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Here at Exodus we thrive on feedback from our customers. It’s the only way we can ensure our trips continue to be the best they can be. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of the trip you’re interested in, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers.
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Great place to experience track and off track cross country skiing, the instructors are excellent very patient and professional, the accommodation is very good (twin bedded rooms with supplement) and the food in the restaurant excellent.
Skiing across frozen lakes.
Very kind, professional, patient and committed to helping you improve your cross country skiing ability.
Buy a couple of bottles of wine at Heathrow duty free.
good venue, good food, good instructors, but pace a bit too quick for an absolute beginner recovering from the flu!
being able to cross frozen lakes and get a whole new perspective on the fantastic scenery
Both very good and worked hard to make the evenings interesting, as well as their work during the day
do some upper body strengthening exercises - it will make getting back on the feet (frequently required) much easier
glad I tried the skiing but think I'll stick to snowshoes in the future
Kvitavatn is an excellent centre for all levels of snow sports. You are well looked affer, meals are excellent and well organised with helpful staff and a good standard of accomodation.
In a week where the off track snow was so unpredictable and difficult I would offer the day the group did the Blue 23 trip. The weather was brilliant. It was an area new to me and provided new views and vistas.
We had two leaders, Ilse and Mary who swapped about the groups. They were excellent. They instructed, lead the groups and maintained our spirits. They laid on films, lectures and quizs in the evening based on a theme of skiing.
The bus takes 3+ hours from the airport to Kvitavatn. You may wish to have a snack to hand to tide you over until dinner on arrival. The ski hire is excellent and not expensive. It saves hassle on aeroplanes and at airports.
Kvitavatn has a considerable variety of terrain so you are not going to get bored and caters for all levels of skiing. And all this with the comfort of a fixed centre.
A brilliant week, exceptional leaders, fabulous tuition and an all round great place to be.
Sunshine and diamond dust air with mountains as far as the eye can see - magical
Ilse & Mary are inspirational, know how to get the best out of people whilst having a laugh.
Go
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excellent
go for it
Just back from a fantastic trip. I’d not been cross country skiing before and found the variety of this trip exceeded my expectations. Although the accommodation is described as basic as it is a youth hostel, it was very comfortable, warm and clean. The food was consistently excellent and plentiful with a hot 3 course dinnner every evening, being just what was needed after a day out in the cold.
For a first timer zooming along the tracks, just trusting the ski's to do the work was amazing.Also climbing high up onto the hillside to look across at Gausta without too much effort was surprising. The scenery from up there was spectacular and the sense of achievement having got to the top and back down again safely will stay with me for some time.
The leaders were outstanding! Ilse knew exactly how to approach each individual to encourage and motivate them. If she said we could ski down a slope then we knew we could trust her judgement as to our level and ability and each time she was right. Also she made the warm up sessions fun and a great way to start the day, and the stretching at the end of the day was a welcome release of the tension from our aching muscles.The talks and videos in the evening were informative and helpful particularly to a first timer.Ilse and Mary took literally hundreds of photos during the week which meant I actually have pictures of myself rather than just scenery! Also I didn't need to worry about dropping or losing my camera as they took better shots than I could. Unfortunately my friends particularly love the photos of me face down in the snow!
Just try it! It was a laugh a minute and I can't imagine getting such variety with better tuition and guidance anywhere else.
We were a group of 13 with 2 leaders which meant we were split into groups of 7 and 6 which was fine. Any more could have meant more waiting around and difficulty keeping close but not too close.
This was a really enjoyable holiday for the thrill of learning to ski, the people, the scenery and the food.
I think the most inspirational moment was the first day that our group went off- piste on the mountain away from the resort. Making fresh tracks down the slopes brought back the same feeling you had as a kid braced to slide down a hill that no one has sledged down before.
Both leaders were excellent. I appreciated the fact that both Ilse and Chris kept everyone in the group involved, with both encouragement and words of advice. The beginners lessons were also structured well so that the learning bits were interspersed with having fun on the tracks so that you never felt too bogged down thinking about your technique.
You don't need to take much local currency, unless you're planning to spend a day in the local town. Enough for a few drinks in the evening and some gifts.
Falling over in public places will hold you in good stead for a cross country skiing holiday
The balance was just right between active days that always encouraged you to push your skills a bit further and very comfortable and sociable evenings
Climbing the mountain on skis
Very fine leaders each with a different range of skills. I learned a lot
The leaders know there stuff. If you listen to them and take their advice you will find that you have improved in leaps and bounds over the week
That was my second trip. This year I am going to Msstrod but still with Exodus.
An exceptional trip with inspirational instruction….even for a rank beginner with no skiing experience at all.
