Just because it was the right decision to stay in Moscow for the Winter doesn’t mean I’ll miss Norway any less. If I had decided to return to work at the resort for a third season, this is about the time I would be shopping for a ticket, packing up and moving back into my old apartment at Kvitfjell. Thanks to temperatures that have been consistently low enough for artificial snow production, the mountain opened its first slopes last weekend, and this week they received an early dose of fresh powder. (Check out the photos of Scott and Marius.) Today, Kvitfjell Hotel is opening their doors for the season, and they have just added to their website a commercial (click on “Video”) that I filmed for them last March and edited over the Summer.
In case that weren’t enough to make me heartsick, last night we invited three high school exchange students to dinner at the Big Haus: Leo from Holland, Yeliz from Turkey, and Adina from Kristiansand, Norway. Adina and Yeliz had walked by the Haus a couple of weeks ago and spotted my flag, which made them curious enough to approach the front door and introduce themselves. They returned last night, where over a bonfire I got to brush up on my Norwegian, and for the first time since moving to Moscow, Adina heard more of her own language than a stereotypical “Uff da!”
As my train approached Kristiansand a week ago, I got a text message from Åshild, roughly translated:
“Give me a ring when you make it South. I have an offer for you to join in a (free) experience! I can promise you high velocity and wonderful people. This Saturday.”
By the time Friday evening rolled around, I found myself riding shotgun with her to spend the night on her cousin’s farm near Mersland ahead of what would indeed be a top speed experience – namely, Rally Sørland – a round of the Norwegian Championships in rally car racing! Waking the next morning to a glorious chorus of mooing cattle, we joined in a patio gathering of early risers, where I was introduced to nearly half the population of Norway, including (amazingly enough) a few who were not related to Åshild. We spent the better part of the morning drinking the coffee pots dry, entertaining ourselves with an impromptu slackline session, and dodging scattered rain showers before the first of two laps kicked off shortly after eleven o’ clock.
We fired up the grill between laps, and when the last car crossed the finish line, we were not far behind on our way to (more) coffee with Uncle Trond and family, followed by an afternoon stroll along the river. They say trolls live in these parts, but what were we to do when we came across one of these just sitting there quietly on the forest floor? We picked it up, of course, played with it for a while, then taught it that as tolerant as a black kitty might be, it would much rather walk alongside you than be dragged backwards by the tail.
Our day was not over until we had greeted the ponies, listened to the flowers sing, and visited still more of Åshild’s incredibly welcoming friends in Vigeland (which might be recognized as the hometown of that famous sculptor). We stopped by a work in progress to see Vidar and Merete Haugen, who are expecting twins and a remodeled home. A few others joined us for – you guessed it – coffee and chocolate before the drive back to the city.
Through Karl Sigve, I have been blessed by dozens of believers in Kristiansand, though I might add it is uncanny how many infants I have cradled and how many toddlers I have entertained. Just last evening, while over at the Boklund’s for dinner, it struck me how long it has been since I shook someone’s hand, then helped them blow their nose. But I’m getting ahead of myself. There you have my update from Saturday. Plenty more to come. Now it’s time for me to check up on the view.
Filed under: Sports
It’s time to start packing and getting rid of old gear. After owning some of these things for more than a decade, they will be hard to part with, but I have no choice. Some would say that’s a good thing. For example, I’ve been sporting this pair of Smith goggles since I lived in Norway as a teenager. I like to think they have brought out my feminine side while tearing up the slopes.
Hearts and flowers. Turns out pictures in a catalog are there for a reason.
Then there are the gloves and socks I have been wearing every last thread out of since my first season on a snowboard (1996).
Waterproof mittens with fleece glove liners. Too thin to retain warmth any longer, but they have served me well.
Holey-Burton! I can't explain why I still have these, especially since I was blessed with several new pairs last Christmas. I guess it's a sentimental thing. Funny how my reaction to gift socks has changed over the years.
Other items – like my boots and board – were picked up along the way at Kvitfjell. Free of charge, I might add, but for good reason.
A gift last year from a coworker's ex-boyfriend. I have been getting by with basic boots that are one size too big. I can't say I'm going to miss these, but does it get any cooler than "snakeboot"?
After the Head board I was "borrowing" from Lars got stolen last December, I was left with this Dynastar. Obviously an old rental that somebody thought was a good deal. The bindings have never wanted to stay put, but if I knew anyone who was looking for a decent rock board, it would be theirs.
And let’s not forget the helmet that saved me from a broken nose back in February.
It's rare to see anyone on the slopes here without a helmet, and this one has saved my noggin a few times, so it probably should be retired anyway. Besides, its missing a goggle strap.
All of this would have long been replaced by anyone else, which is why some of it ended up in my hands. At least now I have the leisure of packing it in the dumpster instead of checking extra luggage to the States, where my “fancy” equipment has been gathering dust for the past two seasons. I haven’t been the most stylish snowboarder at Kvitfjell, but I may just have been the cheapest.
