Geilo opens Norway’s first ski trails

The Buskerud news from the past 48 hours combines the opening of Norway’s first ski trails at Geilo, a mobilisation of 34 mayors over funding for the Oslofjord and the passage of Storm Boelo over the south of the country. Buskerud county is not among the areas hardest hit by the storm, but a yellow warning covers a large part of southern Norway (NRK Buskerud).

Buskerud News: Geilo opens Norway’s first ski trails

Geilo, a resort in Hol municipality, announces that it will offer the season’s first cross-country ski trails in Norway. The resort is relying on snow preserved from the previous winter, known as «overvintret snø», to prepare the trails, even though much of the country is still covered by autumn leaves (NRK Buskerud).

The information was published in NRK Buskerud’s regional feed during the period covered, on 24 and 25 October. It places Buskerud county at the forefront of Norway’s national Nordic skiing season: the public broadcaster presents this opening as the first of its kind in Norway for the current season (NRK Buskerud).

These Buskerud news confirm the role of the county’s resorts in organising outdoor activities early in the season, with no other region announcing a comparable opening in the sources consulted over the same period.

Oslofjord: 34 Høyre mayors demand state support

Wastewater treatment plants are now required to reduce their nitrogen discharges to improve the state of the Oslofjord. Faced with the cost of these obligations, 34 Høyre mayors have signed a joint appeal requesting financial support from the state, NRK Buskerud reports.

Kjetil Kivle, mayor of Lier municipality in Buskerud, summarises the group’s position: «The state cannot introduce costly environmental requirements and send the entire bill to residents of certain municipalities. We will take our share of responsibility for saving the Oslofjord, but the state must also take its share.» According to the signatories, the measure could have a direct impact on the budgets of more than 1.5 million Norwegians (NRK Buskerud).

The problem is not limited to the Oslofjord alone: the same difficulty exists elsewhere in Østlandet, the public broadcaster notes. The mayors’ appeal therefore concerns the distribution of funding between the state and municipalities, not the principle of reducing discharges.

Storm Boelo: Yellow warning for southern Norway

A depression named Boelo formed over the United Kingdom on Saturday before hitting southern Norway on Saturday evening. Several warnings were issued, including a yellow warning for a large part of the south of the country (NRK Buskerud).

Overnight from Saturday to Sunday, around 6,000 customers in Agder and Vestfold lost electricity. In Karmøy, police received a report of corrugated sheets torn from the roof of an industrial building owned by the municipality, which was due to attend the scene. In Bergen, the wind tore steel panels from a small commercial building, with firefighters sent to secure them (NRK Buskerud).

At around 4 o’clock, Glitre Nett’s outage map showed more than 5,000 customers without electricity, mainly along the coast and in Evje and Hornnes. Lede Nett reported nearly 1,000 affected customers (NRK Buskerud, via NTB). None of these incidents were reported in Buskerud.

Krokstadelva: 100 million kroner for Gjensidige

In its quarterly report, cited by Dagens Næringsliv, insurer Gjensidige puts the cost of the Krokstadelva fire, which occurred in July in Drammen municipality in Buskerud, at around 100 million kroner. The amount is added to reinsurance premiums, according to the statement relayed by NRK Buskerud.

«Events like this remind us why insurance is important. Even if we cannot prevent them, we can provide predictability, financial security and practical support in difficult situations,» says chief executive Geir Holmgren. The fire completely destroyed 117 homes, according to updated figures from Finans Norge, making it the largest residential fire in Norway in recent years. Most of the dwellings were insured, and reinsurance limits the group’s final burden.

📌 Local briefs

A person smoked on the plane and then stripped naked at the duty free shop (Drammens Tidende, 25 October, 04:00).

A man unscrewed a window to enter a home (Drammens Tidende, 24 October, 23:00).

An ambulance lost its brakes at full speed (Drammens Tidende, 24 October, 23:00).

Sources: NRK Buskerud, Drammens Tidende, The Local Norway — Period: 24 October 2026 and 25 October 2026