Norway does seem to be such a well organised and pleasant country to live in. It perhaps does have the "advantage" of it's weather and topography. Norway needs to plan or it's in trouble. By comparison the UK is mostly able to muddle along. We usually don't have extreme conditions, and if they occur the don't last. However, the UK struggles in weather that other countries take in their stride. And that seems to encourage political inadequacy.
@22Michelle But surely much of Scotland at least is very much like western and southern Norway. And I remember hitchhiking down the middle of Wales from Snowdonia to Tenby in 1975 and experiencing snowfall as heavy as I have experienced in Norway. You are right that it wasn't so cold so it would not have built up like it does at high altitudes here but still. And they have gates across the main roads across the Pennines just as we do here. A couple of years ago I chatted with a couple from the Pennines over breakfast in a Wiltshire hotel and they told me that they switch to winter tyres and find they often drive past cars that just can't make it up the hills.
What I mean is that surely the places where it does snow must be prepared for it. Local councils in the Cairngorms can hardly claim that snow would be a surprise.
What happens here is that a lot of farmers have a contract with the kommune (local council) to clear village streets so outlying areas don't have to maintain a large fleet of snow ploughs. Instead the farmers just attach one to the front of a tractor. The main roads between towns are the responsibility of the ministry of transport (Vegvesen) or the county authority (fylkeskommune).
And of course some of the least used roads in the mountains are summer only (vinterstengt). the dig them out in the spring like this fylkesvei (county road) 500 between Sirdal and Lysebotn
See the video here: https://www.nrk.no/video/0c284ba7-6c1d-4b50-8d4c-6600534b7ffe
@ninalanyon Back in my schooldays I never experienced a "snow day". We had lots of snow, but we trudged through the drifts. However, since the early 1970's the incidence and seriousness of winter snowfall has been reducing. The grit stocks councils have purchased have usually ended up being hardly used. If we do get snowfall, very low temperatures it has been lasting a few days only. Thus Councils are either heavily criticised that roads etc are not gritted, cleared or that they've was lots of money wasted on grit etc., that wasn't needed. Regular snowfalls in winter justifies spending on snowploughs, grit etc. Lots of milder winters, hardly any snowfalls for less spending. I'd also add that we used to get and start shovelling the snow out. Now the majority sit indoors waiting gor the Council to clear roads, pavements, etc., whilst calling for them to reduce spending.
