Klaus Finne’s best tips for powder skiing in Voss
If you visit the ski resorts in the middle of the week, the chance of getting the snow all to yourself is big.
NB! Be aware of avalanche risk whenever you go off-piste. If you go off-piste the ski resort is not responsible for your safety. Don’t take any risks. Read more at "Safety for ski tourers" by Visit Norway or at "Ski touring in Norway" at Varsom.no
Big Air- and slopestyle athlete Klaus Finne’s dream day looks like this: he wakes up in the morning, looks out the window and it is snowing, in Voss. He eats a big breakfast – preferably the traditional meal "potato dumpling with bacon" – and is set for the slopes 15 minutes before they open. He greets the lift worker, and if he is lucky, he gets to jump on a little earlier. Every minute counts on snow days, and on the way up he is planning his first line. Klaus thinks being in the ski centre in the middle of the week is the best there is!
- There is little that beats that feeling. It is calm and quiet in the ski centre, you hear the ski lift going, and it is not many people.
A lone powder wolf
Klaus has flexible working days, that makes it possible to take a few hours skiing on the best snow days before he is off to work. He enjoys his own company the most.
- It is of course fun to ski with other people sometimes, but if I have to wait around, I get impatient. The best thing is to go alone, take a few runs with those you meet in the slopes. That way you can leave whenever you like, without feeling you left someone behind, he smiles.
- But if you do not know the terrain, it is best to ski with someone. One should have respect for the possibility of avalanches, and it is very important to be in groups if there is an accident, he adds.
Former skipro Klaus Finne is mostly found in the ski centres in the middle of the week. Photo: Sverre F. Hjørnevik
Growing up in the slopes
Klaus have grown up in Voss and knows the two ski centres Voss Resort and Myrkdalen like his backpocket.
- Voss Resort is where I grew up. My school was 400 metres away from the old gondola, and every day when the school bell rang at 2 o'clock I ran over and took the gondola to the mountains. Myrkdalen has been my workplace for the last years, and in that way, I have got to know this place well too, he says.
On days when the snow is perfect, he knows where to go first and get the first run, in both ski centres.
- In Voss Resort I always go straight to Hanguren. This is where I went skiing when I was a little kid after school, and it is still my playground. Here you get a lot of short and quick laps with fun forest skiing, and for all levels. Next up is the forest in Bavallen, from the top of Bavallsheisen and down towards Bavallstunet. It has longer runs, if your legs are ready for it, he says.
Les også: Trygge toppturar i Vossafjella
River-halfpipe in Myrkdalen
If Klaus is skiing in Myrkdalen on a day with powder, you find him at the top of the Kari Traa-lift.
- If the visibility is good, it is possible to do a lot of fun skiing here. My favourite spot is down the river that lies on each side of the lift. It is important to know that the rivers are frozen below, of course. If the visibility is worse or it is snowing a lot, then the line under Ekspressheisen a good tip. Myrkdalen gets a lot of snow, but if it has come 40 cm of powder snow, this forest is perfect.
Powder in the evening
In addition to skiing in the weekdays, Klaus is often at Voss Resort in the evenings. Over the last years evening skiing has become very good. You can take the gondola from Voss centre and up to the mountains, where you can enjoy 10 km with lighted slopes.
- What many poeople don't know is that you can get good powder snow in the evening as well. You can ski off-piste in the lights from the slopes. That is pretty cool, he says.
Les også: Derfor bør du leggja skiferien til Voss og Myrkdalen
I look forward to this every year
When the skiing season is around the corner, Klaus starts getting restless. With memories from the previous season still in mind, he is eager to get started.
- Every year I have just as much excitement and joy approaching the ski season.
Now he is praying to the snow gods that the season will start early, and be good.
- December is a wild card. Here in Voss, we can get a lot of rainfall, but we prefer them as snow. The good days early in the season tend to be really good. However, the weather can change fast at the start of the season, so when it snows you have to get to the mountains! If you wait until the weekend, you might have been waiting too long.
Forest skiing at it's best - under Tråstølsheisen in Voss Resort. Photo: Vinjar Slåtten
Les også: Den beste skogskøyringa på Voss