I've skied and snowboarded for almost four decades, in Europe, North America and even New Zealand, but I've never been to Norway... until now.

That's the kind of thing that Geir Bottolfs wants to change, he tells me over a lunchtime schnitzel in the Norwegian resort of Norefjell. 

Geir, who represents the wonderfully titled Norway Home of Skiing, is responsible for trying to get more of Britain's skiers choosing Norwegian slopes.

The plan seems to be working. It's still a niche option compared to heading to the Alps, but ski package holiday firm Heidi reports Norway is having a moment, with bookings up 200 per cent annually.

So, why should more of Britain's small army of winter-holidaying skiers join those heading north to Norway, instead of stampeding south to the Alps?

The list of reasons is long, Geir explains at lunch in the slopeside Olympique restaurant (where prices compare favourably to France, more on which later) but there is one theme that he keeps coming back to – it's a lot of fun.

Norefjell is just under two hours from Oslo and considered its closest proper skiing mountain. This means it is a popular spot for Osloites to have their timber-clad holiday cabins, in an attractive resort with incredible views over Lake Krøderen, stretched out in the valley below.

The landscape is one of the things that catches your attention on a winter trip to Norway. Rather than the towering, jagged peaks of the Alps, the mountains here are lower-lying and more rounded, and you can see for miles.

The light is stunning, especially close to sunrise and sunset, which in mid February was about 8am and 5.30pm. And there is something magical about everywhere being totally covered in snow, as despite a lowish altitude, consistent cold weather keeps the white stuff sticking around.

With 14 lifts and 30 slopes covering about 26km, Norefjell is a minnow compared to the sprawling giants of interlinked resorts in the Alps, such as France's Three Valleys with its 156 lifts and 347 pistes.

But despite what the mega-resorts tell you, size isn't everything when it comes to enjoying your time on the mountain. 

A smaller resort lets advanced skiers seek out and really savour good runs, gives beginners and intermediates a chance to build confidence, and is great for families and groups, who can worry less about losing each other or managing to meet up.

I was in Norefjell with my youngest daughter, aged 12, as guests of Heidi, to put Norwegian skiing to the test over the course of a long weekend at the start of the February half-term.

By the time we sat down to that lunch on our first day on the mountain, we were already well on the way to being won over.

We had spent the morning getting my daughter's ski legs back on some of Norefjell's wide, open and uncrowded runs that are perfect for cruising about and building confidence.

We'd started by lapping the Nedre Boseter piste, right on the doorstep of our Norefjell Ski and Spa Hotel. 

It was a simple, decent-length intermediate piste, with a drag lift running up beside it, but whereas at February half-term in France it would have been a crowded mess, here it was the kind of half-empty run that calls for an encore.

Wide and perfectly pisted, it had the perfect gradient for a blue run, and a small snow park next to it. Within a few laps, my daughter was carving decent turns down the slope, starting to hit the small jumps and rollers, and arriving at the bottom with a massive grin and a call for 'one more'.

A willingness to enjoy a run repeatedly is the key to getting the most out a Norway ski trip. The Norwegians are serious about their skiing and if they are happy to keep coming back and doing the same runs again, then there might be something in this whole bigger isn't better argument.

Norefjell certainly packs an entertaining mix of cruising pistes, tougher slopes, easily accessible off-piste, tree runs, and two snow parks into its compact space.

I could tell that with a dump of fresh powder, the terrain between and around the runs would be immense fun.

Apparently, we had visited in what's been classed as not a great snow year, but there was plenty around. The pistes were good quality, with the snow holding its integrity well, due to those colder temperatures meaning less freeze-thaw conditions. Something the Alps has really suffered from in recent years.

You can see why the locals come up here for their weekends, but what about the those of us coming from further afield?

Norway is a place all skiers should try, Geir reckons, if only because it's interesting.

'Nobody cares if you've been to France. Everyone's been there. If you tell your friends, or someone at a party, that you skied in Norway you will always get their attention', he laughs.

There's certainly going to be more of those conversations going on, as Norway is proving increasingly popular.

Behind the rise in demand for Norway lies a reputation for being family-friendly and snow-sure, something which is particularly attractive for the growing number choosing to ski in the cheaper and less busy Easter school holidays, rather than February half-term.

In addition, Britons are realising that contrary to popular perception, a Norwegian ski holiday can be cheaper than a break in the Alps or at least get you higher quality for a similar price.

We stayed in the four-star Norefjell Ski and Spa Hotel, where Heidi has seven nights, including flights and transfers, from £1,014 per person based on two sharing, in the last week of March, or a three-night long weekend from £707 per person.

That gets you bed and huge buffet breakfast in the stylish hotel, which is spread out in low-rise buildings between the edge of the pine forest and pistes, with a beginner slope right on the doorstep.

