Cross-country skiing in Norway: traveling from the Espedalen valley
If you are a cross-country skier looking for a relatively easy tour in the Norwegian mountains, an area worth considering is the mountainous region west of Espedalen, which is a long valley located about 70 km northwest of the city of Lillehammer. . .
In the middle of the 19th century, Espedalen was a very busy place, since at that time it was the largest nickel mining center in the world, and hundreds of men worked there. But today there is little trace of that activity, and the valley is quiet and empty.
You can reach it by taking a morning train from Oslo airport to Lillehammer and then the afternoon bus to Espedalen. The bus arrives at each of the three hotels in the valley. For logistical reasons, it is best to arrange to spend both the first and the last night of your vacation in one of these hotels, because you will almost certainly want to use their transportation at the end of the tour, as we will see. (You may also want to use your transportation at the beginning of the tour, perhaps to shorten the first day.)
After the first night at your hotel, you can start your tour, staying each night in cabins managed by DNT, the Norwegian Mountain Trekking Association. All but one of the cabins in this area are unstaffed but well equipped with food, cooking equipment and firewood and have bunk beds with bedding. Unstaffed cabins are locked, but you can borrow a key from DNT (after becoming a member of that organization).
In general, during the period between mid-February and Easter, the routes between the cabins are marked by poles placed in the snow at regular intervals. But you still need to be able to navigate, in case you stray away from the poles in bad weather.
There are several possible tourist itineraries, but the following version is quite standard. As you will see, the tour is short. However, many skiers spend more than one night in each cabin and take the opportunity to go on day trips with light backpacks.
Level 1 takes you to the Storholiseter cabin, a distance of 15-20 km, depending on your starting point. The route runs mainly through birch and spruce forests, until we emerge from the trees a couple of kilometers before reaching Storholiseter, which is a group of cabins that formerly served as a mountain farm. The DNT accommodation is divided between two of the cabins: in total there are 18 beds.
Stage 2 takes you to the Storkvelvbu hut, at a distance of about 12 km. On the way you gradually ascend to a height of 1200 m and you should have a beautiful view of the Jotunheim Mountains, the highest in Norway, on your right.
Stage 3 He goes to Haldorbu, a 16-bed cabin located 1025m above sea level. The distance is about 14 km.
Stage 4 goes to Liomseter (915m), which is a staffed cabin. (Or in any case, it is staffed during the busiest part of the tourist season, usually the two weeks before Easter. During the rest of the winter, a small part, with only 10 beds, can be used in a room. personal.) The distance from Haldorbu to Liomseter is about 16 km and on the way you lose about 100 m of altitude and descend below the tree line. Liomseter is a fairly large building and when staffed it has a total of 40 beds, some in small rooms with bunk beds, others in a larger dormitory. When staffed, you serve meals and you can also enjoy the luxury of a hot shower.
Stage 5 To end your tour, you will ski down to a secluded spot called Synsgardsætra, little more than a car park at the end of a minor road, about 15 km from Liomseter. Your best option then is to return to the hotel where you spent the first night. Upon agreement, the hotelier will pick you up at Synsgardsætra and take you back to the hotel. Early the next morning, you can take the bus back to Lillehammer and from there a train to Oslo airport.