SNOWKITING SPOTS IN NORWAY - HARDANGERRVIDDA

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SNOWKITING SPOTS IN NORWAY

The largest high plateau in Europe offering countless kilometers of snowkiting paradise. Every year this place becomes the aim for snowkiters, cross-country skiers and lovers of all kind of winter sports. Endless freeride on the planes, hundreds of kilometers of long protracted crossings over mountainous terrain called Hardangervidda, I tis the ideal terrain for your first snowkiting trips and the first jumps. Norway is suitable for all categories of riders. Highway 7 is the road that starts climbing from Haugastol on the eastern side and begins to descend after Dyranut on the west side. There is maintained parking space for cars and vans at every spot. It is always necessary to park in the car parks and you can find more information in the rules. 

If the weather is bad (fresh snow, strong wind), the Highway 7 through Hardangervidda is closed. Operation via Hardangervidda is regulated by the convoys. Marking whether the road is closed can be seen from Geilo. If the road is closed, traffic is controlled by a convoys. So it is necessary to  follow the driver of the first convoy and to agree with him on which spot you can park place. Mainly it will be Orteren. It is strictly forbidden to move between spots without a convoy ! You have to park on selected spot and kite there. After kiting session i tis necessary  for you to wait for returnig convoy.  A free passing between parking lots is not alowed. Conwoy intervals are usually  between 2 and 3 hours.

If the road is open and passable you can choose your preffered kitespotand kite wherever you want. Always park your in the parking spots. When the weather will start to change we recommend you to check the road situation and then decide how to proceed with your car.

Ørterdalen

2 km from Haugastol from the east side. There is a parking place right on the spot. The spot is 100 square meters in size, and it is quite full with 10 snowkiters. Be aware of beginners and wires that cross the spot. Cold air in bright weather falls down through the valley and speeds up. If we have beautiful weather on all hardangervidda, cold and no wind, this  may be the only one place where the wind  will blow whole day for 10-20 knots

WIND DIRECTIONS: W , E 

Ørteren

Orteren is a huge lake  which is lined by mountains. There are usually two or three car parking places where parking is possible and from where we can go  snowkiting. This  a popular starting point for beginners and a very safe place. Take care of cracks in the ice and possible unevenness. Do not ride to restricted areas where there is less ice. These places are always visibly  marked. All wind directions work here. The wind from the West here is stronger. If the wind is blowing from the East, it is better to visit western spots in Harda.

WIND DIRECTIONS: All

Lillevann

Spot is located just above Haugastol. Pack your backpack, splitboard, snowshoe or alpine skis and hike up to the lake for approximately 40 minutes. There is a lake ideal for beginners. The terrain is very rugged and the snow conditions  are often very good. You can  also enjoy a freeriding at this spot. The most popular direction is NW.

WIND DIRECTIONS: NW, W, E, SE

Lægreid - Fagerheim

Lægreid is located at the end of the Orteren lake. More snow is needed around Orteren for kiting. Pay attention to the stones within the lower snow cover and places around roads. There is a small river that is not always frozen during the season,  but theese places are usually marked. There are ice blocks in some  parts of the Orteren that can be used as natural kickers for jumping. Up the mountains near  the Orteren you will find a beautiful freeride options.  All wind directions are working here well.

WIND DIRECTIONS: All the directions

Halne

If the wind from W and NW  is too strong on other spots there is a lake below Halne which is safely hidden from the strong winds.
There is also  very beautiful freeride options around this area.

WIND DIRECTIONS: All the directions except N and W

Skulevika

Skulevika is a great spot for all kiters. The spot is located in a small valley, going east from Skiftesjøen towards Haugastøl. In the summertime this is a grass-covered field, so it doesn’t  need a lot of snow to be kiteable. Skulevika is also a great place to start if you want to do trips going south on the plateau.

Wind directions 
The valley is SW-NE facing, so those are the dominant wind directions, but all directions are OK.

Skiftesjøen

Skiftesjøen is among the most popular kite spots on the plateau. The lake is shallow, so the ice freezes early, and the rolling hills surrounding the lake are perfect for snowkiting. There are few rocks in the terrain, so even the hills around the lake are great in early/late season when the snow coverage is low.  That means that you can kite until June almost every year. When the winds are from the east, the wind speed tends to be stronger here and in Dyranut compared to Ørteren and the other spots on the east side of the plateau.

Wind directions 
All of them

Dyranut

Dyranut is a great spot for all wind directions, but winds coming from the east are particularly good. It’s the same kind of terrain as Skiftesjøen.There is a small lake on the south side of the road which is great for beginners. The north side of the road offers great terrain for more experienced kiters. Hot tip – there is almost always more wind on the ridges in the north than on the lake to the south.
Wind directions 
All of them

Kite spots further west of Dyranut

Kite spots further west of Dyranut
After Dyranut the terrain starts falling towards Eidfjord and the Hardangerfjord. This makes for some good falling wind coming from the east. There are not  too many parking places, and there is normally less snow than higher up on the plateau. But on light wind days it’s worth a drive to look for wind!

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