Every design for Geilo

Geilo means skiing. It is one of the largest ski resorts in Norway, and the place where the country's first one grew up, around a railway station. The Bergen Line runs straight through the centre, and it was the trains that turned an old farm called Gjeilo into a village of hotels, shops and cabins, starting with Lars Gjeilo making room for a handful of guests when the line opened.

The village sits high in the valley of Hallingdal, on the line between Oslo and Bergen, with Hardangervidda to the west and a road over to Numedal by way of Dagali. Slopes climb the town side of the valley, Havsdalen lies over the back of the mountain and Geilolia faces it from across the valley, and a free ski bus ties them together. In summer the same country turns into walking land, with trails over bare fell and more trout lakes than anyone has counted. Small local firms such as Brusletto and Geilo Jernvarefabrikk have kept working here alongside the hotels.

For the people who live here all year, Geilo is more than a resort. It is the path past Geilo høydepark, the artwork Troll, and the train slowing into the station that still feels like coming home.