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Winter Hut to Hut Expedition in Norway

Swot up on winter survival skills and learn how to traverse the wilderness - Nordic style

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Trip Ref #10222

Winter Hut to Hut Expedition in Norway

Swot up on winter survival skills and learn how to traverse the wilderness - Nordic style

DURATION

6 nights

LOCATION

Norway

ANNUAL LEAVE

5 days off work

SEASON

Feb-Mar

GROUP SIZE

Up to 8 people

MEETING POINT

Oslo Gardermoen Airport

ACCOMMODATION

Classic

Lodge · Mountain hut

OVERALL RATING

0.0

This trip is brand new
DIFFICULTY

Moderate

You don't need any previous skiing experience but you should have a reasonable level of fitness.

Carve fresh tracks through the silent forests and pillowy powder fields of Langsua National Park

Cosy up by the fire in a remote off-grid mountain hut for the ultimate 'hygge' experience

Spend your final night resting your ski legs in a wood-fired hot tub under the stars

Day 1

Welcome to Norway

Your adventure begins in Oslo, where your host will scoop you up and drive you 3 hours north to Espedalen Fjellstue, a small town just outside of Langsua National Park. You'll catch the mid-afternoon sunset, good prep for the shorter winter days to come. Once at your mountain lodge, you'll have time to settle in before heading for dinner where you'll hear more about the expedition ahead.

Day 2

Introduction to Nordic skiing and expedition prep

Skiing

4hrs

Time to hit the snow! You'll get set up with your skis, boots and poles before heading out to have a go at Nordic skiing. Expect a day full of laughs as you navigate how to steer, brake and balance. You'll be learning on groomed trails which makes it a little easier going while you get the hang of things. In the afternoon, you'll go through all the equipment you need for the expedition, as well as working out how to layer up your clothes.

Day 3

Time to master your technique

Skiing

4hrs

Today you'll start to negotiate off-trail traversing on your skis. This will be how you'll travel on the expedition; there will be no tracks to follow and you will be crunching through the powder, making the trails yourselves. You'll also learn several useful techniques, including how to do kick-turns and switchbacks. In the afternoon, you'll learn how to use a compass and read a map in winter as well as preparing some expedition food for your journey.

Day 4

Into the wilderness

Skiing

6hrs · 14km · 270m up · 50m down

An early start today, as you head to Finnbøla where your expedition begins. You'll quickly reach a high mountain plateau with views across Langsua National Park. Flanked by mountains and filled with frozen lakes, this is one of Norway's most spectacular national park's and seeing it in winter only adds to the magic. You'll strap on your skis and navigate the snow-covered trails all the way to your first hut. But you're not finished yet - time to melt some snow so you can enjoy a hot drink and big up your day.

Day 5

Into the forest

Skiing

6hrs · 14km · 80m up · 220m down

Today begins with a steady descent through a dense birch forest. Wind your way through the snow-covered trees, keeping your eyes peeled for Arctic hare. You'll have to work together with your fellow adventurers to carve a trail in the snow and work out how to get home. Your hut tonight is in Storhøliseter. It sits high up in the mountains, with incredible views to enjoy as you watch the sun go down.

Day 6

Final push to the finish line

Skiing

5hrs · 12km · 350m up · 400m down

Your last day out in the wild. After skiing over a small mountain, you'll descend through pine forest and cross a frozen river, before a short stint of uphill. Today you'll set up a campfire to cook on and eat lunch in the forest. There'll be some more wilderness skills to master as you practice how to make snow-holes and learn about avalanche awareness, before skiing back to the lodge at Ruten Fjellstue. And don't forget to jump into the outdoor wood-fired hot tub - the perfect reward for your weary legs after the past week on the go.

Day 7

Goodbye Langsua and back to Oslo

There'll be some time to relax this morning, before heading back to Oslo for your journey home.

Included

Guides

Local, professional, English-speaking guide

Accommodation

4 nights in a traditional mountain lodge, 2 nights in mountain huts

Meals

Enjoy traditional local cuisine and hearty camping food throughout

Transfers

To and from the airport and everything in between

Equipment

All skiing equipment including Nordic skis, boots, poles and wax

Not Included

Flights to and from the meeting point

Travel insurance

Personal expenses

Visas where required

Day 1

Lodge · Mixed dorm

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 2 – Day 3

Lodge · Mixed dorm

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 4 – Day 5

Mountain hut · Mixed dorm

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 6

Lodge · Mixed dorm

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 7

Departure day

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

What is the food like?

