A week on Norwegian plateau trails
Last February I spent a week skiing out of a rented cabin in the Norwegian mountains. No races, no training plan, just long days on groomed trails and a thermos of coffee.
The trails
What surprised me most was the scale. Trails leave right from the cabin doors and run for tens of kilometres across open plateaus marked with poles and red signs. Grooming is usually done early in the morning, and local trail apps show which loops were prepared that day.
Weather on the plateau changes fast. One afternoon the visibility dropped to a few hundred metres and the trail poles were the only thing telling me where to go. I now always carry a wind jacket, a spare hat and a charged phone.
A typical day
Breakfast, waxing on the porch, a long classic loop with a lunch stop at a warming hut, and a short skate session in the evening on a lit trail near the village. My legs were tired by Wednesday and fine again by Friday.
The best part was not the distance. It was hearing nothing except the skis and my own breathing.
Practical notes
Book the cabin early for winter school holidays, bring your own wax kit, and check whether the trail network asks for a voluntary trail fee. It goes to grooming, and the grooming is excellent.