Gaustablikk-Gaustatoppen

Let’s start with the names... Gaustablikk, Gaustatoppen, Gaustabanen and Rjukan.

Gaustablikk is the name of the big alpine hotel built in the 1970s when the lift and ski system also were constructed. The ski center at Gaustablikk has a vertical drop of 550 meters from the 1,260-meter peak at Fjellheisen down to 710 meters above sea level at the bottom. The lift system consists of 13 lifts and 35 pistes.

On to the next name and what makes the whole ski region unique – Gaustatoppen. Gaustatoppen is the name of the iconic and 1,883 meter-high peak situated just at the ski system, but not yet connected by a lift or a piste. To get to Gaustatoppen, there is a funicular railway – Gaustabanen – that runs inside the mountain and takes you from the transfer station at 1,150 meters above sea level up to the mountain station at 1,800 meters. You have to walk the last 83 altitude meters along the mountain ridge. There is a free ski bus running from the lifts to Gaustabanen, or you can walk the short distance and carry your skis. After skiing down mountain Gaustatoppen, you can ski across the mountain back to the lift system.

There are about 10 different runs down the eastern side of Gaustatoppen, all with different steepness, leading back to the car park and the cable car base station. This is the same side from where you can ski across the mountain back to the lift system.

Gaustatoppen is often skiable until late June, while other lift systems close in late April/early May depending on the season. Unfortunately, the ski pass does not give access to Gaustabanen. A one-way adult pass is NOK 300 and a day pass is NOK 850.

Gaustatoppen is the highest mountain in Telemark and its shape looks much like a volcano. Once you are up there, you are rewarded with a view that covers one sixth of the entire country of Norway and you can see as far as Denmark. The distance is 2.5 hours from Oslo. Gaustatoppen is a bare mountain, which means it is often subject to quite severe weather conditions. With good planning to time good and stable weather conditions, including sufficient snow levels, this is one of Norway’s best lift accessible off-piste areas.

There was a change in ownership of parts of the lift system and hotel Gaustablikk-Gaustatoppen in February 2018. The new owners are planning to develop the ski resort further with more lifts and pistes. This includes clearing the off-piste area all the way down to Rjuken where the old downhill piste from the 1939 World Championship is located. The plans also include lifts to connect Gaustablikk to the funicular railway that runs inside the mountain up to Gaustatoppen. If and when this becomes reality, Gaustablikk-Gaustatoppen will have an enormous vertical drop, as the altitude difference between Gaustatoppen and Rjukan is about 1,600 meters. Yes…. Rjukan is the little town with the world famous Vemork factory (heavy water plant, sabotage and Nazis..remember?) wedged in the steep valley below Gaustablikk and Gaustatoppen.