Oslo snow conditions.

Colin Blackburn wrote:
Terje Mathisen wrote:
If you get in two days from now and find bad snow around the hotel, I
would suggest you consider taking the train into Oslo, then the tram
towards Holmenkollen and go skiing in the world cup trails.

Terje, thanks for you advice. In the end I did drop down in to the city
after breakfast and took the "metro" (actually a bus replacement service
due to that line being modernised) up to the end of the line above

Yeah, that's because they are renovating the entire line before next
year's world champs.

Holmenkollen. After klistering my skis I managed 90 minutes of skiing
before realising that my binding was loose! So, I retired back to the
city centre and did a bit of touristy stuff.

One great thing about Oslo: some of the left luggage lockers at the
central station are designed to take XC skis.
:-)


I got my binding repaired at Kvitvatn and had a great week's skiing up
in that area. It was warm but most days the skiing was great if a little
variable though the day. Lots of good skating practice on the frozen
lakes and miles of great classic tracks with stunning views.

Kvitåvatn? Near Rjukan?

_I_ made some of those trails! (Or at least I did spend a summer around
1980 or so with a bunch of other orienteers, helping Rod Tuck clearing
one of his new trails.)

I spent all of Easter (10 days!) at our cabin in Rauland, which is on
the other side of mount Gausta from Kvitåvatn. This weekend my wife and
I went back up and got the best conditions I have ever experienced up
there; simply perfect "crust cruisin'", the crustwas hard enough to walk
on it, while still having half a cm or so of steering snow on top, but
that top layer didn't slow us down at all, the glide was phenomenal.

I got to climb (on my normal Madshus klister skis, except for the last
30m where I left them behind and just used the poles) a new peak I had
never visited before, and we also skied in a totally new area where
there's no regular trails.

Terje
--
- Terje.Mathisen at tmsw.no
"almost all programming can be viewed as an exercise in caching"

Terje Mathisen wrote:
Colin Blackburn wrote:
Terje, thanks for you advice. In the end I did drop down in to the city
after breakfast and took the "metro" (actually a bus replacement service
due to that line being modernised) up to the end of the line above

Yeah, that's because they are renovating the entire line before next
year's world champs.

I guessed so. From last time I was in Oslo I remember it was the oldest
line and from the steepness a different system to the other lines.

Kvitåvatn? Near Rjukan?

Yes. I was staying at Kvitåvatn Fjellstoge. Fantastic for the trails.

_I_ made some of those trails! (Or at least I did spend a summer around
1980 or so with a bunch of other orienteers, helping Rod Tuck clearing
one of his new trails.)

Well, thanks for helping. The network or trails is great for training
and getting beautiful trips out.

I spent all of Easter (10 days!) at our cabin in Rauland, which is on
the other side of mount Gausta from Kvitåvatn. This weekend my wife and
I went back up and got the best conditions I have ever experienced up
there; simply perfect "crust cruisin'", the crustwas hard enough to walk
on it, while still having half a cm or so of steering snow on top, but
that top layer didn't slow us down at all, the glide was phenomenal.

Yes, we skied a little off-piste on the crust as well as the frozen lakes.

I'm hoping to go back next year for more of the same.

Colin