Hemsedal Ski Centre, Eastern Norway, Norway

5TheAviator0765 5:00 PM Jan 11, 2019

Well we enjoyed it!
I think there's a few things to understand about skiing in Norway to give anywhere a fair review. Norwegians all ski naturally, and their instructors speak better English than most Brits. Some things may be considered as drawbacks, depends on your priorities really: Runs are fewer and shorter, there's less vertical involved, fewer dramatic or pretty views, fewer reds and blacks, less opportunity for off-piste. Smaller resorts mean you might get a bit bored over a week. Booze is expensive. But food in the restaurants may not be more expensive than the higher-end French resorts. It can be cold, but so can the Alps, and Norwegians all know how to dress for the weather! No bubbles, only chair lifts, t-bars and button lifts (think of it as a free gym). Plus points: less crowded, fewer queues, more politeness everywhere, more family friendly, less anxiety, more FUN! For kids, lots of jumps and bumps and fun parks, plus areas to test yourself against the clock on slalom or in a straight line! Lower altitudes (highest point at Hemsedal is only 3500ft), so I think less tiring on the body. OK, now I've got that out of the way, a few things about Hemsedal. We enjoyed four days skiing there, with travel each end (it's about 3:40 drive from Oslo Gardermoen). Actually we lost one day due to high winds, but we knew it was coming (check out weather forecasting on yr.no, brilliant), and we were prepared with a nice meal and some good books. There's other things to do in a Hemsedal anyway. Mondays offer early doors skiing, with other evenings late / floodlit skiing. Our accommodation was ski in / out. If driving for the day, lots of parking at the bottom. The resort base is incredibly compact, with adjacent ski hire, if required, and pass office, and then direct access to the learner slopes with buttons and two magic carpets. Quiet and gentle. At the top of this row of slopes are an eight seat and four lift chairs that take you to higher and longer greens, blues, reds and blacks. Now be warned, these beginner slopes will almost certainly be open when bad weather closes everything else, chances then of a refund are slim. So it might be wise to check the weather ahead, and buy ski passes to exclude forecast days of high winds or heavy snow. As for queues, we queued once in our four days, five minutes, but it was New Year's Eve! Hemsedal has fewer reds and blacks than larger resorts, and the majority seemed to be closed when we were there. That can happen anywhere though, and we had lots of runs and fun on what was available. Some might get bored by this, depends on the individual. The runs link together pretty well, and it's straightforward to find a number of runs from the highest point to the base resort without stopping. We only used one restaurant in general for eating, and the one at the top of the eight seater for coffee and cake. But with access to two hotels on the mountain, plus other options at the resort, there's a fair amount of choice, and not just pizza or polser either! We've skied in Norway for over 20 years, and one of the significant developments we have seen is catering for skiers on the mountain. So no bubbles. But the lifts aren't really that long, and I guess the investment required isn't really justified. Some modernisation would be welcome, weather covers on the larger lift would be great! But in sum, we had a lovely time in a Hemsedal. I think we knew what to expect, and the advantages and disadvantages. Because of that, going in with our eyes open, we didn't suffer any disappointments. For the broad minded, families or learners, it really is worth considering.

5cravengnrj 5:00 PM Feb 14, 2020

Fantastic
Amazing place. Very helpful, professional, very friendly and all-around superb staff. Breath taking scenery and lots of awesome slopes. Best ski resort in Norway - totally loved it and DEFINITELY will go back.