Everyone with a passion for skiing has probably heard of Voss. You have most likely met a skier from Voss. Have you ever been there? I guess not. Well, it’s not too late to change that. Voss is worth a visit, Not only for skiing. But, as we are a ski magazine, that’s what this article is all about.
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Voss is the ski town many skiers have heard of, but few have visited. It’s a shame as it has a true ski atmosphere. Everywhere you go you can sense the familiar smell of ski passion. It’s in the air. Skiing here has been a central thing for more than 75 years, when the first ski lift was set up in 1947 at Bavallen.
Fifteen years later, the first ski gondola in Scandinavia (Hangursbanen) was put up to connect the mountain above with the city center.
Voss was already in the 50s a returning host for the international Kandahar rennen (the precursor to the world cup). During the 1970s the F.I.S alpine world cup was held almost annually at Voss, with winners like Ingemar Stenmark, Piero Gros and Gustavo Thöni.
As freestyle grew in popularity, a mogul scene was established in Voss led by Hans Eide Engelsen and Kari Traa. Voss has hosted numerous of international Freestyle events, including the 2013 World championship held in Myrkdalen.
Today’s skiing in Voss is more Up-to-date than ever
The new Voss Gondola built in 2019 takes you direct from the train station to the nearest peak “Hangurstoppen”. An eight-minute trip with almost 800 meters elevation.
The ski map counts 24 ski slopes and ten ski lifts with a broad verity of challenges. Modern snow making secure the skiing throughout the season.
The lift system might look small, but skiing is big
The lift set-up at Voss should be envied by every other ski resort. It all starts at the train station, 57 meters above sea level.
At the platform is not only the train station but also the Voss Gondol station and the historic old Fleischers Hotel on the right.
The three main hotels, Fleischer’s, Park and Scandic are right at the station. In the city center. Together, they host 447 hotel rooms.
Everyone visiting Voss should come by train
Get off the train, check in at your hotel and hop on the gondola that takes you to the first summit, Hangurstoppen 816 MASL.
From here you have direct access to a verity of slopes of all difficulties going down to the lowest skiing point at Bavallen a vertical drop of 535 meters in one run. That’s actually quite massive. In general, an average chairlift gives you a vertical drop between 300–400 meters.
Skiing down the old World Cup slope is not only a true challenge, I bring back childhood memories, as it is full of terrain. Narrow and steep. Constructed the way slopes use to be back then.
To take you back to the top, there are two modern detachable chairlifts at your service with different starting points. In this area, there are 11 km of illuminated slopes for night skiing. That’s some of the best night skiing you can find global.
Three summits reachable by lift
Most skiing at Voss circles around Hangurstoppen, The Gondola, two chairlifts and a t-bar connect at the summit from different directions.
There is even a beginner area with a conveyor at the top. In the Gondola top station you will also find a ski rental and the main restaurant.
Even if you are a good skier, it will take you some time to explore all the slopes going down from the Hangurstoppen summit.
What about the slope food?
In general, good slope food is difficult to find in Norway. (Norwegians usually don’t eat lunch at restaurants). There are numerous of small resting areas where you can eat your own food, but only four restaurants on-slope. All owned by the lift company who also operate three of them.
Hangurstoppen surprised us. The first look of this big, modern mountain restaurant does not give much promise, But it serves a good variety of fresh cooked à la carte. And pizza, of course.
The Norwegian approach to service is to place orders and make payments through an application at the table. On the second floor you can find a small gallery showing part of the F.I.S world cup races that took place at Voss in the early years.
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On powder days Voss turns into a playground
The ski features are on mass in the terrain. Facing north from Hangurstoppen you see the next summit, Slettafjellet.
There is a double T-bar to take you to the top. This is high alpine terrain, no trees in sight. From here you can either go back down to the bottom or go over the summit, off-piste down the other Valley (it requires a taxi ride back or randonnée).
To reach the third summit, Horgaletten, you just follow the trail eastbound.
Here a single t-bar takes you to the highest skiable peak within the lift system, some 900 meters MASL. The vintage downhill slope starts here and provides a vertical drop of ca 750 meters. This is enough to gain burning legs during the day.
When at Vestlandet (western part of Norway) we need to talk about the weather. This is Northern Europe, no doubt.
But it is also close to the Atlantic Ocean and skiing starts close to sea level. Be prepared for all kinds of weather. Sun and fresh powder one day. Rain and storm the other. The average snowfall per year is around 400cm.
