3003 2010 trip March - White Grass Ski Touring Center



2014 Hut to Hut Ski and more Norway

April 9th to April 20th, 2014

"To ski tour in the land of the Midnight Sun is to trace the roots of cross country skiing"

Imagine a country where Swix and klister are household words.

[pic]

Highlights

* Ski adventure to the Mecca of the Nordic world.

* A must-have experience for any Nordic skier, at least once in their life.

* Visit and ski Lillehammer, settled since the Norwegian Iron Age, host of 1994 Winter Olympics.

* Hut to Hut ski in Rondane National Park, spectacular sub-arctic wilderness skiing in the long days of spring.

* Picturesque locations, from deep valleys and narrow canyons of the Ice Age to mountain peaks higher than 3,700 meters above sea level. 

* Oslo, famous sites and Holmenkollen Ski Jump & Ski museum.

* Great logistics maximize your visit time.

* Limited group size of 15.

• Instruction and guiding by Randy French, PSIA Nordic Educational staff, Mickey Stone, PSIA-E Nordic Coordinator

The ultimate ski adventure in Norway filled with classic Norwegian charm and culture. Discover why Norway is the home of Nordic Skiing. Considered a snow lovers’ Mecca, you will experience skiing at the Olympic sites of Lillehammer and enjoy the white blanketed wilderness. After our visit to Lillehammer, we’ll hop aboard the clean and efficient trains and head to Rondane National Park on a hut to hut tour. This is a moderate tour designed to leave time to carve sweet turns on the limitless terrain. At the end of the trip visit Oslo and the Holmenkollen Ski Jump & Ski museum. Share the adventure with your fellow nordic adventurers.

Trip Style- Day ski and moderate tour with time to ski (think telemark turns without trees for obstacles) the hills near the huts. Distances up to 16 km per day with a pack between huts. You will need to carry a pack on your back with your over-night belongings between huts. Accommodations in hotels and huts with bunks of 2-4 people per room. You will need to bring a sheet or bed liner and carry each day’s lunch as well as your clothing.

Cost $2699/person based on double occupancy.  See later information for further price information. ($300 non-refundable deposit to register. Balance due by check or cash by Jan. 1st, 2014. Airfare additional.)

ITINERARY

Wednesday, April 9th -Depart from USA. We will help coordinate airfare when it is time to book you will receive a communication as to the options. Flights are running roughly $800 to $1000 at this time. This is an over-night flight.

Thursday, April 10th- Arrival in Norway in the morning, take the train from the airport, Gardermoen, to Lillehammer- Lodge at Birkebeiner Hotel. Double occupancy, private bath. Located in the city centre which is a well-preserved late 19th century. There is a concentration of wooden houses, which enjoy a picturesque location overlooking lake Mjosa and the river Logen, surrounded by mountains. The main street is excellent for people-watching, shopping and dining.

Friday, April 11th- Birkebeiner Hotel. Explore the Olympic sites around Lillehamer. Ski out from the hotel or an option is to take a bus upland to more nordic trails and ski downhill back to town.

Saturday, April 12th-Train Lillehammer – Otta- In Norse mythology, Otta the Simple was Freya's lover. What a great little city to start our tour from! Here we enter Mysuseter which is regarded as the gateway to Rondane National Park, and Mysuseter Fjellstue is the guesthouse closest to the National Park. There is a network of ski trails at and around Mysuseter,and into Rondane. There are several possibilities for nice ski tours around Mysuseter, both tracked and untracked. Ex. Ski around the large lake "Furusjøen", in open flat terrain surrounded by mountains and forest.

For a map of the hut trip go to this site

Sunday, April 13th: Ski tour to Smuksjøseter, 14 km. Following the ski tracks of Trolløypa. Passing the stone hut of Peer Gynt. For pictures see 

Smuksjuseter Fjellstue is situated at 3700 feet above sea level. Like most tourist establishments in the area, Smuksjuseter was originally part of a "seter" (summer mountain farm) with its own special charm. Outstanding open terrain to tele on!

Monday, April 14th: Day ski with many options into the mountains above Smuksjseter hut. The terrain here is all above tree line with numerous options.

Tuesday, April 15th: Ski tour to Rondvassbu, 16 km. Untracked. In open terrain with a view of the 2000-m summits of Rondane. This is a very nice route! To see images of this amazing location-

Wednesday and Thursday, April 16th and 17th: Extra nights at Rondvassbu. It is possible to climb one of the peaks or a shorter ski tour around one of the valleys. There are no ski machine tracks around Rondvassbu, only marked with sticks. Rondvassbu lies in the middle of the Rondane range as is extremely popular, with tempting peaks in all directions. The lodge is located at the south end of Rondevatnet lake. Svartnuten peak towers behind the lodge, and behind it lie a string of peaks - Vinjeronden, Storronden and the highest of them all, Rondslottet (2178 m).

