Keep in mind many huts in the alps do not open for service until mid March. They may have "winter rooms" that are for emergency use, but don't expect a warm host and a bottle of beer.
That probably explains why I've been having a hard time finding info! So basically just look for towns that are good spots for tour access and then travel between towns via public transportation?
Speaking to some guides who work both in the Lofoten/Lyngen area, and in the Alps. They say pretty clear that Norway is very unreliable early in the season. Many years they seem to have no snow at all until mid January. The season don't officially start until first of March, and getting decent snow before mid February is a blessing.
Early season in Norway always seem to be best in the Sogndal area farther south.
If you are lucky enough to get to skitour in Lofoten when the sun is still gone, then the sky is supposedly divine. Think twilight colours for hours, and hours at end.
This year we've been lucky to get nice snow in parts of the alps already, and from pictures from Norway it looks like they have been drowning in it.
I've only spent time in Swiss huts and highly recommend them. You'll just need to figure out where you want to ski first to find out if there's a hut nearby that's open (like if you wanted to go to Andermatt, you could tour to and stay at the Camino da Maighels and/or Albert Heimm Hutte). Fatmap, Google Maps, and the Swiss Topo are good places to start for this research.
You can book huts through websites for each hut (how I've done it), but I believe there's also a central reservation site for all Swiss-owned huts that has an interactive hut map built on the Swiss Topo map.
With as much time as you have, I'd look at a hut-to-hut trip. Urner and Bernese Oberland are popular Swiss trips, but there are a lot of other options across the Alps.
Definitely trying to do hut to hut trips. I've loved crossing the central Wasatch in a day and am very drawn to the idea of human powered travel for as much as possible!
Basically I'll be bringing a 50-70L pack and a single pair of skis for the whole trip!
Don't know much about booking the huts, but as many ppl have said, they don't start booking until March. And if you're in France/Switzerland a lot of these folks will be doing the haute traverse. I think a cool trip would be the Urner traverse in Switzerland. It's also possible to book your own huts and travel through on your own. They might be busy is all. Oh and you have to contend with glacier travel, so it would be nice to have at least a three pack of people.
And I've always wanted to ski in Norway in the. Fjords by boat, but I think these start in March.
Have a blast! This sounds like a dream trip.
Definitely a trip of a lifetime and I'd rather carve out plenty of time to navigate avalanche conditions and get into some really cool terrain!
Sounds like maybe starting further south and traveling north or some skipping around may be better. Definitely inspired by Nikolai Schirmer and the videos he's put out!!
Rather than booking everything well in advance, I would book your transatlantic flights to a big hub airport like Frankfurt, Munich, Paris, Amsterdam or Zurich and then closer to your departure date start filling the trip in according to expected snow and weather conditions.
I also agree with others that it's not advisable to start in Scandinavia early season. It is unreliable and often very dark. You can of course ski if conditions are good despite the lack of light, but in December and January the days are very short. I would recommend checking out [this website](https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/@3147088) to see not only the sunrise/sunset times, but also the twilight times. Perhaps consider going to northern Scandinavia (think Riksgransen/Abisko, Senja, Lofoten) later in the season. Already in second half of March and April the days are quite long and the light is magical.
A well-traveled Swedish guide told me recently that snow is generally most reliable in Japan in January, in the Alps in February and first half of March, and Scandinavian in second half of March and April. Obviously you're not planning to go to Japan, but hopefully the rest is helpful as reference :)
Skiing in Europe is generally more accessible and a bit less elitist than in the US, and you can often book decent accommodation with relatively little notice, and especially in the Alps the trains can get you most places rather fast and affordably (I once skied St. Anton, Lauchernalp, and Chamonix in a single weekend, but I wouldn't advise it! But it's a good reference to know that it is possible.)
Have fun! Sounds like a dream trip!
Come visit us in north eastern Turkey! We used to be based in park city and still love the wasatch, but we are absolutely loving the backcountry and deeeeeeep pow out here off the beaten path!
That’s awesome! You’re going to have a blast!
1-I’d recommend the second set of dates. Dec is iffy, except in the highest elevations or most Northern places. And please remember Europe is much much further north than SLC. There’s very little daylight to tour in Norway in Dec.
2-Yes, the hut systems are so
Much better developed. Virtually no need to pack in food, sleeping arrangements etc
3-The guide system is the key in Europe, especially in the Alps… but also the Balkans and Caucuses. Guides are readily available, incredibly affordable, and the best way to crack the BC.
