Peer Gynt

A year after completing a tour on the Troll Løype we took on a tour of the Peer Gynt Løype organised by the same company, now called Discover Norway, accompanied by our friend Roger, two couples from each of Canada and Germany and a couple from West Yorkshire. Once again we were lucky with the weather and enjoyed some excellent skiing. Due to flight arrangements we had an extra day in Dalseter before the start of the tour and this tured out to provide the trickiest conditions of the trip.

Our route; map © www.thunderforest.com Data © www.osm.org

Day 1 -- Dalseter

The morning of our extra day was cold and fairly clear but snow was forecast for the afternoon. Roger chose to potter near the hotel as he had injured his knee a week or two earlier. The good news was that his knee did not object to skiing so it became a 4 hour potter. We meanwhile decided to head for the Tenebu hut across the lake where we signed the visitor book on behalf of Sheffield Nordic Ski Club.. This ski started with a steep downhill to the lake. The ice and steepness meant that we walked part of the way. There was quite a climb up the other side of the lake through the trees. We eventually reached Frederickseter but were surprised how long it had taken us. We now had an easier ski, largely contouring, to reach Tenebu hut. Luckily for us our new friends, Insa and Achim, had got there first and taken over the fire from the previous group so we warmed up a little over lunch. We then set off down to Espedalen. The first part was exposed and cold, particularly as the forecast snow had arrived, but we eventually got down and found a well marked contouring track that brought us back to Dalseter. 23.2km and 688 metres of ascent.

Skiing through the
woods — Skiing through the woods

Day 2 -- Dalseter

The weather forecast was for a warmer day with some sunshine. We decided to have a slightly easier day and Roger felt able to join us. We stayed North of the lake this time so avoided the steep descent. Instead we had a steady but not two steep ascent. We initially aimed for the Bingsbu hut but, about 1.5 km before reaching it, took the Sprenpiggen round loop. The sun had now arrived, there was little wind and the views were stunning. Two separate Norwegian skiers we passed commented: ``It does not get better than this''. The round loop took us up over a col and then back round the other side of the mountain to the Bingsbu hut. The fire inside was alight and the hut was warm. We enjoyed our lunch and then skied gently down back to Dalseter, 15.9 kms and 401 matres of ascent so an easier day.

Roger and a bent
pole! — Roger and a bent pole!

Day 3 -- Dalseter to Fefor

The first signs in the morning were not too good as there was a heavy mist and snow. The forecast, however, was for sun and things had considerably brightened by breakfast. We set off reasonably promptly. When we reached the first sign for Fefor we hesitated about whether we should take it or the next one. A helpful couple of Danes told us that this first route was the better way so off we set. The tracks had been recently cut and the climb up was not too steep. We had made such good time and were enjoying the sun so decided to stop for an early lunch. We started to look about for a good spot and there, just after a lovely and easy long downhill stretch, was a picnic table in the sun beside the track! The track continued to be straightforward to follow and we arrived at the last uphill stretch to the hotel in good time. 17.5 kms and 301 metres of ascent. An excellent day. The evening had an extra fillip in that the hotel had a chamber music group playing in the bar for half an hour before dinner.

Day 4 -- Fefor to Gålå

As forecast we woke to heavy snow. Undaunted we set off at our usual time. The early downhill was made easy by the snow as a slight angling of the ski provided more than adequate braking. The track wound its way down through birch forest. We reached a downhill station that must have been close to the Peer Gynt Café but we did not see the café and took, as suggested, the blue route. This seemed to go away from the direction we needed so we examined signs and asked people we met. All were reassuring and we did indeed successfully find our hotel. The route was a little longer than suggested, 12.7km with 296 metres of ascent, 308 m descent. Later in the afternoon we spied blue sky from the hotel.

Day -- 5 At Gålå

The recommended activity was to ski to Lauvåuson where there is a café that might be open. We set out to do this even though we were told that the café was closed, partly because the track was freshly cut after the snow. We made such good progress that we decided to complete the red 25 løype rather than returning the way we came. We came to a Y-junction and the red løype beyond was uncut. However we could see the tracker approaching in the distance and a wigwam near us so we took an early lunch in the wigwam. The fireplace was covered in snow so we did not attempt to light a fire. After lunch we completed the red on freshly cut tracks. The skiing was beautiful with enough ups and downs for interest but no serious challenge. The weather gradually brightened during the afternoon and we skied back to the hotel with some blue sky and shadows. The lifting clouds revealed superb views of distant mountains. A wonderful day! 24.3 km, 320 m ascent/descent

Roger coming
out of the wigwam — Roger coming out of the wigwam

Day 6 -- Gålå to Kvitfjell

We woke to bright sunshine. As we knew the ski was at least 28 km we set off promptly at 9:30. The tracks were well marked and through birch trees and very pleasant. We stopped for lunch by the track in a beautiful valley. After lunch we found our way between two lakes, where the tracks were joined by a short road ski. The track now went round a hill and then over quite hilly country to Kvitfjell which is a highly developed downhill resort with some XC tracks. The last downhill to our hotel was fairly gentle and we arrived after skiing 29 km with a 490 m height gain and a 687 m height loss.

Day 7 -- Kvitfjell to Skeikampen

We woke up to another day of sunshine. There was an option of taking a skilift for the first part of the day but we chose to ski. This was a good decision as the uphill was reasonably gentle and the views were superb. We skied along the back of Kvitfjell to a junction where tracks headed into the next valley. We descended into the valley - I for one was thinking there looked to be quite a climb up the other side. We had some route discussions with Achim and Insa at various signposts but then separated as they had decided to go over an 'unnecessary mountain'. We decided on the direct route and set off up the climb which, though not too steep, continued for a long time. We stopped for lunch part way up and then continued to above the tree line where we found ourselves in an open col with wonderful views in all directions. The track met the one coming from the 'unnecessary mountain' and along came Achim and Insa. They had had a wonderful ski and the mountain was no longer deemed 'unnecessary'! The descent from the col continued in open country and was not too steep. We arrived into Skei and found our hotel. Another amazing day; 24 km, 646 metres ascent, 601 metres descent. Having now completed the tour, we again had an extra free day. This was mostly snowy, clearing later, and we enjoyed a fairly challenging selection of the tracks around Skei.

Acchim and Insa approaching — Achim and Insa approaching

Gpx files

The gpx files for the Peer Gynt tour can be downloaded here: