Beyond the slopes: five winter adventures in Norway
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Loading... - Jake Martin
- 09 Dec 2021
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Norway in the winter makes for a magical escape, with glaciated mountains rising abruptly from the sea, the whisper of the North Pole as you cross the Arctic Circle and a great white plateau where wild reindeer roam. Whether off-piste, downhill or cross-country, the skiing is sensational, with guaranteed powder, few crowds and one of Europe’s longest ski seasons, running from October to May.
But you’ll need to slip away from the slopes for the full Narnia effect. Whether that’s padding through forests in snowshoes while marvelling at the profound silence; sailing across a fjord on a boat safari; or gliding through the pearl-white snow on a sleigh pulled by yelping, run-hungry huskies — the winter adventures in Norway are aplenty.
1. Chase the Northern Lights in Narvik
“It’s the greatest show on the planet,” says Narvik-based photographer, Michael Ulriksen, on the Northern Lights in Arctic Norway. “I often head up to a mountaintop for broad views of the horizon — a well thought-out foreground shows off the Northern Lights at their best.”
Seeing them for the first time can be unnerving: suddenly the sky shifts in mind-bending ways, with wizard-wand flashes of green and, if you’re lucky, pink, red and violet. They’re best seen from September to April in areas of minimal light pollution, and often peak around midnight. Narvik, in northern Norway, is one of the best locations to watch their otherworldly dance and local apps, forecasts and hotel ‘aurora alarms’ will help keep you in the loop.
2. Enjoy a husky safari in Geilo
“When you drive a husky team, all you see is wagging tales on the white horizon and all you hear is paws on crystal snow. Who knew that the biting winter cold and total absence of sound could give such a warm sense of happiness?” says Sissel Wolf Mølmen from Geilo Husky AS.
Steering a pack through the frozen wilderness, led only by the bright stars above your head, is almost like flying — it’s intuitive, weightless, free. The Arctic is dog-sledding central, but Geilo, in Norway’s south, is every bit as magical: from the mountain-rimmed Ustedals fjord to the glistening white expanse of the remote Hardangervidda Plateau.
3. Take the scenic Bergen railway to Voss
Few railway journeys in Europe thrill like the line from Oslo to Bergen. “Catch the train on a bright day and the reflection of sunlight in the snow lights up the landscape,” says Rebecca Horten, train conductor on the Bergen Line. “I love it when you emerge from a tunnel to be presented with gorgeous views of mountains rising above the waters. My favourite view is the midway point around Stanghelle Station, where the majestic mountains are so close you feel you could almost touch them.”
This staggering turn-of-the-century engineering marvel winds through 200 tunnels, 300 bridges and takes a deep dive into some of the wildest, most starkly isolated alpine terrain, which wows passengers with its wild reindeer sightings and thread-vein tracks left by ski tourers. But don’t stop there. Clasped between mountains and fjords, Bergen is the starting point for the equally scenic railway line northeast to Voss, a great place to enjoy a spot of skiing on some of Norway’s finest slopes.
