snow conditions in lillehammer in mid april

[jasper110]

Hi,

please excuse the use of english but i am (actually scottish)!

i am planning a familly holiday to the lillehammer area in the middle of april and hope to do lots of cross country ski-ing. however i am concerned that this late on in the year there may not be suficient snow.

could someone tell me if the conditions are normally good around this time? also the best areas to ski for beginners and young children.

i am also looking for accommodation in the area; if anyone has a cabin to rent that sleeps 4 and is near the trails then please let me know.

many thanks from a 10deg C and raining Scotland.

[jasper110]

can anyone help?

i have limited availability for flights from where i live and need to book soon if conditions are good.

thanks.

[Marmot]

So far this winter there has been a lot more snow than what we have seen in recent years, so I guess you should be able to find pretty good ski tracks until late April. You could try this website about cross country skiing in Lillehammer: http://www.lillehammer.com/index.php/en/activities-lillehammer-norway/cross-country-skiing-norway-lillehammer-artifical-regions.html or you could call them and ask. Hope this helps!

EDIT: Snow report Nordseter: http://www.lillehammer.com/index.php/en/activities-lillehammer-norway/alpine-skiing-lillehammer-ski-resort-norway-hafjell-kvitfjel/alpine-skiing-lillehammer-norway-nordseter-ski-centre/weather-snow-report-hafjell-nordseter-winter-lillehammer.html

[oyvindh]

You can follow the weather and check old statistics:

http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Oppland/Lillehammer/Lillehammer/

Snow depths in cm (Biri in Gjøvik kommune should give you a good indication for what it would be like Lillehammer "downtown". Up in the mountains you can probably find places with more snow when you get to April):

http://www.yr.no/observasjonar/1.4276285

[Lindap]

Make sure you book a hut or a hotel that is high on the mountains. Lillehammer center is situated in a valley and that low the snow is usually not so good anymore this late in the season. How about Sjusjøen, which is close to Lillehammer, but higher on the mountain?

Do keep in mind that if you go skiing high in the mountains that you should be prepared for bad weather. It is usually very nice and safe in april, but you should be expect the worse. Allways carry ekstra windproof and warm clothes in your backpack and good mittens and so forth.

Take a look on this website: http://www.turistforeningen.no/english/

This organization has many huts in the mountains. Some of them are hotel-like, some are small and selfservice. You can also ask them for advice of where to go.

But they don't have prepared ski-trails. That is more something you find at hotels.

[agno]

Try this link. http://www.skeikampen.no/ Even if it´s in norwegian, you can find info here, and phone numbers. Great area for all kinds of skills and needs.

You can email them or make a phone call.

Good luck, and welcome !

[+PTG]

In April places like "Nordseter" and "Sjusjøen", only 15 min away from Lillehammer have prepared tracks, at least until Easter (end 13.April). Likely there is snow til end of April. So far the snowdebth is good > 1,4 meter. 250 km with prepared tracks (connection with Lillehammer tracks, 94'Olympic tracks etc). Family oriented places.

PS! Easter = expensive.

webcamera Nordseter :

http://www.turtipset.no/nordseter

Skimap:

http://cache.skiinfo.com//skimaps/maps/ENONORDS.jpg

http://sjusjoen-sport.no/kart/

At Nordseter there is cheap cabins/flats/appartments near tracks and two small down-hill pistes.

http://www.nordsetersportell.no/

http://www.visitnordseter.com/start?&LanguageID=2

http://www.nordseter.no/eng_default.asp

[Gjest Otto Støver]

It is always difficult to prodict the weather, but in Norway we have a very good site for historical meterological information. This is the site Senorge.no

I took the liberty of linking to the situation on 20.4.2008 and this is here

http://www.senorge.no//mappage.aspx?layerid=sd&archive=day&layergroup=snow&date=20.04.2008&XMIN=154824.66863611055&YMIN=6760688.228514738&XMAX=328096.77915300143&YMAX=6894219.029280048&

Should be enough for a scotchman i think. If not then you have to move some kilometres west to Jotunheimen or higher up into the mountains.