On snowy days, Horgaletten offers fantastic off-piste
With randonnée you can move up to the next summit, Lønahorgi 1411 MASL. If you are lucky, you can ask a local where to find the famous off-piste run called “Bodega”, it’s not marked on the map.
Voss gives you a true alp feeling. Skiing is fun and challenging, even for experts. As it kept its old slope structure, skiing is a bit unpolished, indifferent to other more mainstream ski resorts in Scandinavia.
Most ski resorts use to tint their blue slopes into red and red slops to black. In Voss there is the opposite. Blue is red, red is black, and black is black. To describe the feeling, skiing Voss is like that medium-sized Italian ski resort you never heard of, but dreamt about.
Voss is not all, the next door is Myrkdalen
less than half an hour away from Voss, by car or the free ski shuttle bus is one of Scandinavia newest ski resorts, Myrkdalen. Twenty years ago, the first lift opened. Skiing here is the total opposite to Voss.
As the first lift was set up after carving skis were invented, skiing here is very modern. Wide long sweeping slopes. Almost all skiing is above the timberline.
If skiing in Voss is vintage Italian, then Myrkdalen is modern France, sort of micro Val d’Isere. The skiing here is mostly dark blue, leaning to red. There are red slopes but hey, they are, in fact, blue in a fun way. Same as the black slopes are red in a fun way. You can read a separate article about Myrkdalen if you click on the link here.
Shopping is not a big thing in Voss
Voss is full of contrasts. Vossevangen as the town is named, hosts 7000 citizens. It’s a living town, with shops of all kind to serve the local needs. Please notice, most shops closes at 5pm.
If skiing in Voss is unpolished, in a good way. Unpolished goes for the town as well, in a not so good way. Most of the houses were built in the late forties, fifties and early sixties. This due to heavy bombing during the WWII. The nature surrounding the town is wonderful, the town not so. Again contrasts.
It’s like Vossevangen tells you –this is me, take it or leave it. You are welcome to walk on my streets, but don’t expect me to kiss you or buy you roses. It is easy to fall in love with Voss skiing. Falling in love with the town will take some effort.
Surprisingly, being the ski capital of Norway, it has very few ski shops. There are some sports shops, and a Kari Traa concept store. But just one independent real skishop. Ski rental takes place at the top station of Voss Gondol or at Bavallen. Don’t expect to find any ski rentals at the base.
After ski, there is time to explore downtown Vossevangen
The same goes for restaurants, cafés and nightlife. The ones that are in the city center are more to serve the locals needs on daily bases than to serve ski tourists. The good thing with Voss being big, in terms of a ski town. It is that other services like a modern swim hall, bowling area, cinema etc. are also available. If you are tired of skiing for a day, there is a lot to explore in the nearby surroundings.
To find the after ski scene, you either stay up on Hangurstoppen where you find all the skiers that spend their nights in one of the numerous mountain cabins, that surround the lower ski area.
The other way to find your after ski is to enter one of the main hotels at the Gondola base station. In the hotel bars you will experience an odd mix of people. You have the locals, and you have the skiers. But there is also a large crowd of charter tourists. Voss is a main hub for exploring the nearby fjords by international guests. They usually stay just for one night.
Is there any fine dining in Voss?
My best advice for the evening is the half board served at the hotel you are staying in. You will get a three meal course in any of them and that’s about it, if you don’t find your way up to Store Ringheim. There you will be served a tasting menu of the best local eatables offered by the valley and the sea.
Another odd contrast is Park hotel Vossevangen. The hotel itself is a large, outdated conference complex. Two main buildings from the early sixties and seventies are connected by a central conference building.
Hotel rooms are clean, but they were small already sixty years ago. If the rooms in today’s measure are less than average, the hotels’ wine cellar is the total opposite. It’s award-winning. The best in the world. 47000 bottles, 7000 labels. Sounds unlikely, I know. But it’s the truth.
The ballroom of the town is undoubtedly the Fleischer’s Hotel. Dating back to 1889. It’s a building full of history and charm, it’s the house for kings.
If you want to read more about hotels, wine and dining in Voss we have made separate articles about Fleischer’s Hotel, The wine cellar at Park hotel Vossevangen and the boutique hotel Store Ringheim. Just click the links listed below
Dine wine and ski, Voss is simply world-class
Hotel Store Ringheim – stay in a unique atmosphere
Fleischier’s Hotel Voss – staying in the house of kings
Skiing Voss should be on on your bucket list, as it was on ours.
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