The hotel's lobby, bar and main restaurant have double-height vaulted ceilings and big windows, with a Soho House-style Nordic cool interior design theme running throughout. There's also an expansive spa, sauna and wellness area.

It is firmly family friendly though, with everything you need on site and plenty of entertainment for after skiing or bad weather days, including an indoor pool open to all ages, a climbing wall, games room, and ski shop and lockers.

The main restaurant serves an impressive buffet dinner that bowled my daughter over, with a large selection of fish, roasted meats, salads, vegetables, desserts, and much more on offer. Downstairs, the Matbaren restaurant has pizzas, burgers and more.

As much as I've been keen to visit for years, the thing that has always put me off visiting Norway or Scandinavia has always been concerns over the price of food and drink. So, how bad is it?

Firstly, to tackle that all-important British question: how expensive is a beer? Pricey, but not that bad. Just under a pint at the hotel or on the mountain was about £8 to £9. That's more expensive that Austria or Italy but roughly what you'd pay in France or Switzerland.

Wine at dinner was more costly, with bottles starting at around the £60 mark and glasses at about £12.

Food didn't feel overly expensive compared to most places I have skied, with the honourable exception of Italy's great value restaurants.

For example, at the Olympique my superb wiener schnitzel was just over £20 and fantastic wood-fired pizzas downstairs start from £16.

That's not cheap but you have to consider you're in place with a definite high-end feel, built by a consortium of 40-odd local investors with cabins in Norefjell who wanted their ideal mountain restaurant. I've certainly paid at least the same price or more for inferior food on the mountain in France.

Plus, if you really want to keep costs down on a ski holiday, the answer is not to go out for lunch every day and to consider going self-catering.

This is something, Norefjell Ski and Spa also offers, with apartments with kitchens, living rooms and up to three bedrooms. 

Our comfortable and stylish two-bedroom apartment featured a freestanding bath in the big double bedroom's window and a spacious balcony. A family of four would have been happy there for a week.

Norway certainly isn't a cheap ski destination, along the lines of a Bulgaria or Andorra, but I came away with the feeling that even in a resort popular with the well-heeled of Oslo, what you get for your money is good value in terms of quality.

That compared favourably to some of the big-name Alpine resorts that I've been to across France, Austria and Switzerland, a country that can be traumatizingly expensive.

Heidi's co-founder Marcus Blunt, who started the ski holiday company in 2018 with his brother Alexander, is half-Norwegian and the firm is understandably hot on trips there, with lots of information about Norway's different resorts on Heidi's website. 

Heidi's smart digital system let you adjust holidays, tweaking dates, flight times, accomodation options and other things, meaning you could build a package to suit your needs. 

He told This is Money: 'It's worth mentioning that the krone has been weaker over the last year, so ski holiday pounds are going further. And increasing interest in Norway has been met this season with the launch of nine new flight routes from the UK.

'Norway is becoming increasingly popular as a destination for UK skiers and snowboarders looking for something a bit different, calmer - and often cheaper - than classic big-name resorts in the Alps.'

The rise in popularity has led to an increase in direct flights to Norway, with Norwegian flying to Oslo, Bergen, Tromso and other destinations from London, Manchester and other UK airports. 

Norway's popular ski destinations range from its biggest resort Trysil, to Voss with its fjord views, and Geilo, where you can ski gentle slopes across five different areas.

None of them can claim to rival the European giants for size but as my daughter and I found in Norefjell, it's refreshing and fun to rediscover the joy of small resorts.

If you are the kind of skier or snowboarder who insists on being on the mountain from first to last lifts, riding from one end of sprawling resorts to another, then Norway may not be ideal for you.

But I'd highly recommend it for beginners and intermediates and advanced skiers and snowboarders whose idea of a good time doesn't depend on covering as many kilometres as possible. The options for activities away from skiing are also great, with hiking, snowshoe walking, cross country skiing easily accessible.

In a day we'd covered most of the slopes on offer, so we spent the rest of time in Norefjell doing our favourite runs repeatedly. A highlight being the long blue that snakes its way all the way from the top of the lift-accessed mountain to the valley floor by the lake.

On our last day, our transfer back to the airport was at 2.30pm. The plan was to be back at the hotel by 1.30pm to give plenty of time to get changed and sorted.

But we indulged in a few too many 'last runs', so ended up dashing in the ski room door at 2.15pm and had to chuck our stuff in the bags, jump in the car and get changed at the airport.

That's the mark of a good ski trip. And when the taxi driver asked us if we'd return to ski in Norway, my daughter replied immediately: 'We are definitely coming back.'

Simon Lambert travelled as a guest of Heidi.