I spent a week skiing in the resort of Trysil, Norway. Here are my thoughts on the skiing, mountains and travel. I went with two friends and their combined group of five children, aged 10 to 17.
Getting to Trysil from Scotland
We flew with Norwegian Air from Edinburgh to Oslo. We all live in the Highlands, so we needed to get to Edinburgh and this involved a train journey the day before. I stayed with a friend in Edinburgh and got a lift to the airport.
Once at Oslo Airport, we took a bus to Trysil town centre. Our Airbnb chalet was a 15-minute taxi journey.
For the return, we took a taxi from the chalet to the town centre. Then the return bus to Oslo Airport. We needed a night in a hotel near the airport for the flight the next day.
My thoughts are that this is quite a lot of travel for six days of skiing but we were all fairly happy to do so. Travelling by train allows me to work, read or listen to music. I could have driven instead of the ScotRail train.
There are also Glasgow to Oslo flights. Another option is to fly Inverness to London or Amsterdam and then to Oslo.
In conclusion, the journey to Trysil will take at least a full day and more likely one to two days. We were away nine days for six days of skiing.
Trysil ski resort
Trysil is Norway’s largest ski resort. I have previously skied at two other Norwegian resorts, Voss and Myrkdalen, closer to Bergen, in western Norway, and I have also spent two weeks ski touring in northern Norway.
Resort size
Trysil resort extends below the Trysilfjellet (1132m tall) and across the areas of Turistsenter, Skihytta, Høyfjellssenter/Fageråsen and Høgegga. There are some 80km of total slopes and the resort elevation is 705m, from the base of 395m to 1100m.
There are 32 lifts including button lifts, t-bars and chairlifts. There are currently no gondolas but a new gondola will be built for the 2025/26.
My overall impression of the ski lifts were “a bit old and slow”. There are a couple of newer and faster chairlifts, with welcome covers, but many other lifts are open chairlifts, which proved to be very cold at times. The T-bars and button lifts are easy to ride but some were very long and you felt exposed to the weather.
Snow and weather
The conditions in February were great. The snow was good quality and because it was very cold – often around -10C – the snow remained in good condition and did not turn too icy. It’s the thaw-freeze in ski resorts that creates ice but we didn’t have too many issues.
The low temperatures meant I felt very cold at times. I wore many more layers than I would for other ski trips.
The pistes are well groomed and only those higher up the mountains ended up wind blown and a bit icy.
The weather was sunny with blue sky on the whole, followed by a nice dump of snow on the last day. The dump of snow combined with low cloud, which affected visibility, but there were plenty of tree runs to ski so we could get away from the clag.
On the day that we left, the weather turned wet. The rain will have affected the snow quality and skiing in rain is never pleasant.
My overall thoughts on the snow and weather in Norway is it’s pot-luck. This is the same wherever you ski but I can imagine that Norway, like Scotland, can suffer long periods of wet and clag and because the resort is not high altitude the snow is likely to suffer. I was, however, surprised by how good the snow was and how well it lasted for such a low altitude resort.
Skiing range
There was plenty to ski and across a wide range of green, blue, red and black routes. There were also a few snow parks and a fun boarder cross.
There was some good off-piste options, too, which became more possible and enjoyable when we got fresh snow. The grade level is easier than the Alps, in my experience. There was little to hugely challenge the more experienced skier.
The ski runs are fairly short, especially in comparison to many resorts in the Alps, but this simply meant that you could ski them in one go, rather than stopping several times to rest your legs.
At first, I was worried I would get bored in this one resort for six days but I discovered that there was enough to do, especially when we found a nice natural half-pipe higher up the mountain and lots of areas of more challenging moguls between the pisted slopes. The fresh snow gave as the chance to enjoy many kilometres of off-piste skiing and among trees.
We were a group of different abilities and there was plenty for all of us to do. Along with 15-year-old Ellen, I tried to ski all the ski runs in one day in the wider resort but it turned out this wasn’t quite possible because there were too many. If we had eliminated some of the queues at lifts, we may have been able to complete the challenge but it was a busy school holiday week and there were some lifts that required a bit of a wait.
Another in our group, Ben, 17, managed to ski the descent height of Everest in a day. This would be a lot easier in resorts with more elevation gain and faster lifts.
According to others in our group, the queues were not bad compared to holiday time in resorts in the Alps. I think I may have been spoiled because I usually avoid the busier holiday weeks.
My overall thoughts are that if you are a group of adults and kids with a range of abilities, Trysil is a great option. If you are looking for more challenges and longer ski runs, you would do better to look elsewhere. In busier holiday weeks, the lift queues are quite long although not awful. Some of the lifts would be better if they were a bit faster.
Prices
If you think of Norway and you imagine high prices, you should think again. In recent years, the prices have dropped and we found cost of many items to be reasonable. This is especially true for ski resorts. In the Alps, you expect inflated prices for meals, snacks, lift passes etc. However, in Norway, the cost of coffees, plates of chips and meals did not seem too expensive.
An example of on-the-mountain prices included a coffee and cinnamon bun for £5; large basket of chips (served three to four kids) £7; and a burger n chips meal £16 to £20.
What is pricey is alcohol. In the resort supermarket the cheapest can of beer was £5.50. They did not sell wine or spirits in the supermarket. For our trip we bought duty-free booze in the airport while travelling.
We were in a self-catering chalet and we ate al our evening meals there. We had a few snacks and lunches on the mountain. If you like to eat out in the evenings, I suggest you book accommodation closer to the town centre. We were all happy with our chalet and eating arrangements. After a day of skiing, I like to have a shower, put on my PJs, have a glassof wine and a meal and then chill out with good chat with nice people. This is exactly what happened!
A 6 to 8 day ski lift pass was £270 for adults and £215 for children aged seven to 17. Children aged six and under are free. Seniors aged 65-plus are the same price as children. See SkiStar for details.
Accommodation
There is a vast range of places to stay from the SkiStar hotels and lodges to Airbnb. We were located a walk and bus journey away from Trysil centre, but we did have ski-in, ski-out. Alice found the chalet on AirBnB. The ski back to the chalet wasn’t straightforward but we did not need to take our skis off until we were at the front door.
I spoke to someone who had accommodation in Trysil town centre and they reported that they needed to get a bus to the slopes each day. It wasn’t a long journey but still more hassle than simply popping on your skis. They did have easier access to evening entertainments and shops, though.
Scenery
Norway reminds me of Scotland but with more snow. The Trysil area was picturesque and peaceful, although I was expecting higher mountains and more peaks all around to view. Because of the location north of Oslo and close to the Swedish border, we didn’t see any coastline. I really enjoyed the fjord and mountain vistas of Mrykdalen and further north in the Lyngen Alps.
But I love any kind of landscape that is snow-covered and I was surprised by how much snow there was in Trysil and surrounding areas.
Conclusion: Trysil, Norway
Trysil was a great place to go for something different. The ski resort, while small compared to many ski destinations in the Alps and America, offered enough to please our group of different abilities for six days. The runs are quite short overall and the lifts often felt slow and exposed to the wind but the variety was good.
Like any ski holiday, you take a chance on the weather. However, Norway has a good record for snow depth and consistency. It was very cold and I recommend you take a lot more clothing than you would for other parts of Europe.
- I paid for this trip myself. No part was subsidised or gifted.