In Norway a low resort altitude doesn't stop the snow arriving by Christmas: at these northern latitudes snow holds at 600–1,000 m, where in the Alps there is usually none at Christmas. Resorts with this kind of mid-mountain altitude had natural snow over the holidays almost as reliably as Alpine glaciers, and nearly four resorts in five came out snow-sure. The exceptions are about location, not altitude: near Oslo at 300 m, and at Sogn skisenter in the fjord country, snow at Christmas is scarce. For a Briton looking for snowy holidays without high altitudes, Norway is a better fit than most Alpine countries. All figures come from the climate of 30 winters 1984/85–2013/14 and model scenarios; this is climate, not a forecast for your dates, and the resort itself gives you the up-to-date snow report.
The site counts a Christmas as snowy if between 22 December and 4 January there was natural snow of at least 30 cm on at least 10 days out of 14. A snow-sure resort scores 25 or more such holidays out of 30.
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Why 600 m is enough in Norway
All 29 Norwegian resorts on the site sit below 1,500 m mid-mountain, and 23 of them are snow-sure across winters 1984/85–2013/14. Hafjell and Kvitfjell at 600 m each recorded 28 snowy Christmases out of 30, while in the Alps you won't find snow-sure resorts with a mid-mountain altitude like that. The identical score for neighbours is no accident: the Crocus model from the Copernicus C3S dataset calculates snow per NUTS-3 region and height band of 100 m, so resorts in the same region at the same altitude get the same figures (methodology).
Hemsedal, Geilo and Trysil
Hemsedal skisenter and Ski Geilo with a mid-mountain altitude of 1,000 m scored 28 snowy Christmases out of 30 across winters 1984/85–2013/14. Trysil at 800 m got 22 out of 30 and is the only one of the three to miss the mark, though with snowmaking it stands at 30 out of 30. The most consistent result among mountain resorts belongs to Beitostølen Skisenter: 30 out of 30 at 1,000 m.
An example: a British family picks Trysil for Christmas week because they've heard more about it than anywhere else. If natural snow beyond the pistes matters for the children and for cross-country skiing, Hemsedal or Geilo with 28 out of 30 give better odds, and all three have snowmaking on their runs.
West and north: Strandafjellet, Myrkdalen and Narvik
The country's leader Strandafjellet in the west sits at 800 m and hasn't missed a single snowy Christmas in 30 winters 1984/85–2013/14. Close behind on score are Myrkdalen at 800 m and Narvikfjellet Ski Resort above the Arctic Circle at 600 m, both on 29 out of 30; Narvik also has the longest season of the named resorts, 204 days with at least 30 cm. Voss Resort Fjellheisar at 600 m scored 25 out of 30, right on the line. Bear in mind that daylight hours in the north are very short in December.
Where Christmas snow is scarce
Skimore Oslo, bottom of the table, at 300 m managed just 3 snowy Christmases out of 30 winters 1984/85–2013/14, Sogn skisenter at 700 m 4 out of 30. Snowmaking rescues both: 28 out of 30 for Skimore Oslo and 30 out of 30 for Sogn. With it, all 29 resorts nationwide pass the mark, but that calculation assumes a hypothetical resort with an average fleet of snow guns; actual snowmaking differs at each one.
Norway, its neighbours and Austria
| Country | Snow-sure (winters 1984/85–2013/14) | Median resort, snowy Christmases out of 30 |
|---|---|---|
| Norway | 23 of 29 | 28 |
| Sweden | 26 of 34 | 28 |
| Finland | 8 of 10 | 26 |
| Austria | 62 of 134 | 23 |
Scandinavia beats Austria on the share of snow-sure resorts even though its resorts sit hundreds of metres lower. In Austria the choice is bigger by sheer number; in Norway the typical resort is more reliable.
How to pick a Norwegian resort for Christmas
- The safest bets: Strandafjellet and Beitostølen Skisenter with 30 snowy Christmases out of 30 winters 1984/85–2013/14, Myrkdalen and Narvikfjellet with 29.
- The well-known resorts Hemsedal skisenter, Ski Geilo, Hafjell and Kvitfjell with 28 out of 30 are reliable too.
- Trysil with 22 out of 30 works if runs with snowmaking suit you.
- Skimore Oslo (3 out of 30) and Sogn skisenter (4 out of 30) rely on their snow guns alone over the holidays.