Fonna Glacier Transfers

Fonna Glacier is an anomaly. It is a high-altitude summer training ground bolted onto the third-largest glacier on the Norwegian mainland. Positioned high above the Hardangerfjord, the ski centre operates exclusively when almost every other resort in Europe has shut down. Skiing winter snow while looking down at blooming apple orchards and a deep blue fjord feels entirely surreal. Skiers make the winding drive up from the waterside village of Jondal to access a single, long T-bar lift. That single tow serves a heavily shaped freestyle park, alpine race lanes, and a few wide cruising pistes. The operation has survived bankruptcies and rapidly melting ice mostly because the local ski clubs refuse to let it die. They need this ice for off-season training, and they keep fighting to keep the lift turning.

Mountain culture & milestones

People were skiing the Folgefonna ice cap long before anyone bothered to install a lift. For decades, local skiers hiked up the glacier arms from the fjord to slide on permanent snowfields during the long, bright days of the Norwegian summer.

– The first permanent ski lift arrived in 1989. This transformed the glacier from a backcountry novelty into an organised alpine training centre.

– It eventually became a mandatory summer stop for international freestyle teams, hosting some of the most progressive summer snow park builds in Europe.

– The operating company went bankrupt in late 2024 after struggling with massive glacier melt and ageing 1970s lift infrastructure.

– Local ski associations and community members quickly formed a new group, Fonna Sport AS, to salvage the lift hardware and keep the training lanes open for future summers.

Valley bases: where to stay

You cannot sleep on the glacier. The national park rules strictly forbid it, and the environment is too hostile anyway. Skiers base themselves down by the water. The drive from the fjord to the snow takes about 25 minutes, meaning your choice of base village dictates your morning commute.

Jondal is the obvious choice. It sits right at the bottom of the 19-kilometre glacier toll road. Staying here means you can beat the race teams to the lift and be back down in time for an afternoon swim. Accommodation is entirely low-key. You will find self-catering cabins, campsites, and a handful of basic guesthouses.

Further afield, Odda provides a larger town atmosphere with more dining options and hotels. It sits at the southern end of the Sørfjorden. The drive to the glacier takes roughly an hour and a half, so it is less convenient for daily skiing. However, Odda acts as a brilliant strategic hub if you intend to mix glacier laps with major regional hikes like Trolltunga.

Ski sectors at a glance

Fonna is basically one big slope. The entire skiable area sits on Jorfjellbreen, a 300-metre-wide glacier arm of the larger Nordfonna ice cap. The ice moves, so the layout changes slightly every year depending on how the crevasses open up. The basic formula rarely shifts, though.

A single T-bar surface lift runs straight up the middle. To one side, alpine ski clubs set up their rigid slalom and giant slalom training gates. The other side is dedicated to the snow park and public pistes. With a vertical drop of just 260 metres, runs are short but maintain a consistent pitch that forces you to drill your technique rather than cruise aimlessly.

The mountain & skiing

Nobody comes to Fonna for a long mountain journey. You come here to run laps. The piste map shows about 5 kilometres of trails. There are no valleys to explore and obviously no trees. You are just skiing on a massive dome of ice above the tree line. The layout consists of wide red and blue pistes that funnel straight back to the base of the T-bar.

The freestyle park is what put the resort on the map. Historically, the build crews have used the immense winter snowpack – which can reach up to ten metres deep by May – to sculpt massive kickers and complex rail lines. Professional athletes fly in specifically to hit these features during the off-season. By August, the park shrinks significantly as the summer heat takes its toll, but the core jump lines usually survive.

The snow changes fast. Mornings mean bulletproof, frozen corduroy that holds a fantastic edge for carving. By lunch, it turns to heavy spring slush. The regulars know to arrive early, ski hard for three or four hours, and leave when the snow turns to mashed potatoes.

Cross-country skiers also use the glacier early in the season. When the winter snowpack is still thick, the resort grooms a track out onto the vast, flat expanse of the Folgefonna plateau. It feels like sliding across an endless white desert, completely isolated from the downhill infrastructure.

The village & après-ski

Jondal is a working Norwegian village, not a purpose-built ski resort. You will not find loud umbrella bars or table-dancing here. The pace of life is dictated by the ferry timetable and the agricultural seasons.

Après-ski in Jondal means buying supplies at the local Spar supermarket and sitting outside a cabin. You watch the sun drop over the water. There are a couple of small cafes and a hotel restaurant, but the culinary scene focuses on functional, hearty Norwegian food rather than high-end gastronomy.

