So in Nov I was invited to join a Subaru Club in Norway on an ice lake event the host every year. We have just got back from the event so thought i'd do a bit of a write up as people have been asking on costs etc.
I have done plenty of road trips in the past, Wales, Scotland parts of Europe to various tracks like Spa and Nürburgring. But after going to the ring nearly every year for the past 10 we decided we fancied looking at something different. After sticking a post up on our members group asking what people were doing over winter, two Latvian lads commented saying they road trip out to Scandinavia in order to join local car clubs on the ice lakes in winter. this sounded perfect.
A quick join onto the next event page and Subaru Club Norway page we got the info we needed and put the date in the diary. Its not a short trip and its literally dual carriageways and motorways all the way to Norway. Keeping awake is the only real challenge and we decided to stop off near Kolding in Denmark on the way where we found a really nice B&B and the owners were super friendly and very keen on the cars. We joined forces with Sandis and Ziggy, the two Latvian lads on the way out, they brought a hawk eye NA wagon and a WRX Impreza for the trip. I couldn't bring myself to drive the E30 all the way so we took my mates lovely Brabus Vito with trailer. The Vito was the perfect tool for eating up euro motorway miles and we were met with little to know traffic the whole way to Norway.
We had a look at the best routes with a van and trailer and after looking at some ferry crossing prices decided to hit the tunnel, then France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and then Norway. Its and extra few hours and few hundred miles of driving but it saved a lot on ferry tolls. There were surprise boarders with security on the Danish/German boarder and heading into Sweden and Norway. The Vito managed around 23-26 MPG depending on the terrain and was fantastic, its super comfy with leather interior, climate control etc and more than enough space for the three of us and all our luggage. Going out was a two day drive as we wanted to split the travel time.
We
We didn't actually start seeing any real snow until the Swedish/Norway boarder which we found a bit odd having never been that far north before in winter we just assumed there would be snow. We also spotted a really cool rollercoaster theme park right bang in the centre of Gothenburg.
Off the top of my head we stopped for fuel three times on the way out with around a quarter left in the tank, fuel stations get few and far between the higher you get into Europe so its always worth filling when you get down to the quarter. We also found service station food pretty good in Sweden and Norway with some pretty fresh options at reasonable prices. Diesel is also cheaper in Sweden and Norway compared by the UK.
Our trip out was faultless and our lack of snow was a bonus as Andy was not keen on towing a trailer in on snowy roads even with winter tyres fitted to the Vito. But just 8 miles from the hotel we hit a back road, a large hill and a snow covered road, the Vito pulled to a grinding halt just outside a locals house. I can not stress enough how friendly the Scandinavians were during our trip. The chap came out of his house and not only offered to help but for us to dump the trailer at his and store it on the drive for free whilst we enjoyed our weekend on the ice.
We really struggled in -14 getting chains on the Vito and unloading the E30. But once sorted we managed to drive the next 30mins to the hotel problem free. We missed much of Norway as it was dark but we were to see it in it full beauty when we return home in a few days.
The hotel was perfect, we paid around £300 for a room from Thursday to Sunday with food included. The food was very tasty and the rooms cosy, staff very friendly too. As it happened the owner was an ex rally driver and good friend with Peter Solberg, he had a games room with some of his memorabilia, in fact Solberg got married in the very hotel we stayed. In the games room they had two driving sims and a full scenery slot car track to play on. The owner also had some lovely vintage cars stored in a wooden shed with a lovely glass panel front, not to mention the F1 car mounted on the side of one of the buildings. All, this and to wake up in the morning with a view over the very lake we were due to drive on.
We only had driving on the ice with the Subaru club booked for Saturday but the guy who runs it kindly booked us in with another group using the track for Friday too. You pay per car for the ice lakes and can have as many drivers as you like. This year the ice was only 50cm thick but last year it was over 2M! We were told in the paddock which is on the lake itself we must park 5M apart to reduce any risk of falling through the ice. The image below shows the layout they make every year on this particular lake in Gol, Norway. There is a huge variation of tracks to use and we used the new left track most of the time. Lots of locals use the ice, as do manufacturers for testing and the police for driver control practice. in fact one officer came up to us on the lake asking for directions and to pull of did a massive power slide in his BMW with full police livery, something we have never seen in England lol.
Friday there was a great mix of cars from an old Nissan laurel with a 2.8TD patrol engine to brand new 911 turbos and Ferrari F12. We were a little worried about the actual ice condition and how hard the snow would be. But the ice is super smooth due to the constant maintenance of the track, and after a single hit over the whole weekend I can tell you the snow banks are pretty soft too which is why I guess you can drift round in your 1000k 911, because you hit the wall you simply get towed back out damage free.