Pre-expedition you'll be staying in the lodge and pitching in to prepare meals together (planned by your guide). In the morning there will be a buffet-style breakfast and hot drinks provided, including a local warm blackcurrant syrup, a Norwegian winter drink. While on the expedition, you'll eat some of the food you prepared beforehand and also cook some meals from scratch - you'll be trying some typical Norwegian dishes and learning how to prepare them in an outdoor and remote setting. Think homemade bread with cheese, elk sausage and potato pancakes.

Most food requirements can be accommodated, including vegan and vegetarian. Please let your host know your dietary requirements in advance.

What is the accommodation like?

Espedalen (start and end of expedition)

You'll start and end the trip at the Ruten Fjellstue, a traditional mountain lodge in Espedalen steeped in history. Originally part of the Søre Brenden farm in Skåbu, it now sits on top of Espedalen with magnificent views towards Jotunheimen. With its cosy bar, this is the perfect spot to start and end your expedition, beer in hand. You'll stay in a mixed 4-bed room with its own bathroom.

Langsua National Park

While on the expedition, you'll stay in cosy mountain huts, cooking and eating together. These are basic and have no running water or electricity, but are kept clean and well-maintained. You will be in dorm-style rooms but, it's traditional for anyone who shows up to be allowed to stay, so there may the odd occasion when the mattresses need to be moved around to fit more people in. However, as you are staying mid-week, this is very unlikely.

Upgrades

Due to the nature of this trip, there is no option to upgrade to a private room either at the lodge or in the mountain huts.

The Area

map

Logistics

Starts

Oslo Gardermoen Airport

14:00 on Day 1

Ends

Oslo Gardermoen Airport

12:00 noon on Day 7

Transfers

You will be picked up by your guide at an agreed meeting spot at the airport on Day 1 and dropped off at the airport on Day 7. If you are tagging on an extra night in Oslo pre or post the trip, you can hop on the airport shuttle train to get back to the airport for collection. The train runs in and out of the city centre every 10 minutes and is a 20 minute journey.

Travel options

There are regular flights to Oslo from airports across Europe and North America.

Enjoy 12.5% Off Outdoor Gear

In need of a few more items? All bookings receive a 12.5% discount to use at Cotswold Outdoor, Snow + Rock and Runner's Need.

What's included?

  • Skiing equipment including skis, boots, poles and wax

What do I need to bring?

BAGS
55-65 litre hiking rucksack
Waterproof liner for rucksack or drybags

CLOTHES
Down jacket
Windproof jacket
Windproof trousers
Breathable wicking layers
Fleece jacket or similar
Thermals (merino is best)
Warm hat
Gloves
Glove liners
Buff or neck scarf
Lightweight trekking trousers/leggings
Lightweight t-shirts
Underwear & socks
Swimwear
Sunglasses with high UV protection Ski goggles
Something to sleep in
Shoes for the evenings

SLEEPING
Cotton or silk sleeping bag liner
Sleeping bag (3-season, down to 0 degrees comfort)
Travel pillow or pillowcase
Thermarest or sleeping mat

OTHER
Travel plug adapter
Power bank
Passport
Travel insurance documents
Earplugs
Suncream
Personal first-aid kit (inc. blister treatment)
Personal items (biodegradable toiletries)
Toilet kit (toilet paper, biodegradable bags to carry any waste to the huts)
Quick-dry towel
Alcohol hand-gel
Headtorch or torch
2 x reusable water bottle x1 ltr
Thermos flask
Bowl
Spoon/spork
Energy bars and snacks

OPTIONAL
Compass
Book/Kindle
Cards
Biodegradable wet-wipes
Gaiters Notepad

No optional extras are available for this trip.

This trip is brand new

We’re still waiting to collect any reviews from other travellers on this trip. However, all our hosts go through an extensive vetting process to ensure that your adventure is awesome.

