THE CRADLE OF SKIING is a designation often used about Norway, where skis have been a means of transport, a pastime and a sport for centuries. Here you will find the story of the people who allegedly “are born with skis on their feet”.

This is a book published in the series NORWEGIAN HERITAGE. A series of books about a range of Norway’s best-known national icons. The respective titles deal with significant figures within arts and literature, science, sports and society, as well as the country’s many natural wonders, important historical periods and cultural topics. Each book offers the reader an updated introduction to readers who wish to familiarize themselves with a given subject.

See www.norwegian-heritage.no for more titles and information about the series.

The books are published in Norwegian and English.

THOR GOTAAS

NORWAY – THE CRADLE OF SKIING

Translated from the Norwegian
by J. Basil Cowlishaw

FONT FORLAG

Content

Preface

Origins

The Dawn of Modern Skiing

Skiing Out of The Union

National Heroes

A Rash of Jumping Hills

Up and Down and Round About

The War Years

The Post-War Years

Specialization and Growing Commercialization

Appendix

Preface

Nordmarka, Oslo, Sunday 7 February 2010.

The first enthusiasts set off as early as six o’clock in the morning. By noon, the trails are thronged with a stream of people of all ages, many of them families with children. Some fairly zip along, others take their time; some glide smoothly, others merely waddle. But all have skis on their feet and ski sticks in their hands. They make their way into the heart of the winter wonderland of Nordmarka, deep into the woods, aiming for the nearest lodge or places more distant.

More than two thousand kilometres of well-prepared and -maintained trails enable skiers to roam at will, wherever fancy takes them. Some prefer to stay with the crowd, others to seek privacy. Skiing is a matter of both individuality and community, of self-chosen solitude and the joy of being together with others. Skiers set out in quest of their own true selves – and of nature, with all its crisp, clean air and ever-changing vistas.

Sunday 7 February 2010 was a perfect day for skiing throughout most of Norway, and people seized the opportunity with alacrity. They turned out in their thousands, returning home healthily tired, rosy-cheeked and exhilarated.

Mountain touring in winter. From the Drangedal valley, February 2009.

But why should so many people choose to ski on the Sabbath?

Because, to many, skiing is a sacred rite, firmly rooted in the Norwegian psyche. There is something childlike about it, just as there is something magical about the snow. When the landscape is carpeted with snow and King Winter rules supreme, many Norwegians will reason: ‘We like you as you are, cold and dark, long and severe. But we turn to our skis, because they make you more bearable and transform you into a pristine white fairytale.’

Nowadays, people embrace outdoor life as a counter to a humdrum sedentary existence. They set forth into the mountains and deep into the forests, in search of spiritual renewal. To Norwegians, nature is a cathedral without walls. There they come face to face with the glory of Creation without recourse to books and sermons. And there, skiing is part of the rhythm of life.