Other ski magazines create lists of the best powder skiing. If you’re looking for that, read them. In this article, we are talking about concrete corduroy, hardcore skiing. GS style. Put your helmet on, buckle up and go full throttle. This is a salute to the best ski slope in Scandinavia
If you are a black diamond skier that fancies a real challenge when it comes to on-slope skiing, Olympiabakken in Kvitfjell is your slope.
It was built for one purpose. To sort out the best Olympic downhiller 1994.
And it did. Tommy Moe, an American, born in Montana with a Norwegian ancestry. He wrote his name in the history book here. His first-ever victory on the highest level came in the Olympic Downhill. Stealing the gold from the Norse own Kjetil André Aamodt with 0.04 seconds. Following it up by giving himself the silver as a 24th birthday present in the Super-G.
Such a typical American winner
This downhill course was designed by Bernhard Russi, who also constructed the downhill course in Åre.
The two downhill courses of Åre and Kvitfjell, look the same when comparing the stats. The vertical drop is 840 meters and a length of 3000 meters. Winners time at the world cup races are also about the same, 1 minute and 45 seconds.
Same same but different
Arriving at Kvitfjell and the parking lot at the bottom of the downhill slope makes you wonder if you are in the right place.
The atmosphere is the same as if you arrived at a local ski club’s own ski hill, not one of the top five ski resorts in Norway. An empty service house without a restaurant. Not even a ski rental shop in sight. The whole area looks closed.
A hotel that looks like a leftover from the Gulag
One, once up on a time, modern first generation four-seater. And winding down the hill, one narrow slope. Is the slope open or not? Hard to tell at a distance because it is empty. Is this it?
Arriving at Åre downhill is a total different story. The top modern eight-chair is the very heart of the skiing in Åre. Shops, restaurants, hotels and apartment buildings surround the downhill area. And there are additional slopes on both sides of the actual racecourse.
In Åre, despite the modern lift. There is almost always a queue up, and the slopes on the side of the downhill course look more like an anthill than ski slopes, they are overcrowded.
Except the actual downhill course, it does not just look closed, it is.
Åres downhill course is almost always closed to the public. That is only the lower 50% to be fair. The upper part is one of Åres most popular slopes for tourists. As soon as the weather allows it to open, it is crowded.
Kvitfjells lower 50%, on the other hand, is almost always open.
This was supposed to be a one – time race arena. The idea was to move the two first generation detachable chairlifts to Hafjell after the Olympics were over. Lucky for you and me, this did not happen. Instead, a developer bought the whole place and built a totally new ski resort on the upper part of the mountain.
Then why is it empty?
Well, the simple question is that this is a one of a kind, hard-core rock and roll ski slope.
It’s unvarnished and served raw.
This is not recommended for the average skier.
But as it’s the only slope coming down the mountain to the train station at the bottom, it stays open for the public. 90% of all visitors would do better taking the chairlift down.
During our visit, some Danes ignored the expert sign and gave it a try.
When we came around one corner, we saw one pair of skis and two poles scattered on a flat part. But no owner in sight.
We collected the goods and went over the next edge. There at the bottom, on the side of the slope, he was, the owner of the twin tips we just found. He had surfed down the slope four hundred meters on his belly. What a trip that must have been.
This is a double black diamond slope
And you can ride it from top to bottom, 840 vertical meters in one straight run. The whole slope is going down the north face of the mountain, meaning you are skiing in the shadows.
Even if the sun is up, it will not reach you. Constant flat-out.
Skiing this slope, you can’t see the terrain, you need to feel it. Indifferent to the downhill in Åre, Olympiabakken in Kvitfjell doesn’t offer any rest on flat parts.
It keeps on pushing you down in full speed. It’s fun and scary at the same time.
Not only that, but it is often beyond hard packed, its ice. And as there are so few people going down this slope, it stays perfect throughout the day. Two lifts take you up to the starting point, a fifteen-minute lift ride.
There is no lift queue so you can manage three runs an hour
That if you calculate five minutes between the rides to buckle up and unbuckle at the bottom, including the actual run, off-course.
So, if you want to feel like Tommy Moe, Aksel Lund Svindal or Hans Olsson for one day. I suggest you go to Kvitfjell at least once in your lifetime.
Bring your razor sharp GS skis and make sure to wear yellow tint ski lenses on your helmet.
Do lap after lap on this slope. It’s a true challenge. It will bring a smile on your face. Your inside is shouting, give me more. You will get addicted, hooked for life.
This is the best this mountain can offer, and it’s the best ski slope in Scandinavia.
If you are a hard core rock’n’roll skier, that is.
If ski slopes were a rock song, then Olympiabakken in Kvitfjell would be Mr Brownstone, that’s it.
