Ustaoset

Ustaoset is a village in Hol municipality, Buskerud, Norway. It has a station on Bergensbanen between Geilo and Finse, as well as a hotel and mountain resort cabins. Ustaoset is situated 990 meters above sealeveland is the finish for the well known cross country ski event Skarverennet".^[1] Ustaoset first came to prominence with the opening of the Oslo to Bergen rail line, Bergensbanen, in 1909, providing year-round access to this high mountain valley. Families from both cities built cabins, some now over one hundred years old, from which they could ski in the winters and hike in the summers. Reaching the summit of the Folarskardnuten, highest point in the region (1,933 m), on skis or on foot is a notable achievement. Because of Norway's strict controls over building and land use, new Ustaoset cabins are difficult if not impossible to build making the rare cabin that comes on the market much in demand.

Coordinates: 60°30′N 8°04′E / 60.500°N 8.067°E / 60.500; 8.067 The mountain resort cabins at Ustaoset have a key role in the murder mystery unfolding in the Norwegian detective thriller "The Leopard" by the Norwegian author Jo Nesbø. Some episodes in the book feature police detectives from cosmopolitan Oslo coming to conduct investigations in the far more primal mountain environment of Ustaoset.

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