First time skiing in Tromsø

Start with an instructor of your own

Every lesson at Tromsø Alpinpark is a private lesson. Your instructor works only with you, or only with your group, and plans the time around where you are. Choose skiing or snowboarding, one or two hours, and bring up to eight people. The price is for the whole group, so it gets cheaper per person the more of you there are. See every price and book your lesson here.

If you have never skied, two hours gives you time to get comfortable in the gear, learn to stop and take your first lift ride. One hour suits someone who has tried a little before and wants help with turning.

How the first lesson goes

You meet your instructor on the slope. The first minutes are about walking in skis, standing steady and gliding a little on the flat. Then you head to the magic carpet, a moving belt that carries you gently up a gentle slope, with nothing to hold on to. This is where you practise the snowplough, turning and stopping, again and again, until it clicks.

Once you control your speed, the next step is the Bamseheisen lift and the gentle Bamseløypa slope. Plenty of people remember that first run from the top of a real slope for the rest of their lives, and that is what your instructor is working towards.

Rent your gear here

Bring warm clothes and nothing else. At the rental shop you rent skis or a snowboard, boots, poles, a helmet and goggles, and adults can also rent a ski jacket and ski trousers while stock lasts. A ski harness for children is free to borrow. Arrive a little before your lesson so there is time to find the right boot size without rushing.

The lift pass is separate

The lesson covers your instructor, but you need a lift pass to ride the lifts. Buy it online before you arrive and you can walk straight onto the slope. Children aged 6 or younger ski for free. Every pass is on the prices page.

Skiing or snowboarding?

Pick the one you most want to learn. Both cost the same, and our instructors teach both. In a group, some of you can ski while others snowboard, but then you book two lessons so each instructor has their own group.

When to come

The slopes are open 12:00 to 20:30 on weekdays and 10:00 to 17:00 at weekends. Lessons can be booked for dates from 11 December to the end of the season. In the afternoon and evening you ski under floodlights, and in the polar night it is something special to learn with the lights of Tromsø below you. Read more in our guide to skiing in the polar night.

Check lifts and slopes on the day, and see the opening hours if you are coming over Christmas or New Year.

If your plans change

Cancel at least 48 hours before your lesson and you get your money back minus a NOK 200 fee. You do it yourself with the link in your confirmation email. Moving the lesson to another time is free up to 48 hours before. Email booking@tromsoalpinpark.no.