Starting from the parking there is a longish flat section of a cross-country ski track to skin up. Once at the ridge coming down from the bottom of Varden, head left and skin up the ridge. The ridge is never that steep and makes for a good line of ascent before cutting back into the main bowl. It is usually possible to reach the summit of Varden without too much trouble. From here you can ski all the way back down, or alternatively, to get some more skiing in, skin back up to Smatinden as shown here which makes for an attractive loop.

The summit area of Smatinden is a great place to take in 360 degree views. The west side of Smatinden also has a lot of great ski terrain and can be approached separately from the west. The slopes coming off the summit of Smatinden face directly south and are steeper (40 degrees in places) than that of Varden, so be sure of the quality of the snow and watch out for a risk of wet slides (also from the steep ground above the stream just before the terrain flattens out). Once down on there flat ground by the lake, enjoy the extra exercise you'll get from polling back out along the cross-country track!