Topptur og Frikjøring organizes weekly ski trips to ski touring destinations around Norway, using community halls, cabins, and similar facilities as basecamps for day tours on skis. To get to the accommodation and the ski touring areas, participants use their own cars, which are shared among the group. Each car is usually responsible for purchasing groceries and preparing either a breakfast or a dinner. Each participant is responsible for their own lunch and snacks.

One challenge that often arises on TF trips is how to divide participants into touring groups. On these trips, there is often a wide range of skiing ability and ski touring experience among participants. We frequently see a tendency for those with the most experience and local knowledge to choose a specific ski tour, and for less experienced participants to join these groups. This can become problematic, as it may lead to large touring groups with poor group dynamics.

Despite these differences, things usually work out very well. The positive aspect is that there are often several people who share the same vision for the day’s tour—the main challenge is simply finding others with a similar level of ambition. On each trip, an evening meeting is held where the trip organizers ask about participants’ tour plans and help distribute cars accordingly. If you haven’t found a touring group yet, this is where it usually comes together. Most starting points for tours also offer several different route options, which further helps simplify this challenge.

That said, be prepared for the fact that many different considerations must be taken into account on a TF trip, and that you will often ski with both familiar and unfamiliar people. It is of course possible to arrange smaller groups if you are planning a more demanding tour. It can be wise to familiarize yourself with the tours in the area in advance. There should be a low threshold for participating in a TF trip, and the purpose of this text is to help set expectations and encourage participants to prepare ahead of time.

To find suitable ski touring routes in the area you are visiting, the resources below are a good starting point for getting ideas, inspiration, and planning your tour:

Guidebooks: TF often has guidebooks for the area available to borrow on trips.

The TF Guide:
https://ntnui.no/toppturogfrikjoring/skiforer/

Google “randonnée + the area you are visiting” to find many useful articles and trip reports.

The FriFlyt Guide:
https://www.friflyt.no/topptur

Ask someone who has been in the area before or has extensive experience.

Maps: Studying maps can often provide a lot of inspiration. In particular, the Norwegian Avalanche Warning Service’s steepness map gives a good overview of the type of terrain you can expect to encounter on a tour:
https://temakart.nve.no/tema/bratthet

Apps such as FATMAP, Strava, and Skida offer GPS tracks from people who have previously toured in the area.

Be aware that a lot of the resources are written in Norwegian.

1. Choose a tour that matches both your skiing ability AND your ability to assess avalanche risk. If you have limited experience and knowledge of avalanches, it is wise to stay in gentler terrain.
2. Group size and group skills: How many people are in your group? How much experience do they have? How well do you know each other? How strong skiers are you, and what expectations do you have for the tour? These are important questions to ask when choosing a suitable route.
3. Read the avalanche forecast and download Varsom’s offline map: Varsom is an app that provides avalanche forecasts for your area, and it also allows you to download a free offline map with slope steepness layers. This makes it easier to always know whether you are traveling in avalanche terrain while on a tour.
4. Compare the avalanche forecast with your planned tour: The different avalanche problems in the forecast are marked with aspect (slope direction) and elevation. Compare this information with your planned route and take note of any sections where you may be exposed to avalanche terrain.
5. Determine the type of terrain and difficulty level of your tour: This information is often graded in guidebooks or available online.
6. Discuss expectations within the group and maintain good communication, both during the planning phase and throughout the tour.

The Norwegian Mountaineering Forum offers the following avalanche courses:

• NF Basic Avalanche Course
• NF Advanced Avalanche Course
• NF Avalanche Methods Course

These courses are considered one of the best ways to gain solid knowledge about avalanche safety.

Books

• Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain – Bruce Tremper
• Avalanches 1–2–3 – Kjetil Brattlien
• The Little Avalanche Book – Kjetil Brattlien
• Ski Buddy – Krister Lundberg Nes

Online Resources

• Varsom online avalanche course – a good introduction before attending a full avalanche course:
  https://www.varsom.no/snoskred/snoskredskolen/interaktivt-grunnkurs/
• Varsom avalanche education page – information and learning resources:
  https://www.varsom.no/snoskred/snoskredskolen
• Avalanche Canada – education resources (highly recommended):
  https://avalanche.ca/education
• Varsom & CARE avalanche podcast:
  https://open.spotify.com/show/3bUbvwotk1n2SScmpt4MsV
• Ortovox Safety Academy – video playlist on avalanche theory:
  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpNJNTd93SblL447belxr2-t0JTCC-P-z

• Foredrag: Dra på skredforedrag. Dette arrangeres ofte av guidefirmaer, Varsom, NVE eller CARE. TF pleier også å arrangere dette ila året.