Early season on-snow Club cross country ski trip Sjusjoen Norway

Sunday 8 - Sunday 15 December 2024

About this trip

Join us for an early-season on-snow Club trip to Sjusjoen, Norway which is aimed at anyone who is able to ski independently: improver, intermediate or advanced, and whether you want to improve your ski technique, prepare for races later in the season, or just to ski with others.

There are places for up to eight participants wanting coaching on the trip, but the trip is open to more people if they plan to ski without coaching. The trip is available to anyone from an affiliated cross-country ski club.  If you're not a club member you can join LRNSC here.

There are 350 km of cross-country skiing tracks in the wider area, including 100 km cut for skating. Even this early in the season snow should be fairly certain, but of course not all tracks will be prepared – however core tracks are prepared for the IBU cup and FIS races held in the prior week and the season itself actually starts in late November.

The area is easily accessed by train from Oslo airport.

Daytime temperatures will be low, typically minus 5C to minus 15C. Days aren’t too short - sunrise approx 0920 and sunset 1500 and the light usually fades out quite gradually after sunset. Weather, especially visibility, is less stable than in main season but by tailoring plans plenty of skiing is possible, staying closer to base in poor conditions and leaving extended tours for better days.

What’s on offer

The optional coaching aspect of the trip will be led by Snowsport England Level 3 coach Adam Pinney, and its main aim is to give you the chance to practice your skiing skills.  Coaching will be available on an ad-hoc basis, but most time will be spent on the tracks, practising skills such as down-hilling, hill climbing and cornering. Each session (one or two per day) will have a theme, but this will not be a ‘coached course’ in the normal sense; if there’s something you want to work on, we will work on it!

Members can also tour the area and the organiser is willing to help with knowledge of the track system, leading tours if requested. We can also combine morning coaching sessions with a tour following on from that, according to demand.

The skiing

• There is plenty of fairly flat terrain around the village and to the east, providing good scope for undemanding routes.

• For a more energetic tour, reaching the outlying areas to the north towards the large lakes Reinsvatnet and Mellsjoen, involves some climbing - a net height gain of 100-150m, via up and down terrain. However, once reached the northern lakes area is an extensive undulating plateau with moderate skiing and excellent views.
• The famous Birkebeiner race route also runs through Sjusjoen.
• To get an idea about the terrain see the trail map or trail information. 
• Track use is free of charge.

About Sjusjoen

The village, which is 15 km east of the large town of Lillehammer, has a compact central area with modest but adequate facilities including one Kiwi supermarket, one restaurant/bar, one ski shop (Sport 1) with good quality ski hire and one hotel.

The village is accessed by car or public bus from Lillehammer, which is on the main line from Oslo. Lillehammer has excellent ski shops and other facilities. 

Transport

Flights to Oslo Gardermoen

At time of writing 5 direct flights by BA, Norwegian, SAS arrive in time for the recommended trains (see below).

Alternatively travel the day before and stay in Oslo (ski bag storage is available at Oslo Central rail station), or at the airport hotels.

The recommended bus/train combinations for the return trip arrive at Gardermoen 1301 and 1401, so any return flight after 1500/1600 would work, although later flights would give more leeway for any delays.

Transfer Oslo Gardermoen to Sjusjoen

Trains leave the airport station (10 mins from baggage reclaim) direct to Lillehammer, taking around 1h 45m.

Any of the 6 trains leaving between 1030 and 1500 would arrive in time to catch the 501 bus from directly in front of the railway station to Sjusjoen, leaving at 1420, 1520 and 1745. The bus takes 32 mins.

Return buses leave Sjusjoen at 1007, 1107 to arrive in time for the 1111 or 1215 trains to Gardermoen.

NB winter timetables for trains/buses are not yet finalised, but they shouldn’t be very different from the summer timings above.
Bus information[buses - select English then timetables in PDF]

Accommodation

There are ample numbers of cabins and apartments to rent although the hotel in Sjusjoen is closed this early in the season.  The plan is to rent a large (probably 4 BR) cabin in the first instance, then add further cabins/apartments as necessary. All would be close together in the central area of the village. A deposit of a maximum of 10% is required, with the balance payable 30 days in advance of arrival.

Costs per person for self catering accommodation are in the range £230-300 for the week. You can also use Booking.com

Other expenses to budget for 

• Ski hire if needed.
• Self catering inc lunches, snacks.

Travel rules

• The trip will be run in accordance with English and Norwegian regulations and guidance in force at the time. See the latest information 
• Medical/travel insurance - everyone on the trip is recommended to have their own travel insurance policy. For medical treatment you are recommended to take your EHIC card (these remain valid unless expired), or you can use your UK passport to get medically necessary healthcare in Norway if you're a UK resident.

What to do next

Stage 1

Please register your interest via this form or if you have any queries please contact Greg Clack the organiser. 

Stage 2

Once the trip is confirmed and you decide to come, you should liase with the organiser regarding accommodation as soon as possible. Although this is early season, the area is quite popular mainly due to ease of access, hence we prefer not to leave booking the accommodation until too late.

Flights are less of a constraint - limited direct flights are available, but indirect options exist, as does the option to fly on the previous day. Train and bus tickets will be booked closer to departure [train tickets are generally available to book 90 days in advance].