A weather-model figure, worked out the same way for every ski area, and lower than what actually falls. Use it to compare ski areas, not against the resort’s own totals. How we measure →
- Snow 24h
- 0 cm
- Next 24h
- 2 cm
- Temperature
- −1°C
- Max wind
- 14 km/h
- Elevation
- 640–1,439 m
Updated: 10 Nov 2026, 12:15
We do not show a snow depth here. The weather model we use reports snow lying on the ground — it knows nothing about grooming or snowmaking, and it is not the base depth a ski area publishes. In Japan we can check our figures against 234 weather stations. Outside Japan there is nothing to check them against, so we do not print a number we have not verified. Snow report on the official site ↗
7-day outlook
| Date | Weather | Snow (cm) | Low / high (°C) | Wind (km/h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 10 Nov | Snow | 2 | −3 to 0 | 14 |
| Wed 11 Nov | Snow | 0 | −6 to −1 | 15 |
| Thu 12 Nov | Snow | 2 | −9 to −4 | 13 |
| Fri 13 Nov | Fog | 0 | −10 to −8 | 14 |
| Sat 14 Nov | Snow | 1 | −9 to −1 | 8 |
| Sun 15 Nov | Snow | 1 | −9 to 2 | 12 |
| Mon 16 Nov | Partly cloudy | 0 | −15 to −5 | 8 |
Score breakdown
The five add up to the 100-point Powder Score: more fresh snow, more on the way and colder air all push it up. How we measure
Hemsedal, in Viken, Norway, runs from 640 m at the base to 1,439 m at the top. The map shows 94 marked runs and 22 lifts (about 48 km of piste in all).
Over the last twelve winters the ERA5 weather model gives it 189 cm of snowfall a season, 1,248th (tied) of 3,069 worldwide and 75th in Norway. Its winters are fairly steady; even the leanest, 2016/17 (134 cm), reached 71% of the average. December brings as much snow as January here (53 and 52 cm on average).
Runs and lifts
Counted from the runs and lifts drawn on OpenStreetMap, within the boundary of the ski area. These are not the resort’s own published figures.
Run map
Slope shape, difficulty and lift types
The shape of the mountain
Which way the slopes face
82% of the vertical on the runs descends to the north or east. Those slopes get the least sun, so the snow lasts longer.
By difficulty
Lift types
- Platter8
- Chairlift5
- Magic carpet5
- T-bar4
See past trail maps on Skimap.org ↗
Source: OpenSkiMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0). How finely ski areas are drawn varies by region, so treat the counts as indicative. Vertical is the difference between the highest and lowest points of the mapped runs and lifts.
How much snow it gets
Modelled from weather data the same way at all 3,069 ski areas we cover. These are not the resort’s own published figures.
Compared with what is nearby
Within 50 km in a straight line. Ski areas in the same weather-model cell (about 30 km across) get the same figure.
| Ski area | Distance | Seasonal snowfall | World rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ål skisenter | 23.0 km | 153 cm | 1621 |
| Skarslia Ski- og Akesenter | 25.0 km | 203 cm | 1130 |
| Skagahøgdi skisenter | 26.0 km | 118 cm | 2117 |
| Brattstølen Skisenter | 35.0 km | 137 cm | 1843 |
| Hallingskarvet skisenter | 38.0 km | 236 cm | 816 |
When it falls, and how winters differ
Month by month
The most snow falls in December. March brings 83% of January’s snowfall. That is a gentler fall than the median for ski areas in Norway (75%). In amount, March brings 43 cm, about the same as the median of 47 cm.
Winter by winter
Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 189 cm, and 5 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2016/17 with 134 cm; the biggest was 2019/20 with 254 cm (1.9 times as much). For 34% of the 135 ski areas in Norway the leanest winter was 2025/26; here it was a different one.
Snowfall each winter (December–March total). The dashed line is the average; the numbers mark the leanest and the biggest winter.
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