Perhaps it’s odd to talk about skiing in June but for those of us who live for it, and pine for it when the heat starts to get overwhelming, this is the perfect time to think about planning your next ski vacation! And if you’re from the US and love alpine skiing as much as I do (and Nordic skiing as much as my partner does), skiing in Europe is probably on your bucket list.

In early March of 2023, we were lucky enough to enjoy three beautiful days of alpine and Nordic skiing in Geilo, Norway. Geilo Ski Resort, where I alpine skied for two days, doesn’t have the steepest terrain or longest trails but it makes up for it with some fantastic perks and a whole lot of charm and the Nordic ski trails magically seem to go on forever. Geilo offered us a delightful few days of skiing, no matter the discipline, and this post highlights the top four reasons why.

Poma and T-bar lifts make alpine skiing a truly active sport.

If you grew up skiing the little mom and pop hills of the northeast like I did, you are no stranger to Poma and T-bar lifts. Geilo Ski Resort has a grand total of four chair lifts, four T-bar lifts, and eight (8!) Poma lifts. Why, you might ask? Well, we learned from our very helpful ski shop dude that perpetually high winds cause chairlifts to have to close regularly so Poma and T-bar lifts help keep the skiing going in otherwise persnickety weather. The variety and placement of the lifts makes it so you can hop from one lift to the other (some drop you off where another begins) over various terrain. As someone who freezes on chairlifts and hates just sitting between runs, using my whole body on the Poma and T-bar lifts was a fantastic way to engage all of my lower body muscles the entire time I was skiing. And amazingly, at least when we were visiting, the winds were strong but not at all cold which made for an exhilaratingly fantastic first ski experience on a new continent.

They offer so many pass options!

Do you only want to ski first chair? Would you like to lap the mountain like a hamster for two hours? How about a morning pass until noon or an afternoon pass after 1pm? The myriad pass options make coordinating your ski day so easy! Like many resorts in the US these days, Geilo Ski Resort uses RFID tickets and gates so you activate your pass when you start your first run and it shuts off when it’s programmed to do so. Kindly, though, if you try to sneak one extra run in, the nice folks in the booth will hit the magic button and let you through. Oh and I didn’t mention the best part: a day of alpine skiing in Geilo will only cost about US $48!

Nordic skiing and alpine skiing are truly married in Norway.

My partner loves to Nordic ski. He’ll go alpine skiing happily, but when skate skiing is happy place; apparently, skate skiing in Norway is his extra happy place. If you are in the same kind of partnership, you’ll love how easy it is to drop one person off to alpine ski for a while you go Nordic skiing a while since the Nordic trails are just minutes from the alpine resort. Granted, many ski resorts in the US have Nordic trails on the property but in Geilo, we’re talking more than 500 kilometers of groomed Nordic ski trails that are meticulously maintained and sprinkled with huts that serve Norwegian treats and hot chocolate. I’m not sure if Norwegians alpine ski or Nordic ski more but the verdict is that they do both really, really well.

To a person, we met nothing but kind and helpful folks.

And boy do they love to ski! We could have talked to our rental shop dude at the Geilo SkiShop for hours about where to ski and when to ski and what skis to use when we’re in a particular place on a particular kind of terrain. Norwegian people aren’t particularly outgoing but the hospitality was top notch and they seemingly especially enjoy sharing what they know about what they love. If you’re looking for the best spots to ski, ask anyone speaking Norwegian and you’ll receive most excellent local tips.

Where are some of your favorite places to ski in Europe and beyond?