It all began when Roar Skaugen was born and raised on a farm in Sel called Ulsvold as the third child of four. The farm had a mountain farm in Høvringen, which was also used as a lodge. Roar’s parents started from scratch – without a building and without a road. A house that was used for drying grains became the fireplace room, an old barn was turned into a dining room, and eventually three bedrooms were built. The rooms shared one burning stove in the hallway, and anyone who wanted heat in their room had to sleep with the door open. The lodge offered accommodation with food for mountain hikers, and in 1964/65 seven new bedrooms were built. Roar Skaugen and his wife Kari took over the lodge in the spring of 1977.

In 1965, the first Bombardier snow coach arrived. In 1980, they bought a newer Bombardier. It was named “Samen” and it is still in daily operation during the winter season. Furthermore, there was remodelling for shower and WC in the old rooms. In the fall of 1983, they started building 15 new rooms – all with showers and WC.

In late autumn of 1997 Roar was in Canada where he bought a Bombardier which got the name “Canadier’n” (“the Canadian”). Over the years, they have refurbished 21 bathrooms, refurbished the café and tried to keep the space in good condition. In the period from 2009 to 2010 they built eleven new apartments, the largest with fireplace, massage bath and sauna. All of them with kitchen and TV. They also made an underground corridor into the main house from the apartments. In 2011, they built a new patio of about 60 square meters outside the house, right on the water’s edge. Here they have created a small waterfall, a space where their guests can borrow rowboats, benches and tables.