A Winter Journey – on wooden skis, through forests and mountains, from hut to snow camp.
Do you dream of journeying through wild, snowy landscapes? Of waking up to the quiet of a forest in winter, or skiing across open wetlands as the light shifts over the mountains?
This 6-day Winter Wilderness Journey offers a deeper experience of winter travel. It’s not a course, but a shared adventure for those with some skiing and winter camping experience. Each day we travel to a new location, covering around 8-12 km on traditional wooden skis through forests, open valleys, and mountain terrain. We carry everything we need in pulkas and backpacks, staying self-sufficient throughout the journey.
We combine nights in simple, unserviced cabins with sleeping in the snow — under a tarp, in a tent, or beneath a tree depending on conditions. We cook over open fires and tune into the rhythm of moving and living outdoors in winter.
Starting in Skåbu, a small mountain village in Nord-Fron, we move between Langsua Nationalpark and Jotunheimen Nationalpark in little-traveled areas. The landscape is open and wild, shaped by old forests, marshes, and surrounded by mountains. We mostly travel off-trail, creating our own path through the snow.
This is a trip for those who already have some experience with skiing and winter camping. This journey is about experiencing what it means to live outdoors in winter — together, in movement, in nature.
■ TIMELESS ■ OFFLINE ■ COMMUNAL ■ NATURE RESPECTING ■ AUTHENTIC ■ PERSONAL LEADERSHIP
Free information call:
We call you at a moment that fits you. A non-binding way to get to know us better!
★★★★★
This winter course was a truly unique experience. Without a phone, watch, electricity, or internet, but with breathtaking landscapes, a small group, delicious food, and a pair of wooden skis, we had the opportunity to learn a lot about winter in Norway and experience everything firsthand. Everything we needed as a group was provided, and anything that wasn’t, we simply didn’t need.
Organise Private Trip:
Contact us to organise your private custom winter trip!
The Practicalities & Details
What is included / What is extra
Pre-Course
✓ Prep video call with group upfront
✓ Detailed packing & gear list
✓ Document on arrival & on the area
✓ Availability for questions on gear & arrival
During the Course & Multi-Day Trip
✓ Ski, staves rental & pulka
✓ Group gear; tarps, axes, cooking etc
✓ Safety gear; ice-pigs etc.
✓ Licenses and permits, e.g. wood
✓ one experienced nature mentor
✓ 2 nights in simple mountain huts
✓ 1 dinner at restaurant
✓ all breakfast
✓ 1 night in serviced huts with shower & electricity
After the Course
✓ We send you the pictures/ videos we took
What is not included/ extra:
✗ Travel to and from Vinstra, Norway
✗ Individual gear, e.g. sleeping bag
✗ drinks at restaurant
✗ Rental options, e.g. reindeer hide
✗ Personal insurance, e.g. health, cancellation, etc.
Note: We rent out gear such as sleeping bags, sleeping mats, anoraks, bivy bags, gaiters and more. Take contact.
Itinerary of the 6-Day Winter Wilderness Journey
Questions and Answers on the Details
Course Prerequisites and Requirements
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To join this journey, you should have some cross-country or backcountry skiing experience.
Winter camping experience is not required, but it’s an advantage if you have tried it before.Good physical condition is necessary. We will be skiing off-trail through varied, uneven terrain, pulling sledges (pulks) and carrying a daypack with personal and group gear. Physical effort is a natural part of every day — and it’s also what helps us stay warm.
How fit do I need to be?
If you can hike 10 km on small, uneven trails while carrying 12–15 kg of weight (around 20% of your body weight), including 400 meters of ascent and descent, you have the fitness needed for this trip. If you have any doubts, past injuries, or questions, feel free to contact us so we can assess it together.
How you will sleep
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On this journey, we mix winter camping with simple cabin stays. Two nights will be spent outside — sleeping in the snow under a tarp, a tree, the stars, or in a shared tent, depending on the weather and terrain. Two nights we’ll sleep in basic, unserviced cabins without electricity or running water. These cabins are often small and rustic, with everyone sleeping in the same room, possibly close together and with limited privacy.
In the cabins, we heat with wood stoves, melt snow or collect water from streams, and prepare meals together over the fire or on a gas stove.
Our final night will be at Sjodalen Hyttetun — a cozy camping ground with heated cabins, electricity, hot showers, and dinner in their special turf hut restaurant.
Travel & how to get to the meeting point
- The meeting point is in Vinstra (2640), Norway at the train station Vinstra stasjon
- Vinstra is located half way between Oslo and Trondheim. It takes about 3 hours from Oslo to get to the meeting point. There are limited connections, especially on weekends (entur / vy for timetables and tickets)
- For traveling by train check the following train providers: db.de/ dsb.dk / sj.se
- There are overnight busses driving from Hamburg to Oslo: flixbus.de
- the closest Airport is Oslo-Gardermoen
- More detailed info will follow once you sign up
Price, Registration, Payment, Cancellation
- Pricing
Early bird price until the 1st of August: 840€
Regular 980€
All prices stated include the MVA tax where applicable (VAT/ BTW/ MvSt).