We've crunched the numbers to work out the total carbon footprint of this trip, and plant enough trees to suck 2x as much back out the atmosphere.

What's the number?
It works out on average at 100kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.

The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal for 2023 to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.

But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:

  • Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
  • A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
  • 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.

What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. For every person booked with us since 2016 we’re planting enough trees to suck at least 2x more carbon out the atmosphere than is emitted by their trips. All native trees, as part of amazing projects that are re-foresting degraded land, tackling the biodiversity crisis and supporting local communities at the same time. We go further than that too, also funding re-wilding projects worldwide to help protect important keystone species from extinction. See the reforestation and re-wilding schemes we support. See our carbon action plan.

Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.

This trip is designed for those with no previous skiing experience - you should, however, have a good level of fitness and enjoy being in vast winter landscapes and conditions. You will be provided with full tuition on how to ski and should approach this expedition in the same way as you would a long hike. The skis are essentially just your mode of transport to cross the Langsua National Park. The terrain is largely flat, with only a few minor undulations to contend with, so you are not skiing in the traditional sense. There is very little downhill and if you feel uncomfortable on these small sections, you can always remove your skis and walk down.

You should, however, have some experience hiking with a loaded rucksack - this is likely to be between 10-12kg and should feel comfortable on your back for up to 6 hours a day.

You will be working as a team. Once you've learnt how to ski and gained some essential winter skills, you'll head out into the wilderness to put it all into practice. You'll have a guide but will get the chance to lead the group too. You will split all the necessary food between you and all carry your own bags (these are expected to be approx 10-12kg each). At the huts, it's a shared affair where you'll all pitch in to cook and plan for the next day.

The skis you will use are Nordic backcountry skis, the original skis used for winter travel in Scandinavia. They are comfortable for long days of walking: stable and wide; with comfy, warm and sturdy boots. Using Nordic skis is a wonderful way to get out into the wild in winter and experience vast empty landscapes - and of course a huge amount of snow!

Nordic skis and boots are much lighter and less bulky than their normal, downhill equivalents and the heel is 'free'. The light equipment and free-heel allow skiers to stretch forwards and glide on skis, even when going uphill or traversing flat land (when you are essentially hiking with skis on). You can choose your effort level just like walking versus jogging or running. You will learn the ropes before the expedition - balance can take a bit of mastering, as well as getting down any small descents you'll encounter. Your guide will ensure you are comfortable on your skis before heading out on the expedition. Previous skiing experience won't make a huge amount of difference as this is an entirely different way to move across snow in the winter.

Sure can! Over 50% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.

Water will be available at the beginning and the end of the trip, but while on the expedition you will need to melt snow.

The average temperature is likely to be around -5 degrees in the daytime. At night this will drop to approx. -15 degrees. You are likely to encounter some wind, but it is unlikely to be stormy in the months that the trip runs. As you are mostly traversing near or in the tree line, there is a fair amount of protection from the elements. However there can be some blizzards and with that fog and a lack of visibility - all part of the winter fun! On the other hand, there is very little chance of any rain, so it can feel warmer due to the dry air. The snow remains a gentle powder, perfect for snow-angels.

Sure can, you will be able to leave it at the mountain lodge you stay in on the first night.

For current advice about travelling in Norway, have a read of the UK Foreign Office pages here.

Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.

Travel insurance is compulsory on all of our adventures. Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure.

Your insurance policy should also include specific Covid-19 cover, including cancellation and curtailment cover if you, your travel companion or a close relative are diagnosed with Covid-19.

We fully endorse Campbell Irvine as their insurance offers all of the above, so get in touch with them or call on 020 7938 1734 to get your insurance sorted. We suggest that you book travel insurance as soon as you book your adventure, just to cover you for any last minute life changes. We know you’re an active lot and injuries do happen!

We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.

If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.

All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.

You're in good company. Our adventures are typically made up of a mix of solo travellers and small groups of two or three friends who simply love adventure, pushing themselves and meeting awesome like-minded people. See here for more info about our lovely bunch of Much Better Adventurers.

Want to book a private trip? Just tap ‘Private Group’ in the dates and prices tab.

Your trip is led by carefully curated local hosts and expert guides. See here for more info about the guides we work with.

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