Mecca of MTB Trails – Hallingdal, Norway

Boys trip! Hallingdal, Norway. For those of you that know… Needless to say more. For others… Not a bike park, but a valley with several locations that together form a Mecca of MTB trails. From chairlift supported flowtracks to endless technical mountain trails above the tree line. From shuttle based best in class enduro trails to all-mountain adventures pushing both you and the bike out of the comfort zone. …and in the middle of everything; throw in shuttled 17km downhill flow track for families… Read more about Hallingdal here

We have chosen to have Nesbyen as our base. I’ve been here before, but we will explore mostly new stuff.

Getting ready is normally almost as exiting as the trip itself. This time has been different for me though – having crashed my frame and not having a backup… But Alex has not only arranged a rental bike, but also came with the smart idea to bring my own “contact points” – wheels, saddle, grips and pedals. So… bit of a funny packing this time.

Upon arrival, almost ceremonial, each one gets their stuff sorted in order to hit the trails. I get the GT Force ready. A bit strange to start with. My own bike but not. Like a home away from home or something…

It’s late afternoon but we start pedaling up from the back yard of the Airbnb to check out Påskestien (Easter Trail).

Using the gravel road up makes it possible see what awaits

We miss a fork and end up bushwhacking some 150 meters until we are back on track. But stoked!

From here on we are pushing up the trail that we will use down. Looks great

A potential viewpoint makes us go for a detour but worth it

The trail down is fast and consequently without pictures. It’s fun but a bit sketchy on a new bike.

New day, different location, different conditions… We are up the valley some 40 minutes by car: Ål and visiting the Huckfest Bike Festival 2024

(forgot to stop the recoding while in shuttle…)

The weather is… well… not so dusty… There is a drag lift operating the jump lines and we get going.

Luckily there is a covered bar area to get what you need to go out there and fight in the mud again. Except for the short drag lift the trails are covered by shuttles during the festival. I’m gradually getting the hang of the bike and we’re having a blast

The shuttles are great in the sense that they not only bring you up the mountain but take you around in a big area that makes it so much more than just following trails from a chairlift.

No matter how good it is, it’s also a bit cold waiting for the shuttle as the wet gradually makes its way into your skin

And wet it is 😊

New day and new opportunities. Today without the rain

Today’s focus is Gol, 30 minutes away.

We’ve got Oscar guiding us and Nils driving the van. We head straight for Storefjell for some above-the-tree line-biking

Almost Romania feeling

From here on we are just blown away with how good the trails are. Extremely demanding, technical and fast. And therefore only sporadic pictures as we are on a high bombing down the trails. What a blast!

Once back at the accommodation we just need to check out that steep Beaster trail. No shuttle though…

And well. It is steep, but still flowy. I couldn’t help it and just went all the way down without stopping 😊.

Yet another day and we want more. We take advantage of the shuttle from Nesbyen up to the start of Hallingspranget – the 17km machine built family trail.

From there we bike it down to a valley where we need to push a lot to get up to the Beia peak and from there we send it all the way down to Nesbyen on less ridden trails that partially is so fun that we make very few stops.