Snowkiter And Plateau

Snowkiting

Haugastøl is widely recognized as one of the best spots in the world for snowkiting. The Hardangervidda mountain plateau offers huge areas and stabile wind conditions throughout the entire winter.

Snowkite view

The season:Bandit

Most years we start snowkiting in the end of October and end the season in the beginning on June.

In a typical year the the conditions are best from Xmas to the end of April. We have some great days in December, but the days are short and the weather could be stormy!

When is the best time to come?

January until the beginning of March offers the best powder conditions, and mid March-May has longer days and more days with soft spring snow. (and typically more sunny days).

Why Haugastøl?

Remi2015Our biggest benefit is the almost unlimited amount of different snowkite spots. Hardangervidda Nationalpark has 3 422 km2 ridable terrain, and Hallingskarvet Nationalpark has 450km2. We have been kiting since 1999 and we still discover new places to ride every winter.

The National Tourist Route Hardangervidda starts right outside the hotel and passes trough the heart of the national park. This gives us 38km of road where you can stop anywhere (there is a parking) and snowkite. Being flexible to move around the the best spot of the day will greatly improve your chances of epic snowkite days during your holiday.

On stormy days the road over the mountain can close due to to much snow and poor visibility. During these days we offer snowmobile shuttles to spots with better conditions for guests in the hotel.

Ragnarok peopleTo view the wide range different locations please have a look at our spot-map and spot page.

We have weather stations and web cameras at 11 different locations so you can follow the conditions live on our weather page or smart phone apps.

Many of the best kiters in the world stay at Haugastøl the entire winter due to the good conditions, and people from all over the world come to explore the biggest mountain plateau in Europe.

Haugastøl has (and still is) the venue of the biggest snowkite competitions worldwide. Red Bull Ragnarok, World Championships and countless Norwegian Championships have all been based out of or hotel.

With wide range of spots we are often host for photo and video shoots. The films of Snowkitefilm.com, directed by Morten Gjerstad; ENTROPY, SOMETHING STRONGER, DIMENSIONS and HOW TO SNOWKITE have all been filmed here at Haugastøl. They can also be purchased in the reception.


New to snowkiting? Sign up for a kitelesson here


Is it always windy?

NO! Luckily not! (please continue reading to find out why this is actually good thing!)

It goes without saying, when you travel somewhere for kiting you want wind.

Snowkiting is different from kitesurfing in one very important way. The surface you ride on changes quickly . The snow can be soft, slushy, powder or icy.

If its always windy, the surface will always be hard and icy. If its always snowing, the visibility will always be poor. To increase the chance of great snowkite days you want to be in a place where weather changes quickly and often.

Haugastøl is located in the mountains between Norways two biggest cities Oslo and Bergen. The location right between east and west puts us right on the border between two different weather systems. This gives us twice the chance of wind, sun and good snow.

Bjørn 2015

Temporary prohibited kitezone

At the Hardangervidda mountain plateau there is a large reindeer herd that must not be disturbed in any matter and at all times! The reindeers has the hardest time during wintertime. There is lack of food and resources available to them. If you by chance should see or meet a flock of reindeer or other wildlife while snowkiting unexpectedly, please simply immediately turn discreet in opposite direction. Do not in any circumstances ride with or against them, as they will waste a lot of valuable energy! Avoid this!

Some periods in the wintertime, the reindeer herd might be located quite close to the road RV7 and to our magnificent kitespots.

When this occurs we will in co-operation with Oslo Kiteclub and “Statens Naturoppsyn/The National Park Ranger” weekly update the temporary prohibited areas/zone that we shall stay out of to protect the reindeers. When the reindeers moves, the temporary prohibited kitezone areas will change accordingly. As soon as the reindeers has moved far enough away from the road RV7, the restrictions will be removed.

To see the updated zone click here

What do I do when I am to tired to snowkite?

If sitting by the fireplace, relaxing in the sauna or catching up on Netflix is not your thing there is plenty of other great outdoors activities.

We have cross country skis, fat bikes and snowshoes to rent directly in the hotel.

If you are in the mood to see something scenic one of the worlds most spectacular waterfalls Vøringsfossen is located only 40min drive from the hotel. Continue for another 20 minutes and you are at sea level in the fjords.

Northern Light

We can proudly say, Haugastøl has truly become the Mecca for snowkiting.