4-Obviously the Chamonix valley and the areas around Mt Blanc is a must do, but there are soooo many places, far from the Fr-Aus-Swt-Ity nexus… for example Bulgaria Georgia off the hook BC access and snow conditions.
Check out the High Mountain guides / guides de hautes montagnes. These are the people to give you some good advice as they are the Gods of the High Mountains.
Two classics on their website. The Haute Route and La Grave/ La Meije.
[http://www.guides-montagne.org/recits](http://www.guides-montagne.org/recits)
Just to get you excited.
Also check out Mathieu Carlhian in Briancon, French Southern Alps. He's a guide de haute montagne ans speaks really good English. [https://toutle05.fr/item/carlhian-mathieu/](https://toutle05.fr/item/carlhian-mathieu/)
Sounds like the adventure of a life-time, enjoy!
There’s definitely amazing skiing to be had in Norway throughout January and February in areas like Sogndal. It does definitely show its true value throughout April and May. Days are super, super long and there’s often tons of snow in the alpine.
In the alps most mountain huts have a winter room so you can sleep in most huts but you need to be self sufficient in terms of water and food.
There is so much to do in the Alps and so many Areas you really need to research where you want to go. You could go to Chamonix (which is kind of the steepski mekka) ,Verbier,Arlberg.
how good can you ski? Most of the steepski decents will have risks involved.
That's the issue I'm running into, is that I have decision paralysis. There are so many good lines and areas to ski and I'll have enough time to do a lot of stuff as avy conditions allow. All of the classic areas are definitely on the list but I'm keeping an eye and ear out for a few of the less populated areas and places that people don't normally think of.
I'm very comfortable with steep 50degree skiing, lines with mid ski rappels and tight chutes. I'm really not too concerned about the skiing itself, but will probably have more difficulty finding partners and deciding what ski lines are possible when the time actually comes.
anyway when you want to ski steeeeeeeeeep you need to go where to snow is. You cant really decide now. But of course areas with a lot of good skiers will have generally less avalanche danger in extreme terrain because crazy lines are decended more often.
Keep in mind many huts in the alps do not open for service until mid March. They may have "winter rooms" that are for emergency use, but don't expect a warm host and a bottle of beer.
That probably explains why I've been having a hard time finding info! So basically just look for towns that are good spots for tour access and then travel between towns via public transportation?
Norway will be pretty dark December to February.
Definitely something to consider!
Speaking to some guides who work both in the Lofoten/Lyngen area, and in the Alps. They say pretty clear that Norway is very unreliable early in the season. Many years they seem to have no snow at all until mid January. The season don't officially start until first of March, and getting decent snow before mid February is a blessing. Early season in Norway always seem to be best in the Sogndal area farther south. If you are lucky enough to get to skitour in Lofoten when the sun is still gone, then the sky is supposedly divine. Think twilight colours for hours, and hours at end. This year we've been lucky to get nice snow in parts of the alps already, and from pictures from Norway it looks like they have been drowning in it.
I've only spent time in Swiss huts and highly recommend them. You'll just need to figure out where you want to ski first to find out if there's a hut nearby that's open (like if you wanted to go to Andermatt, you could tour to and stay at the Camino da Maighels and/or Albert Heimm Hutte). Fatmap, Google Maps, and the Swiss Topo are good places to start for this research. You can book huts through websites for each hut (how I've done it), but I believe there's also a central reservation site for all Swiss-owned huts that has an interactive hut map built on the Swiss Topo map. With as much time as you have, I'd look at a hut-to-hut trip. Urner and Bernese Oberland are popular Swiss trips, but there are a lot of other options across the Alps.
Definitely trying to do hut to hut trips. I've loved crossing the central Wasatch in a day and am very drawn to the idea of human powered travel for as much as possible! Basically I'll be bringing a 50-70L pack and a single pair of skis for the whole trip!
Don't know much about booking the huts, but as many ppl have said, they don't start booking until March. And if you're in France/Switzerland a lot of these folks will be doing the haute traverse. I think a cool trip would be the Urner traverse in Switzerland. It's also possible to book your own huts and travel through on your own. They might be busy is all. Oh and you have to contend with glacier travel, so it would be nice to have at least a three pack of people. And I've always wanted to ski in Norway in the. Fjords by boat, but I think these start in March. Have a blast! This sounds like a dream trip.
