IAN STALKER
Norwegian tourism officials are inviting cross-country skiing enthusiasts to enjoy the sport in the very country in which it began.
Hege Barnes of Norwegian tourism board Innovation Norway told a recent Toronto audience that her homeland – a perennial powerhouse in international cross-country skiing competitions – and the sport are synonymous.
“We’ve done it for thousands of years. It’s in our genes,” said Barnes who led a delegation that also participated in the Adventure Travel Summit in Quebec City.
Often-mountainous Norway has an endless number of cross-country skiing trails in urban and rural settings, with even rural ones often lighted after winter sets in. “It’s a healthy way to be outside,” Barnes added of an activity known for its cardiovascular exercise.
Those on lengthy ski trips can travel from one ski hut to another, with Barnes reporting that the trails linking the huts are “super easy to follow.”
The Norway presentation was held at the Toronto office of Intrepid Travel, with that tour operator offering Norway among its many destinations worldwide.
Among those making the journey to Quebec City and Toronto was Christoffer Holthe, who also noted the popularity of cross-country skiing in Norway: “We’re born with skis on.”
Holthe is with Skigaarden, which offers winter visitors alpine skiing, with the resort noting, “Skigaarden is found high in the Norwegian mountains, at the heart of Hemsedal Skisenter. As enthusiastic outdoors-men and -women, lovers of Norway’s high mountains and eager skiers, we dare say that this is the ultimate place for skiers and mountain folk. And not just to be able to awake to magnificent views. Skigaarden was built with uncompromising quality in mind, and a love of details. The main building houses three different restaurants, which are perfect for a break whether from skiing or otherwise. Alpine slopes lie in all directions, and with beautiful mountain areas in the immediate vicinity at Holdeskaret this is a pearl in both summer and winter.”
Barnes noted her often-mountainous homeland means car travel can at times be slow. “It’s not easy to get around but it’s beautiful to get around,” she said of the scenery.
Meanwhile Oscar Almgren of adventure company Uteguiden in turn labeled Norway as “the perfect destination for the active traveller.”
Among activities Almgren – based on Norway’s northwest coast – offers is kayaking in some of Norway’s famed fjords, which he said generally see calm water, making them great for novice paddlers.
“When you travel in this area you will have the feeling that you have been in several places,” Almgren said of a region that in part is marked by fjords, ocean and mountains, and in which can host people on skiing, snowshoeing and hiking excursions.
Jannicke Doksaeter of the Skabu Fjellhotell hotel – located two hours and 50 minutes from Oslo – reported that her hotel is near the largest moose trail in Europe, with around 800 moose passing nearby twice a year over a 3-week period.
Guests at the hotel at the right times will have opportunities to spot some of the largest members of the deer family, she noted.
Jan Fredrik Fosse of Knutholmer said he and his colleagues can introduce tourists to “authentic coastal Norway.”
Meanwhile, Barnes said she’s upbeat about Norway’s tourism prospects in Canada, noting that Air Canada plans to start offering Toronto-Oslo service next summer. The upcoming service comes at a time of rising North American visits to Norway, she added.