We did prep on both the E30 and the Vito to come over. this included servicing with lower temp coolant and washer fluid, winter non studded tyres and chains for the Vito, then Ice Contact 2's studded for the E30. I'm really glad we got studded for the E30 as it made for just enough grip on the lake so we could go sideway whilst being in control and at come points we were passing AWD cars on the ice. Saturday was all Subarus from old Legacys to the new estate things. Some of the guys ran similar minimal studs to us but some were running 500 studs per tyre, a MK3 FRS was particularly fast and impressive on the ice.
The E30 was perfect for the job, already kitted out ready for a season of trackday and extra lock mods from a previous owner we were achieving some truly crazy angles and the car allowed us to learn the lack of grip and the track itself very quickly. just moments after the start of each day both Andy and I were basically linking slides through the whole of every single lap.
The other thing we had to get to grips with was the variation of levels of grip on each corner through out the day depending on if the sun was on it or if the ice was covered by a layer of snow. Both me and Andy have been doing trackdays or drifting for over 10 years each and for us this was a special petrolhead trip and the track time was on another level compared to anything we have ever done. £80 for a day with as many drivers as you want with open pitlane, drift or grip up to you. Very few rules aside from being safe. We were told they don't wear helmets on this particular track as they don't allow the larger WRC type studs and so as a result cars don't get up to great speeds.
The wear and tear of the car on the ice is literally nothing, after two days my tyres had not been touched and we used 2 half tanks of fuel over the two days of solid ice driving. Despite being sideways most of the time we were still seeing around 60mph on the back long corner completely sideways. You also pass and end up being passed sideway on the track too which makes for much excitement. Recovery is self policed and people tend to slow when someone has spun or hit the snow wall. We spotted the recovery pickup drifting too on there return to the paddock.
Saturday ended by having a 3 course dinner with the whole club at the hotel followed by results from the time trial we did and some trophies and awards. Andy and I got fastest RWD, we were the only ones haha. All the guys and girls made us feel super welcome and all chatted in English to us as much as they could, we even got invited back with a free car to drive in the summer months. We asked what they though about us coming all the way from the UK to drive the ice and they simply said "your crazy" and "we can't believe you were overtaking some of us in a RWD car", "you English are crazy".
Sunday we grabbed some breakfast, paid are bills and headed home. Andy and I voted to share the drive and not have a stop so we proceeded with over 1400 miles of driving in under 24hrs with Andy driving Norway, Sweden and Denmark and me Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and France. We would not do this again it was an absolute killer for both of us. We spent so long in the van we actually had sea sickness type feeling whenever we stopped, its also taken us a good 48 hours to recover after. We had only highs of -4 in Norway whilst there but lows of -26 travelling through the mountains on the way home.
So if you have ever thought yea I fancy a bit of that Ice driving in Scandinavia, we highly recommend it and I officially mark it as a better petrolhead road trip than visiting the famous Nürburgring. But be warned you must be prepared, have plenty of winter clothes and make sure the car is winter prepped. Fear not though winter in Norway is off season and as a result its not as expensive there as people claim. Drinks were a little steep but everything else was spot on.
Our breakdown of rough costs for road tripping to Gol, Norway for an epic ice driving road trip based on two days either die of driving and two days of driving on the ice. Our time there was limited but we could have easily rented Ski doos or gone skiing and sledding too.
We split costs between two people to reduce costs.
Euro Tunnel - Van with trailer £400 return, Just Car £200
Van fuel return - £500-£600
Bridge Tolls Sweden - £150
BMW E30 Fuel - £80
Thurs-Sun Hotel with food - £300
Two days on the track - £225
Random food and drink - £100
Travel Insurance - £12
Obviously the car needs to be prepped for such a trip with a good service, the right fluids and some studded tyres are a must. I really do urge you to get out there and give it a go, we will be planning a 2021 trip to return with Subaru Club Norway and hopefully some of you. We used the lake hosted by IceDrive Events but we also found out about Hebbes racing a little further North and SCN also host a similar events in Sweden which is running next month.
Its not a road trip for the week minded but it certainly is the ultimate road trip for the hardcore petrolhead whether your a fan of grip or drifting. It was the ultimate two days of driving fun whilst learning huge amounts of car control. I'm already missing the place and the people. Bring on 2021.