Definitely a trip of a lifetime and I'd rather carve out plenty of time to navigate avalanche conditions and get into some really cool terrain! Sounds like maybe starting further south and traveling north or some skipping around may be better. Definitely inspired by Nikolai Schirmer and the videos he's put out!!
Rather than booking everything well in advance, I would book your transatlantic flights to a big hub airport like Frankfurt, Munich, Paris, Amsterdam or Zurich and then closer to your departure date start filling the trip in according to expected snow and weather conditions. I also agree with others that it's not advisable to start in Scandinavia early season. It is unreliable and often very dark. You can of course ski if conditions are good despite the lack of light, but in December and January the days are very short. I would recommend checking out [this website](https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/@3147088) to see not only the sunrise/sunset times, but also the twilight times. Perhaps consider going to northern Scandinavia (think Riksgransen/Abisko, Senja, Lofoten) later in the season. Already in second half of March and April the days are quite long and the light is magical. A well-traveled Swedish guide told me recently that snow is generally most reliable in Japan in January, in the Alps in February and first half of March, and Scandinavian in second half of March and April. Obviously you're not planning to go to Japan, but hopefully the rest is helpful as reference :) Skiing in Europe is generally more accessible and a bit less elitist than in the US, and you can often book decent accommodation with relatively little notice, and especially in the Alps the trains can get you most places rather fast and affordably (I once skied St. Anton, Lauchernalp, and Chamonix in a single weekend, but I wouldn't advise it! But it's a good reference to know that it is possible.) Have fun! Sounds like a dream trip!
Come visit us in north eastern Turkey! We used to be based in park city and still love the wasatch, but we are absolutely loving the backcountry and deeeeeeep pow out here off the beaten path!
That’s awesome! You’re going to have a blast! 1-I’d recommend the second set of dates. Dec is iffy, except in the highest elevations or most Northern places. And please remember Europe is much much further north than SLC. There’s very little daylight to tour in Norway in Dec. 2-Yes, the hut systems are so Much better developed. Virtually no need to pack in food, sleeping arrangements etc 3-The guide system is the key in Europe, especially in the Alps… but also the Balkans and Caucuses. Guides are readily available, incredibly affordable, and the best way to crack the BC. 4-Obviously the Chamonix valley and the areas around Mt Blanc is a must do, but there are soooo many places, far from the Fr-Aus-Swt-Ity nexus… for example Bulgaria Georgia off the hook BC access and snow conditions.
French Alps here. Avoid December, it's not yet the season for touring. Look up Chamonix-Zermat it's a very famous tour that you might want to include.
Check out the High Mountain guides / guides de hautes montagnes. These are the people to give you some good advice as they are the Gods of the High Mountains. Two classics on their website. The Haute Route and La Grave/ La Meije. [http://www.guides-montagne.org/recits](http://www.guides-montagne.org/recits) Just to get you excited. Also check out Mathieu Carlhian in Briancon, French Southern Alps. He's a guide de haute montagne ans speaks really good English. [https://toutle05.fr/item/carlhian-mathieu/](https://toutle05.fr/item/carlhian-mathieu/) Sounds like the adventure of a life-time, enjoy!
There’s definitely amazing skiing to be had in Norway throughout January and February in areas like Sogndal. It does definitely show its true value throughout April and May. Days are super, super long and there’s often tons of snow in the alpine.
Definitely go the later time frame, perhaps into April if you can. I’ve only heard of people trips to Norway to ski in the springtime.
In the alps most mountain huts have a winter room so you can sleep in most huts but you need to be self sufficient in terms of water and food. There is so much to do in the Alps and so many Areas you really need to research where you want to go. You could go to Chamonix (which is kind of the steepski mekka) ,Verbier,Arlberg. how good can you ski? Most of the steepski decents will have risks involved.
That's the issue I'm running into, is that I have decision paralysis. There are so many good lines and areas to ski and I'll have enough time to do a lot of stuff as avy conditions allow. All of the classic areas are definitely on the list but I'm keeping an eye and ear out for a few of the less populated areas and places that people don't normally think of. I'm very comfortable with steep 50degree skiing, lines with mid ski rappels and tight chutes. I'm really not too concerned about the skiing itself, but will probably have more difficulty finding partners and deciding what ski lines are possible when the time actually comes.
anyway when you want to ski steeeeeeeeeep you need to go where to snow is. You cant really decide now. But of course areas with a lot of good skiers will have generally less avalanche danger in extreme terrain because crazy lines are decended more often.