Down at sea level, summer actually looks like summer. The grass is green and it gets surprisingly warm. Many visiting ski teams follow a strict routine: ski the glacier in the morning, then spend the afternoon running, cycling, or roller-skiing along the flat, paved roads bordering the fjord. On warm July days, jumping off the pier into the water is a mandatory post-ski ritual, even though the fjord remains bracingly cold.

Snow & season

The access road from Jondal stays buried under impassable snowdrifts all winter. Snowploughs finally cut through the road in late April or early May, driving through snow walls that frequently tower over the vehicles.

Opening day usually happens in mid-May. At this point, the glacier is buried under the accumulated precipitation of the entire winter. Conditions in May and June offer genuine winter-quality snow, just with much longer daylight hours.

As the summer progresses, the snowpack steadily melts. July is the peak month for the freestyle park and race camps. By August, the underlying glacial ice begins to show through the snow cover, and the pistes become narrower. Crevasses that were safely bridged by thick snow early in the season become visible near the edges of the groomed area. The resort typically shuts down in September when the snow bridge over the glacier becomes too thin to safely maintain the lift track.

This whole operation is fighting a losing battle against the climate. The ice is melting fast, which alters the pitch of the mountain and forces the lift operators to constantly realign the towers.

Summer & year-round

Fonna is entirely a summer operation, but it sits within a region that draws hundreds of thousands of tourists for non-skiing activities. The Hardanger region is famous for its dramatic topography and demanding hiking trails.

When the ski resort closes for the day at 15:00, the broader Folgefonna National Park remains open for exploration. Guided glacier hiking is a massive draw here. Roped teams equipped with crampons and ice axes navigate the blue ice and deep crevasses of the lower glacial arms, far away from the groomed ski pistes.

The nearby Trolltunga hike is one of Norway’s most famous trails. It is a brutal 27-kilometre round trip that culminates at a spectacular rock ledge jutting out over the Ringedalsvatnet lake. You cannot physically ski Fonna and hike Trolltunga on the same day. However, many visitors use a base in Odda or Jondal to tackle both over a long weekend. The region is also a major hub for kayaking the fjords and cycling the winding coastal roads.

Safety & mountain etiquette

Glacier skiing is inherently dangerous once you leave the marked trails. The groomed pistes are safe, regularly checked, and free from hazards. However, the moment you duck the boundary ropes, you are on a live, moving ice cap riddled with holes.

Off-piste skiing at Fonna is strictly forbidden unless you are part of a roped, guided glacier tour. What looks like a smooth field of untracked snow just metres from the piste can easily hide a 30-metre-deep fissure. The ski patrol will pull your pass immediately if they catch you going off-piste.

On the pistes, etiquette is heavily influenced by the race teams. The slalom lanes are cordoned off for private training clubs. Recreational skiers must respect these closures and avoid crossing the training lines. Similarly, the snow park operates with standard freestyle rules – wait your turn, clear the landing zones immediately, and respect the build crew’s closures.

Sun protection is critical. Skiing at 1,400 metres on a reflective glacier in mid-summer exposes you to intense ultraviolet radiation. Severe sunburn and snow blindness are far more common hazards here than frostbite.

Who it suits best

Do not book a week here expecting a normal ski holiday. Fonna is a highly specific training facility that happens to welcome the public.

It exists for athletes. Alpine racers looking to maintain edge control over the summer, and freestyle riders wanting to dial in new tricks in a world-class park, form the core demographic. If you view skiing as a sport requiring constant off-season practice, the repetitive lap-skiing here is perfect.

If you ski purely for fun, it is a brilliant two-day novelty. Driving past orchards to ski in a t-shirt is bizarre and brilliant. But intermediate and beginner skiers will get bored of the single lift after a weekend. It works best as a short stop bolted onto a larger summer road trip around the Norwegian fjords, rather than the sole focus of a holiday.

Getting there

Fonna Glacier Ski Resort requires a vehicle to reach effectively. The nearest major airport is Bergen Airport, located 114 km away. The drive from the airport to Jondal includes a scenic ferry crossing over the Hardangerfjord. From Jondal, the winding 19-kilometre glacier toll road climbs steeply to the ski centre. The nearest rail hub is Voss.

Written by the Alps2Alps editorial team.

This guide is published by Alps2Alps for general information only. It is not affiliated with Wikipedia or any resort, airport, or lift operator. Facts were accurate at the time of writing; always check official sources before travel.