 Poster: A snowHead
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No other Norway thread as far as I know so here goes....
Well, it's been well below zero for over a week in Stavanger - unusual for this area that is heavily influenced by the sea. I put the studded tyres on my bike earlier in the week and cycling to work at -6°C is a little chilly to start with but you soon warm up. My contacts in the Oslo area inform me that the local lifts close in to town are open but the cross-country tracks are a little thin still; could do with another 4" of snow of so.
Other contacts tell me that the alpine centres in Sirdal have had the lifts working for several weeks.
After trying to find webcam images of our local alpine area, Stavtjørn, but having nothing updated since last season I decided to take a chance and load the kids up and go. Mrs is nursing a mighty cough so we went off on a lads day out. On reaching Stavtjørn we found the reason for no pictures - no snow. We were the only car in the carpark and the lifts looked eary with no buttons on them and only a smattering of snow around. The kids were amazed to see the slopes where they had sledged last year revealed as boulder slopes and streams.
Anyway, not to be defeated, there was at least 2" of icy snow on the level carpark so we got our XC skis out and had a play. This was the first time the boys had ever been on XC skis so we spent 45mins going in big loops up and down the carpark. They spent a fair amount of time on their backsides but they were still smiling at the end and want to go back and do some more (when there is some more snow, please Dad).
Any other Snowheads in Norway?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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Just back from a long weekend skiing in Røldal. Most employers in Norway offer their staff use of a 'hytta' at a nominal rate as a perk of employment. The family have just used my wife's employer's hytta for the first time - a 50m2 almost new apartment with an on-site swimming pool & sauna ('cept that wasn't working  ).
Friday - drove to the mountains (3.5hrs). Last 0.5 hour on solid ice road surface; 4x4 with studded winter tyres - no problem. Dumped kit, had lunch & out to cross-country ski. The snow is powder, crunchy but not yet cold enough to squeek when walked on - that happens at about -15degC. Wife's gloves soaked - shouldn't have left them on the floor of the car. At -8degC in the shade and a raging wind blowing they froze the hands in them almost immediately. Oh well - back to base, kids play on the sledge, I ski in circles round the block & then time for a swim.
Saturday - Røldal alpine ski slope. -7degC, windy, intermitent poor visibility. Only 2 lifts open - one more opens later - and not a lot of snow on the pistes that are possible. Wife can't get her boots on due to them being too stiff so leaves the boys to ski for a few hours. Reduced lift day pass cost - NOK200 adult, NOK100 children due to limited lifts.
Sunday - finally manage to get everybody into the right kit at the same time; cross-country skiing in the forest this time. -7degC again, occasional blasts of wind but not too bad. Snow tracks nicely prepared and plenty of locals whizzing round. I didn't notice the pretty blonde in lycra. Not once. We plod three times around a mini-circuit of 1.3km - not too bad for a first time on proper snow (not the car park) on cross country skis for the kids and the first time for wife and me since leaving Russia six years ago.
Monday - the weekend ends. The temperature has dropped to -16degC this morning as we drive back to Stavanger under clear blue skies. Get back to Stavanger to hear weather reports and travel chaos in the UK. Damned - supposed to be travelling to UK on Wednesday via Heathrow. Christmas presents all mail ordered to UK address. Arrrrgggg! What happened to the relaxing weekend?
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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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Had another weekend in Røldal without skiing - this time too much snow! Temperature has increased to -3-4°C and it has been chucking in down. Snow depth has gone from ~50cm before Christmas to 150cm this weekend. 45cm powder reported yesterday. Unfortunately with a stiff Force 3, gusting to who knows what, conditions were less than pleasant and with No1 Son hacking a nasty cough nobody wanted to brave it. A colleague who did go up reported frequent bad visibility and between the bad bits, very flat light.
Tried out one of the new Christmas presents - Lego Creationary. A bit like Pictionary except you have to build the word in Lego - great fun for a hut-bound afternoon!
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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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Always fancied going skiing in Norway as an alternative...
Any chance you could post some pics from your travels?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Shoogly - I haven't taken any pics of me skiing yet but look at http://www.lifeupnorth.org/?p=71 for some pics a colleague of mine took last weekend on the Oslo side of the country....
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I was in Oppdal over New Year, although we were there mainly for the ice climbing I did get two days boarding in, snow was pretty good, they hadn't had much at all upo to that week but there was 2 foot of fresh while we were there and it was really cold (-27 one morning) so what there was was in good condition. It did warm up when it snowed but still to only -3 at town level.
The ice was fantastic, really thick and pretty much everything had formed, when it warmed up it stopped dinner plating to. Only saw 2 other climbers in 10 days though!
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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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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Friends are in Hafjell. They say conditions are great.
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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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The best snow in Norway for the moment, I have hear from friends that live their, Röldal, Voss, Stranda, Hemsedal,
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You know it makes sense.
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Well I've just been to Norefjell and the conditions are perfect.
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FAQ
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