Included is guiding, accommodation, ski-rental and some meals and more, see the full list above.
Not included is travel to and from and personal equipment, see full list above. - Course Registration
You register for our courses by filling out the booking form.
Once we received your registration, we will send you a confirmation, if a place is available.
We will also send you more information (Documents on Arrival, Travel, Gear/ Equipment) and the Invoice, along with our General terms and conditions as well as a Liability waiver that we will ask you to sign.
You reserve your spot by paying a deposit of 200€. The remaining balance is due until latest 6 weeks before the start of the trip.
Further, we will ask you for additional information in a questionnaire on health/ food preferences/ emergency contact/ allergies/ rental options/ sizes (for skis) and contact sharing consent for travel coordination. - Payment
Currently we only take payments by bank transfer to our Norwegian bank account. You will find all the details on the invoice. - Cancellation and Course Confirmation
The course will be confirmed when at least 4 participants are signed up or latest 6 weeks before the course starts. Should we cancel the course due to a lack of participants, you will get a full refund. For the detailed cancellation terms (what happens if you cancel your participation), see our general terms and conditions. We recommend you to take out a cancellation/ travel insurance.
On the food, Diets and Menu
For this course we will only provide breakfast.
Everybody brings their lunch and snacks individually. We will have a break for lunch at around noon.
Every participant will bring one dinner for the whole group that you will cook over the fire.
We will provide you with information on how to plan and prepare this meal to be light weight and fitting for winter conditions and support you when cooking it.
For the last dinner we will enjoy a 3-course dinner with local & traditional Norwegian food. This is included in the course fee.
What to Bring & Packing List
- You will likely need to invest in some clothing and equipment. But this does not need to new and expensive! We will send you a detailed packing list with tips and ideas after you register. The most important items are good winter boots (hiking shoes are generally not enough), warm sleeping bag(s), wollen base-layer clothing, as well as a windproof jacket/anorak and good gloves.
We rent out some equipment such as sleeping bags, bivy bags, insulate pads, reindeer hides, anoraks and more. You will get more information upon registration.
Group Living & Phone Free Time
- In this course, we will all pitch in together, whether it’s cooking, transporting equipment, keeping watch over the fire, collecting wood, or melting snow. Especially in winter, it’s important that we work together as a team, not least because it keeps us all warm.
Of course, there will also be time to rest and enjoy the enchanting landscape. - You should be willing to actively contribute to daily tasks in the hut and camp. You should also be ready to face challenges together with your group and support each other.
- We invite you to a media- and clock-free time. We want to do without phones during these days together, even though they will be with us in our luggage for safety reasons. Course leaders carry phones and satellite emergency transmitter, and take care of photography.
- On the first day everyone will be invited to seal their phones and watches turned off in seal bags.
Time until the next course starts:
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Course Location & Area
★★★★★
I joined the course because I have always wanted to experience skiing through a wild winter environment and to camp and sleep under the stars. Brilliant course overall which delivers all and more than it promises.”
★★★★★
As a Norwegian with long experience in outdoor living, I do really recommend this company for their wilderness courses. They have a high standard on their lectures, mixed with good support and much friendly atmosphere. And the food was also great, everything carefully prepared for us. I look forward to the next course!
Meet your Winter Journey Team
Marie Eckart
Guide in Natural Outdoor Life, Crafts & Leadership
Marie has a degree in Natural outdoor living, craft and leadership and has additional training in primitive survival skills all year round. Additionally she is further a NOLS Wilderness First Responder. Marie has been hosting winter courses in Scandinavia since 2019.
She loves to create things herself such as wooden skis, canoes, her winter sleeping bags and winter tent. She also has been working for a traditional leather tannery sewing high end outdoor clothing from reindeer leather.
She lives in Norway in a small log cabin and is also a mother of a child.
Marie speaks German, English, Swedish, Norwegian and Spanish.
Manuel Sturm
Guide in Natural Outdoor Life, Crafts & Leadership
Manuel has a degree in Natural Outdoor Living, Crafts and Leadership and has done additional courses in primitive outdoor living. He is also a NOLS Wilderness First Responder.
During his studies, Manuel has been living outside for two years, one year in a Tipi tent on an island in a lake, and the other year in a treehouse.
Manuel has been hosting winter courses and been guiding groups in winter since 2019 in Scandinavia. He is the founder of wildernessvision.no and lives in Norway in a small log cabin with his family.
Manuel speaks German, English, Dutch, Swedish and Norwegian.
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