Steinar Hovi was born at Nigarden in Rogne on 23 November 1939. He traveled to Austria and Scotland in the 1960s as a ski instructor. Back at Beitostølen in 1965, he rigged up with a “Ski School” sign at the bottom of the hill. He got customers who wanted to learn, but they lacked alpine equipment. Then he bought complete equipment for ladies and gentlemen and started Ski Hire. Eventually he found out that those who were going to learn to ski lacked ski clothing – then he opened Sportsbutikk. He built HOVIhytter and over time made a number of acquisitions, such as Bergo hotel, Beitostølen Høyfjellshotell, Beitostølen Skiheiser, Bitihorn hotel and what is now the Radisson Blu Mountain Resort.
Steinar died on 16 November 2013. But he is forever present.
BEITOSTØLEN is a unique destination. A small alpine village in Norway. Small enough to be personal, big enough to offer diversity.
The place is run and developed in the spirit of Steinar Hovi: Personal, Solid, Honest and Genuine.
At the same time, Beitostølen ViaFerrata, a music festival, cat-skiing over the high mountains, a cross-country skiing mecca, the home track of professional athletes, Norway’s longest bar counter, the gateway to Jotunheimen, the Randoné paradise, the Gjende Alps, dog sledding, the 1500-metre peaks are part of the top tour package for children in Valdres , powder snow, summer bobsled track, experiences from horseback, large activity park without plastic-fantastic, a mountain bike eldorado… and so on.
At Beitostølen, it’s fun to be a child and wonderful to be an adult on a trip or holiday. There are not all places where I can drink coffee in the sun wall while both he, aged 17, and she, aged seven, are having a great time with their own activities, in the same place. An activity eldorado for all ages, 365 days a year – or pure rest!
Mother of 3
Today, Beitostølen Resort consists of the hotels Radisson Blu Mountain Resort , Bergo Rom, several apartment and cabin facilities as well as Beitostølen ski lifts, Beitostølen summer park and Raudalen alpine.