After working for two weeks straight, tomorrow will be my first (and only) day off ahead of this weekend’s Kvitfjellrennet – our final event of the season before the mountain closes on April 26. Having had hardly enough time to collect my thoughts lately – let alone put them into words – I’m reposting another video classic. While Skyping with Kristen tonight, she lamented Pike’s long-standing absence on this blog. It reminded me of a promise that was kept one year ago today.
When I lived in Norway as a child, I remember waking up one Winter night to the sound of what I thought was a plane crashing down in our driveway. The house shook and made a terrible noise that got the whole family out of our beds, only to find that all of the snow on our large, clay-tiled roof had violently slid off to completely block our view out the windows on the ground level.
Several days of snow in the second half of February followed by March temperatures above freezing have resulted in the heavy snow on our roof being drawn slowly over the eaves as it melts. Two days ago, half the view out my bedroom was blocked – not from piles on the ground – but by the toungue of ice and snow curling off the roof like a Fruit Roll-Up. Thanks to my experience as a child, I knew that the inevitable was also imminent. When it finally broke free, the sound it made brought my German housemates knocking to ask if I heard the “explosion.” They thought something had blown on the mountain or that the neighbors had trouble figuring out their gas stove. I bravely reassured them that it was nothing but a little snow on the roof.
What was left has been sliding off in pieces, usually during the night when temperatures drop. I would like to blame the noise for the fact that I only got four hours of sleep last night. In reality, I just have a lot on my mind with World Cup starting tomorrow. I am grateful to only be scheduled for the Saturday shift at Koia, which will allow me to see more of the races than I did last year. However, I have two video requests for the events that are going on, in addition to an interview I’ve arranged with Ida Jenshus on Saturday morning.
This is not to mention the trouble I had trying to upload the third Twidgets segment yesterday, just to learn that it was a problem with the website and not my computer or internet connection. I regret to tell you that Vimeo has still not resolved the problem, so part three may not be up until next week. Meanwhile, user accounts are still accessible, so if you’ve got one, try personalizing it a little. I’m getting depressed by all the blue faces, so how about uploading a profile pic? In fact, that’s the deal – put your face on Vimeo, and as soon as part three is ready, you’ll be the first to see it.
Until then, I will be trying to survive the weekend and an intermittent internet connection. It has started going down for hours at a time, but I need to remind myself to be grateful that it hasn’t disappeared completely, like it did last year. Fortunately, it has stayed on long enough for me to bring you this quick update. Now I’m off to the annual World Cup welcome party – hosted by none other than Ole Kristian Furuseth.
Nethaniel Ealy is a good friend of mine from Moscow. He has been living in Germany for the past couple of months and decided to spend his last European weekend at Kvitfjell before flying home to the States. I’ve put together a video of his Norwegian experience and posted it on Vimeo.
Like the last video, you will need to create a Vimeo account, add me as a contact, and wait until I add you back before you can view it (usually within twenty-four hours). It’s a bit of a handshaking process, but it only has to be done once, and this is how I will be posting my videos from now on. Of course, the invitation is open to anyone reading this.
Cheers to Nethaniel for a great weekend!
Some clarification on viewing Twidgets: if you followed the link to Vimeo in my last post, you were asked to create an account and/or log in. After that, you may have added me as a contact, which is good. This is only the first step, however, since I have to reciprocate by adding you as my contact before you will be able to see the video. I will promptly add anyone who adds me as their contact, and we’ll only need to do this once for you to see all subsequent episodes. Sorry for the confusion.
In other news, the Arctic Challenge kicks off today in Oslo. It is one of the most prestigious snowboarding competitions in the world, owned by Norwegian icon Terje Haakonsen and sponsored by Oakley. The weekend event will be internationally televised.
Got more snow yesterday. On my way home a few hours ago, I found myself floating through powder and realized how long it had been. On the other hand, it was brought to my attention that I have spent thirteen years as a lazy snowboarder. Since Jimmy gave me an impromptu lesson on Tuesday, I have found myself back at square one, falling on my derier trying to perfect the elusive technique of carving.
Despite overcast skies for most of the day, the sun poked through by the afternoon, allowing me to capture the extraordinary beauty that occasionally unfolds at the top of the mountain. New photos are on Flickr. If this mixture of snow and sun continues, we are looking at prime conditions for our first annual telemark festival this weekend. Koia will be open til midnight, and I’ll be working twelve hour shifts. Wish me luck.
This week I watched the Super Bowl in Norway, minus the advertising and half-time show (which is ironic, considering that Bruce Springsteen probably has more per capita popularity here than anywhere). I explained to my friends how the big-budget commercials are half the fun of tuning in, and to make up for it I just watched all of them on YouTube. I replayed E*TRADE the most, although Pepsi (1 / 2) and Bridgetone (1 / 2) each scored double whammys. So did Bud Light, with my personal favorite and this one, which I’d like to dedicate to all my Swedish friends:
