LEARN TO SKI LIKE A NORWEGIAN
Ski training with Caro and Vince in Lillehammer
THE MOST ENJOYABLE AND EFFICIENT POLAR TRAINING?
Lillehammer is a small, cosy town, reachable by a short train ride from Oslo or direct from Oslo Airport.
Abroad, it's mostly known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics, but here in Norway the town and its surroundings are well established as a snow-rich, high-quality skiing area. Skiers from all around the world come here to train and compete. It welcomes everyone — you'll find first-timers, amateurs, World Cup competitors, and polar explorers :-)
Summary
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Lillehammer is a central hub for winter and skiing activities
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Has a proud history from the 1994 Winter Olympics
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Vibrant city life with the cozy Storgata
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Cultural cafes and status as a UNESCO City
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1 hour 40 minutes by train from Oslo Airport
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The season normally lasts from late November to April
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We prefer the immediate Sjusjøen/Lillehammer area
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Over 350 kilometres of groomed cross-country trails
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Thousands of kilometres of backcountry options
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110 kilometres of alpine skiing in the area
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and – Caro and Vince are there!
Training Summary
There's terrain of every kind here: hundreds of kilometres of beautifully prepared tracks, and thousands more left ungroomed.
This is the perfect hub for our small French-Canadian family. They rent a small Airbnb and base all their ground training here. For the focused polar sled-puller, this might seem like an odd choice — but it shouldn't come as a surprise that Norwegians do most of their core training on skis. Skiing long, hard, fast, and technically to the highest standard builds stamina and VO2 max, sharpens balance, and gives you a far better trade-off between ski technique, efficiency, and progress.
Vince and Caro can, of course, cover everything around a polar expedition: tent routines, equipment, pulling and sled-optimising techniques, and more. But as you've probably gathered by now, what we're really suggesting is that you train by skiing up there — cross-country skiing on thin racing skis. Once you get the hang of that, the payoff will be huge.
The usual next step, if this sounds tempting, is to send us a note. We'll work out timing, duration, and how much coaching you'd like, then give you an estimate.
Most people prefer an Airbnb, but cosy cabins and other options are available too. Some even bring the whole family and live like Norwegians for a week or more. Crazy, no?
PS: If you're not used to real cross-country skiing, consider a few days' stopover for our Polar Lab. It will fast-track you toward becoming a real skier — and trust us, it'll help you fall in love with skiing. Which isn't a bad thing when you're training for a polar expedition, since that happens to involve a huge amount of skiing too ;-) (Read more)
PS2: Places to stay
If you bring the family and wants to live right on the ski slope and avoid driving in the morning there are lots of large apartments, cabins and family-friendly accommodation. You can book directly via Hafjell Resort or stay at Hafjell Hotel.
If the dream is ‘mile after mile’* with freshly prepared tracks right outside the door, we suggest Sjusjøen: where you will find the popular and traditional Rustad Hotel and Mountain Lodge, which is idyllically located by Sjusjøvannet and is praised for its dining experience and sauna.
Nordseter is located 20 minutes from the city centre. Here you find Lillehammer Fjellstue og Hytteutleie offers apartments and cabins based on self-catering, in a quiet and scenic mountain area.
And then there is of course AirBnB
Start dreaming! This is a real Kinder Egg; to-the-point training, vacation and high quality learning. – Hard to beat that :-)
*Sing Song
Mile after mile or "Mil etter mil" is a Norwegian pop song that was Norway's entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1978. The song came last in the international final and received zero points. Nevertheless, "Mil etter mil" is one of the biggest sales successes of a Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix song of all time – We guess in a way, it sums up the Norwegians for you 🫣
· Don’t look it up. It is one of those terrible songs that gets into your head and then won’t leave – especially on big, white, polar planes. Take our words for it, but use the meaning of the song’s name as inspiration. – Now, catch up!!!