snow tires and additional drivers included in the initial price.
We stayed in a random cabin booked through the Hemsedal website which was £200 for the weekend (allegedly slept 8, comfortable for 4, ok for 6). No-one would sell us single night accomodation for the Sunday in advance (with easter week coming up) so we booked that 25 minutes down the road in the slightly sinister (deserted main street overlooked by 15 foot fibreglass troll) town of Gol.
Ski hire at the base of the slopes was quite expensive - the basic and advanced kit was really shoddy, which amazed me having had pristine kit in Sweden, so had little option but to pay £55 for 3 days hire for the expert stuff (which still looked suspiciously like last years models). Lift pass was £77 for 3 days.
The snow was in good shape ( looks like April will be good) and the mountain a lot of fun. Not too much for keen piste easters, can be comfortably skiied out in a day. But decent variety, a full size and a more achievable terrain park, plenty of accessible off piste (tracked but very skiable), a couple of good steeps and a rock hard mogul run, which considerably lowered my estimation of my skiing ability. Lifts very good, queues up to 5 minutes on the 8 seater, otherwise ski straight on.
Saturday night's apres was kicking and a thing of quite remarkable beauty  . Not to be missed. So we pitched up expectantly on Sunday night...completely dead. By monday there seemed to have been a personnel change with families now outnumbering the party crowd.
Although nothing was outrageously expensive we did seem to haemorrage cash. cardweg, has got it about right. Some bars seemed more expensive (though the bar staff were so dazzling that my mind was probably elsewhere). To add to the costs - half board buffet in a couple of hotels was £25pp for 3 courses, canned beer from the supermarket £1.50, soft drinks in a bar £3. Jumping a road toll £18.
Definitely recommended for a weekend trip.
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