Snowvantage

Comparisons

Hafjell or Røldal?

Hafjell takes 5 of 9, with 2 too close to call. That still does not settle it — only the categories you care about count.

Norway

Hafjell

850 m of vertical fifteen minutes from Lillehammer, built for the 1994 Olympics and still the easiest big Norwegian resort to reach from Oslo. Tree-lined most of the way down, which matters in a Nordic storm.

Worth knowing. Modest vertical for a Norwegian price.

Choose it if

Families with young kids

About £1,152 a week from London

Norway

Røldal

Norway's powder magnet: five lifts, 720 m of vertical, and a snow record that draws people from three countries when it is on. Nothing here is groomed for the sake of it, and nothing here is a family holiday.

Worth knowing. Five lifts, and nothing groomed worth the name.

Choose it if

Off-piste

About £981 a week from London

Side by side

HafjellRøldal
Snow reliability51/10043/100
Size of the ski area44 km15 km
Top lift1050 m1100 m
Cost before travel€1040€830
Families with young kids9/103/10
Snowboarders8/108/10
A non-skiing partner5/102/10
Budget and après6/104/10
Off-piste5/1010/10

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.

Hafjell from your cityRøldal from your city