Påskefjellet. (Photo by the blogger.)

Påskefjellet (”the Easter mountain”) is something you can find only in Norge. During påskeferien (the Easter vacation) as much as 1/3 of all Norwegians (or so my familie told me!) go on a skiing adventure på fjellet (in the mountains/highland). Some stay several days in their hytter (cabins), while others just spend some hours enjoying snøen og sola (the snow and the sun) in each other’s company. Påskefjellet means fun and freedom – here are a few things to keep in mind in case you want to experience it yourself! 🙂

• The better vær (weather), the more folk (people). You want to feel like Arctic explorers on a huge, empty plain? Start the day early – which is also a good idea if you drive to the ski area and want a nice place to park bilen (the car).
• The higher you go, the stronger the sun gets. Skiing without solbriller (sun glasses) can actually make you snøblind (”snow blind”), which means that your eyes get scorched and damaged from staring at the sun’s reflection in the snowscape. Ouch. And of course, make sure to put on lots of solkrem (sunscreen) – unless you really do want to look like a lobster…
• Remember to bring vann (water) and snacks for the whole company. På høyfjellet (in the highland) there are usually no cafés or restaurants, and skiing makes you a lot more sulten og tørst (hungry and thirsty) than you imagine when you sit inside planning the trip! 🙂
• Sitteunderlag (sitting pads) are a must for your breaks. Even if the air around you is hot, snø is still snow… If you want to be a real Norwegian, bring a påskekrim (”Easter” detective novel) and some appelsiner (oranges) to share. Enjoy your grilled pølser (sausages), but please don’t leave your engangsgrill (disposable grill) behind you in the wild…

Sunscreen ad for the Easter season. (Photo by the blogger.)

God påske! 🙂