Questions and answers about the start of the season

Normally we plan the start of the season during November in Kvitfjell. This is of course dependent on us getting freezing temperatures to produce snow.

See our snow report.

This year, Treningsbakken and Karirenna will open first, as well as Kvitfjell Express (B-lift) and Familieheisen. Then the West Side Express (C-lift), the Hotel Lift, the National Construction Trail, Jumbo and the West Side Trail open. (reminds that this is weather and road dependent). 

See our snow report to see what opens ahead.

 Normally, all main slopes, and all lifts, will be open until Christmas. This depends on the amount of natural snow, and conditions for snow production before Christmas.

This depends on the weather. Priority is on the main trails in all three mountainsides so that all guests will have a good offer as early as possible.  

The training slope opens primarily as a training offer, which is an important part of the customer base in November.   It is also desirable to offer a better ski product from the start, and Karirenna makes it possible to enjoy skiing on longer slopes, but in recent years we have opened Vestsideløypa and Varden almost at the same time. This is due to the fact that investments have been made in new snowmaking equipment that is significantly more efficient.

We have an early park offer at the beginning of the season, then the offer is expanded throughout the season.

There can be various reasons for this:

Unfavorable wind direction can mean that we have to shut down (especially the fixed guns). If it is produced in the wrong wind direction, the snow often ends up off the ground, and into areas where artificial snow is undesirable.

We need -4 to produce, and preferably dry air. If the humidity is high , you often have to go up to 5-6 degrees below zero to get any effect from the snowmaking. Optimal conditions are -10 and high pressure, then the humidity is also normally low.

When it gets colder than -5, we do not have enough water to run all guns equally (each gun uses more water when the temperature drops). We therefore prioritize the areas we want to open on an ongoing basis. On some trails, the cannons will not go off even if it is cold enough.

It is not possible to produce snow with ordinary snow cannons in plus degrees, but there is a type of production equipment that can produce a limited amount of snow even when it is warm, but this type uses an extremely large amount of electricity and does not produce the amount we need on the alpine slopes in Kvitfjell.

To open the first slopes, we often need 8-10 days of cold, and preferably colder than -4, to open. When the snow has been laid, it takes a couple of days for dosing and necessary safety work in the various routes.  

There is priority on the main lifts and main slopes, and the connection between the three mountain sides so that we can open as much skiing as possible as early as possible. 

Olympiabakken is the most time-consuming trail to snow, and here we are dependent on laying extra snow due to the World Cup. 

There are not so many World Cup trails that are open to the public around the world, but in Kvitfjell we try to arrange for as many people as possible to use our World Cup route for as large a part of the season as possible.

In the parts of the facility where we do not have snow facilities, it can be calculated that a minimum of 50 cm. of natural snow is needed to be able to open.

Oleheisen normally opens at Christmas.