The southern Trolløypa - Venabygdsfjellet to Lillehammer on skis

The Trolløypa is a long marked winter route across the uplands between Rondane and Lillehammer, and this is its southern half: four days on cross-country skis from Venabygdsfjellet, on the southern edge of the Rondane massif, down to Lillehammer. It is the right length for anyone who wants a genuine moving ski week without committing to the full nine-day expedition from the north.

The skiing is rated moderate, but this is real fjell skiing: open plateau and birch forest at around 1,000 metres, on a mix of prepared loipe and properly ungroomed sections where the weather sets the pace. Moving days run from roughly 12 to 35 kilometres. One night is spent at the DNT self-service cabin at Vetåbua, with simple bunks and food on site, which is part of the point rather than a hardship. We arrange it self-guided with a long-standing Norwegian partner who handles the Oslo Airport train transfer and moves your bags between lodges on most days.

This will suit skiers who already have a few multi-day tours behind them and are comfortable reading upland weather. The rhythm of long days between shelters is much the same as a Pennine Way week, only on skis, and it finishes on the Birkebeiner trail into Lillehammer.