I had several inspirational moments. The first was the moment when I first managed to stay upright on skis on the first day, the second was skiing out over Kvitavatn lake, then in turn the moment when I managed to herring bone uphill successfully, to snowplough downhill under control, telemarks to provide better stability, and the first run without an instructor around the ski tracks. Skiing in a force 9 gale was pretty exhiliarating too!
Ilse was amazing. She is hugely talented, incredibly patient and knows exactly when a word of praise or a word of criticism will be most appropriate. Several times when I was struggling with something she would pay me a compliment that lifted my mood entirely, equally she never let go something that I was doing badly (pole position for general propulsion mostly!) if she thought I could improve it. Full of energy and enthusiasm, she was inspirational.Chris was also great - very different in style, he would talk us through an ascent/descent then leave us to make some decisions about how to approach the obstacle so that we had to think independently about what we were doing. He was never too far away to come back and rescue me from various trees, snow drifts and ski contortions when I managed to hit them but it gave a real sense of achievement when something went well...because you'd done it right. He picked me up out of more piles of snow than anyone should have to do, but always with a smile. He was also great when I gave myself a minor injury on the final day, and got me back to the lodge not only in one piece, but cheerful and with a sense of achievement.At the end of the week we were presented with a disc of photos taken for us where quite a few of us were not taking many through a) fear of crushing the camera b) concentration on skiing or c) being in a snow drift, so we have a great record of the week. I cannot rate the leaders highly enough at Kvitavatn and I can't wait to book again for the coming season.
Cross country skiing makes everything hot - don't dress for downhill or you'll bake. Light layers are a must. Do take a flask, mittens are a winner and most of all definitely take gaiters and waterproofs if you are a beginner. You will fall over......maybe not as much as me, but you will fall, and staying dry is the key to enjoying your trip. Take the smallest day pack you can manage (flask, lunch, layer, camera - you don't need much else) to keep your balance under control. I also took my yak tracks (for gripping ice when walking around) which I found really useful when it got slippery around the Fjellstoge towards the end of the week. Not falling down off skis was a desirable state of affairs given the opportunities for falling over on skis!Inevitably snow conditions vary (we had a couple of warm and therefore very slippery days) and this can be a bit frustrating, but the leaders are very good at picking out the best possible activities for the conditions. You'll get a lot out of the trip.
The Fjellstoge is clean, comfortable and has a sauna, mini cinema with some DVDs, open fire, and fantastic food twice a day (make a lunch up from breakfast). Showers are communal (not a problem, but be prepared!). A particularly great feature of this trip is that the area has a set of lit tracks so you can ski independently in the evenings and the opportunities for skiing off track with the group are great. At one point we were skiing around hills aobut 3/4 of the way up their height, crossing over downhill runs, and looking down over valleys and lakes. It has all the best of hiking, but with snow and skis thrown in. Those looking for a busy night life will be disappointed, but if you want a bit of peace and quiet with some exceptional teaching, and to make quick progress to being able to ski away from tracks etc, this is the trip for you.
Best bits: the guides were fantastic, especially Ilsa who was a brilliant teacher and so obviously skilled on skis. They were so friendly and helpful. Food brilliant and plentiful. Company great, so friendly. Accommodation warm. Great drying room. Great sauna (prepare yourself for a nudist experience). Scenery beautiful. Friendly accommodation hosts – they allowed you to put your own alcohol in the hostel fridge. Perfect 1st cross country ski trip and perfect way to spend a Christmas. Not so best bits: showers poor; tepid temperature and poor water flow. Plus you had to keep pressing the button to keep the shower on and the water flowed for only 15 seconds!! The communal sitting area, whilst warm was not really very cosy. The fire was lovely, but could only accommode about 8 people sitting around it. A real shame that the ambience wasn’t as cosy as it could have been. Some nice rugs and sofas would make all the difference. Bunk rooms small. The holiday information could do a bit more to ensure travellers realise the basic nature of the accommodation and that it is, in fact, a youth hostel.
Learning to glide in the cross country ski tracks and realising that this was a great way to get outdoors, keep fit, and that this was a real alternative to down hill skiing, which has always scared me!!
Completely brilliant. I had some great conversations with the leader, and she also shared thoughts and experiences with us which showed she really cared about the group. She was obviously passionate about cross country skiing and about teaching it. A great technician and good company.
Go prepared for basic accommodation. No luxuries here. Take mittons instead of gloves and try and find some really good thermals to wear underneath the mittons. Don't expect to be stopping at mountain restaurants for hot wine and lunch - there aren't any!! Lunch is eaten out of doors on the mountains - take a flask, because it gets very cold. Everything is massively expensive. Take your own alcohol. If you are in a nice group it gets shared (in ours that's what we did).
All in all a fabulous holiday. I'd definitely recommend it to others and shall go back again myself. 8 out of 10 from me.
