Snowvantage

Comparisons

Geilo or Hemsedal?

Hemsedal takes 4 of 9, with 4 too close to call. That still does not settle it — only the categories you care about count.

Norway

Geilo

Norway's original ski town, on the Oslo–Bergen railway and skiable straight off the platform. Gentle, high and reliably cold, with cross-country trails that outnumber the pistes several times over.

Worth knowing. Gentle throughout, and there is more cross-country here than downhill.

Choose it if

A non-skiing partner

About £1,194 a week from London

Norway

Hemsedal

The Scandinavian Alps, as the marketing has it — 830 m of vertical, steep terrain by Nordic standards, and a strong freeride scene. Expensive once you are there, as all of Norway is.

Worth knowing. Expensive once you are there, as all of Norway is.

Choose it if

Off-piste

About £1,190 a week from London

Side by side

GeiloHemsedal
Snow reliability62/10062/100
Size of the ski area40 km44 km
Top lift1178 m1450 m
Cost before travel€1065€1070
Families with young kids9/108/10
Snowboarders6/108/10
A non-skiing partner7/104/10
Budget and après6/108/10
Off-piste5/107/10

Bold marks the winner. Rows where neither is bold are close enough that the difference would not change a decision. Cost excludes travel, which depends on where you leave from.

Piste kilometres, lift counts and prices are indicative and compiled from public sources — they have not yet been checked against the resort's own figures for this season. Costs are planning estimates, not quotes. Spotted one that is wrong? Tell us.

Geilo from your cityHemsedal from your city