Skiing in Norway: it's back to ski school on the slopes of Myrkdalen

Matt Carroll leaves his snowboard behind and picks up poles to join his young daughter on the nursery slopes of Norway
Let it snow: the ski slopes at Myrkdalen
Matt Carroll31 October 2016

When my instructor Thrond announced that he hated snowboarders, I knew we were going to get along famously. We may have only known each other for a matter of minutes, but this straight-talking Scandinavian honesty was exactly what I would need if I was to achieve my mission over the next few days.

As someone who’d previously stuck religiously to snowboarding, there was a time when Thrond’s words would have cut me to the quick. But not now, because I was about to become a skier... just as soon as I managed to get my boot into the damn bindings.

This was one of many challenges I encountered on a week-long rite of passage on the sunny Norwegian slopes of Myrkdalen — the first being simply to get my feet into the unfeasibly stiff boots. Having achieved that, though — along with getting my four-year-old daughter Betty trussed up into her 67 layers of fleeces and thermals — we’d shuffled across the car park from our hotel, on time for our first respective lessons as newbie skiers. So far so good. Until Betty needed a wee.

While there are many challenges involved in skiing with little ones, in Myrkdalen it’s easier than a lot of the more mainstream resorts, such as those you’ll find in the Alps. Located less than two hours’ drive from the waterfront city of Bergen — itself only a short flight from the UK and well worth a visit — Myrkdalen lies just along the road from the better-known resort of Voss, where you’ll find 25 miles of slopes overlooking a petrol-blue lake.

Myrkdalen is slightly smaller, with just 22 runs spread over a couple of mountains — the majority of them reds and blues — which funnel you back to the hotel at the base of the resort. However, it was this compact layout, combined with the mellowness of the terrain, that attracted me here. Aside from being my first winter break dedicated to skiing, this was the first time that Betty and I had come on a trip together, just the two of us. I needed things to be easy.

In terms of set-up, it couldn’t be much simpler. With the hotel (there’s only one) being at the base of the mountain and the ski rental shop just a two-minute stroll away, we’d arrived on the first evening and got ourselves ski-suited and booted before bed.

The hotel at night

The next day, within minutes of depositing Betty at her ski class, I was safely ensconced under Thrond’s wing (having not let on that I was really a “dirty snowboarder”). In truth it was rather exciting being a beginner again. The atmosphere on the nursery slopes felt calm and relaxed, and with the learning curve being so quick when you’re first starting out, I experienced a buzz that would normally require steep terrain and lots of trees. Here, however, I found myself grinning from ear to ear after mastering the bunny run.

Best of all was that I could easily keep an eye on Betty, who, by all accounts, was equally enjoying herself. This being her first time on snow, the instructors started off gently with a bit of shuffling about on level ground, to give her the feel; but by mid-morning she was weaving between giant owls and ducking under inflatable archways, interspersed with rides on the magic carpet lift. As with most youngsters she picked it up quickly, and by the end of the week was hitching rides on the button lift and bombing down the bunny run.

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I, however, was finding it a tad more daunting. Having conquered the beginner slope on our first morning, Thrond was keen to take us up the hill on our second day, to join the grown-ups. “Don’t worry, there’s nothing here you can’t handle,” he said, as we flopped into the chairlift and floated away from my comfort zone.

With his steely blue eyes hidden behind goggles, I couldn’t be sure whether Thrond’s monotone encouragement concealed a hint of dry Scandinavian wit. As it turned out, however, he was being sincere.

The children’s playroom at Myrkdalen Hotel

The mountains in this part of the world are generally a lot shallower than the Alps — and a lot lower — with the highest piste here topping out at just over 1,000 metres. And yet, being so far north, and fairly close to the sea, Myrkdalen gets around five metres of snow a season.

What all this meant for a novice like me was that within days I found myself skiing the resort from top to bottom, progressing from humble snowplough turns to paralleling down the red that runs from the main lift to the base — the Norwegian fjords stretched out below.

A children’s ski lesson

Come the evenings, Betty and I regrouped for hot chocolate back in the hotel bar, swapping stories about new slopes conquered and near misses negotiated. While it was refreshing hanging out together without any of the stress of school runs and rushing to work, she was soon itching to hit the hotel’s playroom with her new-found ski school friends. Even though I was now a skier, I guess I just wasn’t quite cool enough.

Details: Norway

Ski Safari (01273 224 068; skisafari.com) offers a seven-night package from £4,580 for a family of four — based on two adults and two children under 12. Includes flights from Gatwick to Bergen, resort transfers, six-day lift passes and half-board accommodation in a family room at the Myrkdalen Hotel.

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