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How’s the weather in HAFJELL?

Chridi

Chimp
Oct 15, 2008
10
0
So early this year we decided to do a trip to Hafjell resort.
Accommodation and ferry are booked and everybody’s waiting to get the wheels spinning already.
We are a group of five or six people though one is only riding bikes on the touring/cross country side of things and is probably not even going to take his bike with him.

Hence some questions …
I’m sure there are quite some nice XC / enduro loops around the mountain. Anything that would be worth for the XC guy to bring his hardtail?
And along with this question, my bro and me have not yet decided whether we will really need a full on DH bike or if the enduro bikes will be ok in respect to geometry and travel. On videos most stuff looks reasonably rideable and we are there to have fun and not be the fastest on the hill. – So really not sure on the bike question …
On the pro enduro side we could also do one or another morning or evening spin with our XC mate.
How fast and choppy is the park terrain? Is the slacker head angle of a DH bike mandatory up there? And how good in shape are the tracks in mid to end of July? Thinking of breaking bumps etc.

What else is there around? Anything a tourist shouldn’t pass on? Like wrestling with a moose or bear? We will travel by car so we are quite mobile.
Any local gems there? Cafes, restaurants, bars? Hikes, waterfalls, stunning views, good spots for swimming etc.? As one of us is a tattoo artist I think some artsy stuff or tattoo shops would also be appreciated.
Really any hint is welcome.

I hope some Norwegian monkeys will chime in. Or anybody that has been there already.
Thanks so far.
 

Bedlam

Monkey
Feb 13, 2010
240
0
Under ground
I guess I'll chime in, as Hafjell is def my fav riding spot (although I am Swedish..). I'm hopefully going there this weekend, being the opening weekend of the season. And then most of the weekends after that I suppose..

I prefer my DH bike in a few of the trails, but you could absolutely do some serious damage with a 150-170 AM rig there. The easier (green & blue) machine built trails might have some brake bumps and chatter in some places, but mostly the trail maintenance is spot on the entire season especially on the black trails as the newbs haven't destroyed them. Best maintained park I've been to at least. The natural trails are quite rough and you would probably need a DH bike to go full speed, but hitting them with the AM bike is a blast as well, at least if you've got strong hands. Arm pump is not uncommon with a smaller bike..
This being said, the most fun you'll have on this planet is riding the living bejezuz out of the Buldre trail or the "KGB"-combo (Buldre trail into Grass trail) at ridiculous speeds on the DH-bike. There are so much stupid **** to pull in those trails once you get to know them....

The trail riding around is superb, we've had injured riders come along weekend after weekend just grinding trails when the rest of us is in the park, so the XC-guy will be sorry if he doesn't bring his bike (assuming he's at least an intermediate rider, some of the trails are quite techy).

As for other stuff to do.. I don't know a whole lot, but the place is stunning so there is bound to be some nice hiking and stuff around. And the city of Lillehammer, which is just a few KM I think from the bike park was the host of the 1994 winter olympics, so there is a ton of touristy stuff to do there (which I did as a kid, so I can't really remember them..)

As for weather, look at http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Oppland/Øyer/Hafjell_alpinsenter/ (language selection top right corner of the screen). Mid july is usually pretty warm, I'd say 15-20°C but can drop down to the 10's if its raining (and being Norway, it does rain from time to time. Some times not so much, some times you know why the people of old were afraid of the sky falling down on them...), so bring both shorts and pants if you've got both.

I think that about covers it, if you don't have any more specific questions?
 

Tomasis

Monkey
Feb 26, 2003
681
0
Scotland
Bedlam, cool post.

Im Swede too. I plan to take a trip to Hajfell, or even a few ones more. I didnt decide yet which bike I take Enduro 170 or DH. I think it'd be interesting to test Bos suspension there. It might be too much for Vipr without reservoir. Interesing note about arm pumps, it must be hard track :)
 

Chridi

Chimp
Oct 15, 2008
10
0
Thanks for your post, Bedlam! :thumb:

General consensus is, that we're all in for park riding.
So as of now it looks like the XC mate will borrow my bro's enduro bike.
Might suite him better than the hardtail with a 100mm fork. The rest of us will be on DH bikes then.

How is the soil on the mountain? Do you need something different than a Minion f when it is wet or raining?


I am still interested in the spare time / sightseeing topic if anyone knows.
 

Bedlam

Monkey
Feb 13, 2010
240
0
Under ground
In downpour I run Schwalbe Muddy Mary, pretty much my go-to tire in the wet, especially on the natural trails. But for general grease, DHF is enough at least if you keep to the machine built stuff. It's a blast to hit the grease flat out, sideways all the way!

Oh and also, don't trust a weather forecast longer in advance than one day. Today the forecast for saturday has changed 3 times, covering sun, slight rain and thunder.... In other words, classical mountain weather.
 

Joppo

Chimp
Jun 6, 2013
4
0
Norway
im from norway and was thinking about hitting hafjell in june. do anyone know of a good place to stay?