Rondvassbu is the largest DNT lodge in Rondane. It was built in 1903 and bought by DNT in 1929. Since then, it has been expanded and remodeled several times.

Friday, April 18th: Return 12km to Mysuseter where we started. This should give us the afternoon to either rest or ski the trails around Mysuseter.

Saturday, April 19th: Bus from Mysuseter to Otta ca. 20 minutes and train from Otta to Oslo Sentralstation is 3.5-4 hours.. Stay at Oslo, Thon Hotel Spectrum

Sunday, April 20th Head home or if you wish to stay on for one day we can arrange for another night in Oslo at the cost of the hotel. (See pricing for extra night.) Or if you wish to stay on so you can sample some of the sites below.

Oslo features many interesting museums including the Viking Ship museum, Norwegian Folk museum, Kon-Tiki, Fram, and the Maritime Museums all located on the peninsula Bygduy, easily reached by boat or bus from the city center.

You can also visit the Holmenkollen Ski Jump & Ski museum, presenting the history of skiing, or Vigeland Sculpture Park, which displays Gustav Vigeland’s 200 granite, bronze and wrought iron sculptures.

The Resistance Museum at Akerhus Fortress presents a true picture of the major events and the struggle the Norwegian people had during the Nazi occupation during WWII.

The City Hall interior is decorated by the most prominent Norwegian artists, depicting different time periods in Oslo and Norway, and it is the site of the Nobel Peace Prize presentation each December 10.

Monday, April 21st If you have chosen to stay Sunday night in Oslo then this would be your departure date. You are welcome to stay more nights on your own and we can help you reserve the extra nights in the hotel in Oslo. Traveling to the airport from the hotel is easy.

Included Costs: 10 nights lodging are included. (Thursday the 10th through Saturday the 19th nights, additional cost for Sunday night.) In Lillehammer and Oslo the rooms are 2 people to a room. The other nights may have 2 people but are likely to be 4 or maybe 6 people in a bunk room. All lodgings are comfortable, warm and clean. All breakfasts, all but 2 lunches and all but 2 dinners are included in the price. Tea and coffee are included, soft drinks and alcoholic drinks are at participant expense. All ground cost except the last shuttle from Oslo to the airport are included in the price (about $25). When moving from the train to the hotels, a group cab will be used to help transport gear and most people can walk the 5-10 minutes or so from the train to the hotel. DNT club fees are included. There is no visa fee to enter Norway. Prices are high in Norway, a coke may be about $5 US and a beer $7-10.

Extended Stay Cost: For each night you stay past Saturday night, add an extra $100-$120 per night depending on if there are two people to a room. We will price out the exact cost for you in the fall of 2013 when the prices are given to us. This price includes room and breakfast. Entrance to sights in Oslo are additional. Dinner and local transportation is also additional but most places you can walk to.

Meals: Breakfasts are buffet style usually with a mix of cereal, yogurt, bread, cheese, sausage and fruit. Sometimes there are eggs or other breakfast items. At breakfast is a lunch buffet that you make up your own sandwiches for the day. Bring a small thermos to have filled with a hot drink for the day’s outing. Some dinners are buffet and others are served.

Equipment: Pack a day bag or day pack for on the plane. You can then leave this with extra clothes at the Mysuseter hut before we do our hut to hut portion of the trip. You will need a large day pack or smaller backpack to carry your clothes, lunch, water bottle, ski skins, personal items and a sleeping sack. Expect this pack to be between 20-25 pounds depending on your affinity for changes of outfits. For the hut to hut portion of the trip you will need light backcountry skis, boots and poles. This could be a system like NNN or Salomon or light plastic boots. Waxless skis are probably best due to changing spring conditions. Adjustable poles are your best option. If you would like to use a lighter ski and boot around Lillehammer and Mysuseter then pack an extra set to use and we can leave them at Mysuseter while in the huts. Remember though, even when we are not in the huts you will have to move your gear from the airport to trains, buses and hotels so you should be able to transport your own baggage short distances. We will supply a more specific clothing and equipment list upon registration.

To Register: Send a $300 deposit to Randy French, 6590 Stone Hill Rd, Livonia NY, 14487. We can only take a limited number of people on a first come, first serve basis. Group size will be a maximum of about 12 participants. Don’t wait until the last minute and miss this awesome opportunity.

Information: We recommend that you talk to either Mickey or Randy before you sign up for this exciting adventure so you understand the logistics, difficulty and general flavor of the trip. You can email Randy at scodese@ or call 585 447 0781 for more details. We will have more specific information on flights as time draws near to book them, but plan on arriving in Oslo in the morning as we have to reserve trains for the early afternoon to Lillehammer. We will provide a packing list once people are registered as well as more information on booking flights. We would like to book our flights in late fall of 2013.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download