Kvitfjell ( no, White mountain) is a

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In N ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, located in the municipality of

Ringebu is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vålebru (the village is also known as ''Ringebu''). The municipality i ...

. Developed for the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, it is one of the most modern resorts in the world, with

snowmaking Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a "snow gun", also known as a "snow cannon". Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow. This allows ski resorts to improve the reliabilit ...

on 80% of the

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

piste A ''piste'' () is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. This European term is French

s. Based near the river

Gudbrandsdalslågen The Gudbrandsdalslågen (or simply ''Lågen'') is a river which flows through the Gudbrandsdal valley in Innlandet county, Norway. The long river runs through a large valley in Eastern Norway before emptying into Mjøsa, the largest lake in Norw ...

, the resort offers 23

piste A ''piste'' () is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. This European term is French

s: 5 green (nursery), 9 blue (beginner), 6 red (intermediate), and 3 black (advanced). Kvitfjell is also home to a

terrain park A terrain park or snow park is an outdoor recreation area containing terrain that allows skiers, snowboarders and snowbikers to perform tricks. Terrain parks have their roots in skateparks and many of the features are common to both. From th ...

and of cross-country pistes, with access to extra in Skei and

Gålå Gålå is a village in Sør-Fron Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located in the Gudbrandsdal valley, about to the southwest of the village of Hundorp. Gålå is located on the eastern shore of the lake Gålåvatnet ...

Alpine ski racing

1994 Winter Olympics

Kvitfjell is probably best known for hosting the men's and women's alpine speed events at the 1994 Winter Olympics.

Tommy Moe Thomas Sven Moe (born February 17, 1970) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States. An Olympic gold and silver medalist in 1994, he specialized in the speed events of downhill and super G. Early years Born in Missoula, Mon ...

, an American of Norwegian descent, edged out home favorite

Kjetil André Aamodt Kjetil André Aamodt (born 2 September 1971) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Norway, a champion in the Olympics, World Championships, and World Cup. He is one of the most successful alpine ski racers from Norway. Biography Born in O ...

of Norway by 0.04 seconds in the

downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse * ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...

, then was edged out by

Markus Wasmeier Markus Wasmeier (; born 9 September 1963 is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Germany. He was world champion and twice Olympic champion. At the 1985 World Championships at Bormio, Italy, he won the Giant Slalom at age 21, before record ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

by 0.08 seconds in the

Super G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event du ...

Katja Seizinger Katja Seizinger (; born 10 May 1972) is a former World Cup alpine ski racing champion, Germany's most successful alpine skier. Biography Born in Datteln, North Rhine-Westphalia, Seizinger won three Olympic gold and two bronze medals, and won el ...

of Germany won the women's downhill with

Picabo Street Picabo Street (; born 3 April 1971) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist. She won the super G at the 1998 Winter Olympics and the downhill at the 1996 World Championships, along with three other Olympic a ...

of the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

a distant second; Diann Roffe of the U.S. took gold in the

. The technical alpine events (

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant slalom and slalom make up t ...

and slalom) were held at

Hafjell Hafjell is a village and a ski resort in Norway, in the Øyer municipality in the county of Oppland. Hafjell hosted the alpine skiing technical events (giant slalom and slalom) at the 1994 Winter Olympics; the speed events were held at Kvi ...

World Cup

Kvitfjell is a regular stop on the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

circuit, hosting men's speed events late in the season, and debuted in March

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. The downhill course begins just below the summit and is slightly over in length. Designed by

Bernhard Russi Bernhard Russi (born 20 August 1948) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Switzerland. Born in Andermatt in the canton of Uri, he is an Olympic, World Cup, and World champion in the downhill event.2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

References

External links

* '
Piste Maps
- Kvitfjell {{Ski World Cup pistes Geography of Innlandet Olympic alpine skiing venues Ski areas and resorts in Norway Venues of the 1994 Winter Olympics