Skiing Trails in Ås
Skiing Trails in Ås
Like a white blanket the snow has covered the many fields and forests in Ås, and the skiing club “Skiforeningen” is reporting of excellent conditions in Follomarka. The forecasts are predicting long periods of cold weather, so the only thing to do is to get your skis out, steal some ski wax from someone in your dorm and get outside. To help you decide where to go, we are providing you with some suggestions to different routes.
Journalist: Petter Nielsen
Photographer and journalist: Simen Walbækken Tangen
Translator: Sofie Palstrøm
The Vestby Route
Between Ås and Vestby there is a loop trail that is just over a mile. It starts at Åsgård primary school, heading south. After crossing the border to Vestby the route goes the north again. When you arrive at Vollebekkjordet, you can cross the field to get back to Åsgård primary school. The route has some uneven terrain through several woods, but it is pretty flat and you can get some good speed over many of the fields.
The Revling Route and Kromjordet Route
Did you get to the south end of the Vestby route and want to go a couple of kilometres more? The Revling route and Kromjordet route is prepared by Vestby sports club (Vestby IL) and meanders through forests and fields. This is a nice extra round with several great descents towards Vestby. If you also want to purchase something from Holdbart (a discount store) or any of the other stores in Vestby, it is possible to choose routes that ends close to the entrances.
Around Trampen
If the Vestby route is too short for your liking, the route that goes past Trampen might suit you well. This route is excellent for a longer Sunday trip. This route exits the Vestby route and proceeds down towards Østfoldbanen (the Østfold train track) where you have to take off your skis when crossing the bridge over the train tracks. Further along, the route continues through forests and over great fields where you can, with some luck, spot deers or other wild animals. On Sundays between 11 am and 3 pm the Trampen scout house is open, if the coronavirus infection situation allows it, and you can buy yourself a cup of coffee, a waffle or a soda. The trail is then headed north and ends at Ås high school.
The Light Trail at Ås University
Right next to NMBU there is a trail that crisscrosses through forest and cultural landscapes. If you take the longest alternative and manage to pick the correct path in all the crossroads, you will end up with a route that is a little more than 5 kilometres. It might be worth noting that parts of this trail are uneven terrain.
The Light Trail to the Askjum Forest
If you get tired of all the uneven terrain in the light trail, you can exit and head toward the Askjum forest. The trail is located just north of Ås church and leads to open fields north of Åsmåsan. The skiing trail continues to the bridge over Østfoldbanen and follows a cozy tractor road north to Grønnslett, before you end up next to Holstadveien. Just a little hike of a few hundres metres and you enter the route network which starts at Rustadjordet.
The Rustad Field
If you want to explore the areas east of Ås city centre, you can go skiing on the Rustad field. The field has a trail that is 3,3 kilometres long. Here you will find big open fields and it almost feels as if you are high up in the mountains considering how far you can see in all directions. From the Rustad field there are trails going south that crosses Stønerudveien and has small, nice downhills towards Bjørnebekk. Here the trail crosses Kroerveien and after a small trip through the forest you can choose to either keep going to Trampen or go back to Ås station.
We hope this little overview of trails can be useful next time you are going on a ski trip. The trails mentioned are prepared by Ås municipality when they consider the conditions to be good enough, and there are many more trails to be found at skiforeningen.no if none of the mentioned trails seem tempting. Find a friend, make some toddy in a thermos and get outside. Have a good trip!