I have seen the future and it is a Norwegian ski chalet

I suppose my issue is that even when the sun is out, I’m still thinking about the snow. I started skiing at the age of four, and have never really gotten over it. I learned in the USA, honed my craft in Austria, and have spent the past decade terrorising ski resorts across France, Italy and Switzerland. It’s nice to have hobbies, but I think my mother regrets introducing me to one that features quite a few broken bones.

Norway has always been my white whale. The birthplace of the sport as we know it, mastered by Sondre Norheim, and something of a mecca for those who dream about mountains and how to get down them quickly. Top of the Winter Olympics medal table in Milano/Cortina, the Norwegians know their way around the snow, and I was keen to try something new. I was also fed up with paying too much money for bad French food and being ignored by uninterested waiting staff. Growing up is realising you don’t have to hand over €25 for the worst spaghetti carbonara of your life just because Claude tells you to.

And so it was that I found myself in Geilo (‘yay-low’), in the Hol municipality, halfway between Oslo and Bergen. It was January, the temperature was -18ºC, and the snow was a fine powder, metres deep. At 750m above sea level, the lights of the town twinkled up and down the valley as the snow fell.

The resort is Norway’s oldest and one of its largest, with 20 lifts and 35km of pistes spread across two mountains. Geilo itself sits in between, and there is a free bus that transports you between the two pisted areas. The resort is ideal for beginners or families, featuring mostly blues, greens and reds, and four black runs. Situated in a National Park, there are also more than 230km of cross country tracks.

At 750m, Geilo itself pales in comparison to the grand heights of the French resorts, but due to its northerly position, the snow is easily as good, if not better, than what you might find in the Alps. The resort manages an average snowfall of more than 100in per year, and most crucially, because it’s cold, that snow remains and is in perfect condition. Forget about uncovered ice patches and bask in smooth white powder wherever you go.

It’s also easy to reach. Flights from London to Oslo or Bergen are about two hours, and a train from either is about three hours directly into the centre of town. Driving from either airport is again only about three hours, with glorious views to keep you entertained.

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This glorious four-bedroom, four-bathroom cabin is in the Blomsetlie of Geilo, and is outstandingly well appointed. With Savills for 48,000,000kr (£3.8 million).

I often wonder what I would do with myself if I won the EuroMillions. There’s a few different probabilities, but buying a ski chalet is a near certainty. Could Geilo be the place? When it comes to luxury, it is certainly the best Norway has to offer, and as I toured various ‘cabins’ (the Norwegian parlance for chalet), I saw plenty that could compete with your Val D’iseres, your Courchevels, and your Verbiers. Many of these are masterminded by Cato Menkurud, a dry and funny developer whose previous line of work saw him reading maps for World Rally Championship racing drivers. You can watch a video of him in his former job here.

His company LHM builds and fits out some of the finest cabins in the country in Geilo and he was my gracious host for the weekend. His largest creation, at some 650sq m, featured a golf simulator, bar, gym, sauna, pool room and cinema. At almost £10 million, it is not cheap, but it is certainly cheaper than a French, Austrian, Swiss or Italian equivalent. Indeed, looking at the latest Ski Report from Savills, you’re paying about €8,500 per sq m, which is significantly less than Courchevel (€17,500), Lech (€23,100) and Val d’Isere (€32,500). Combine those prices with ever-more unreliable snowfall in the Alps, and things are starting to look quite promising for Norway.

There’s plenty to do in Geilo that doesn’t involve skiing, from snow shoeing, fatbiking and ice fishing, while the summer months can be even more active, with golf, water rafting, tennis, hiking and mountain biking. There are plenty of good restaurants, both on and off the piste, with a highlight being Geilo Mountain Lodge, which is a charming and traditional inn just outside of the town centre, and head to Hallingstuene for the finest wines and roast reindeer you’ll ever have.

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Cato Menkurud and his LHM Group homes can rival any of those found at the premium end of the Alps.

While 35km of pistes may not set the world on fire when compared to the mega resorts of the Alps, there is plenty of will to build more, and the town as a whole is looking to grow with the expectation that those seeking perfect snow will soon be heading further north from central Europe. While visiting, I was lucky enough to be one of the first five people to ski a brand new piste, and plans are afoot for new lifts.

But most of all, what made it so special was not the great food, or the great snow, but the kindness of the local population. So much of skiing in the Alps can feel like an inconvenience, but not here. I’ll be heading back soon enough.