Basic Course in Mountain Cross Country Skiing

It is the week from February 8th to 12th and our Basic Ski Course in Syrtveit, Evje, is coming up!

On Monday morning, we gather at 9:15 am in front of the main building of the university, where our travel bus is already waiting. We stow our luggage and set off. The bus takes us to a place about 70 km north of Evje. After a good hour's drive, we arrive. We are staying in cabins at the TrollAktiv AS center, which is the leading provider of outdoor adventures in Norway. The TrollAktiv is located one hour north of Kristiansand in picturesque nature on the banks of the Otra river. We are there to drive up to the ski area every day and learn Cross Country Skiing there. Cross Country Skiing is the national sport here in Norway and a form of cross-country skiing where you rely on your own locomotion. It is also possible to downhill with these skis. We quickly check into our rooms and have a snack before meeting outside at 12 o'clock to go to the ski area for the first time. We drive there for 15 minutes by bus. Once we have arrived at the ski area, the first thing is to strap on the skis properly, because the binding works differently than with alpine skis. We also do some exercises to turn while standing and make our first small rounds on the cross-country skis to get a feel for them. In the evening, we have a theory lesson on 'ski waxing'. We learn, among other things, that you have to use different waxes for different air temperatures and that it is better to apply several thin layers of wax instead of a thick one. After the lecture, we wax our skis for the next day, have dinner and then fall tired into bed.

On Tuesday morning, we load our skis into the van and drive up to the ski area again. Today, technique training is on the program. We practice a lot on a hill to go up and down. When going downhill, I realize that you are much faster in the snow with cross-country skis than with regular downhill skis. Then we ski downhill through the forest and come out on a beautiful frozen lake. There, the technique training continues and we practice, for example, the typical movements of Cross Country Skiing. After a lunch break, we take a little tour through the forest and across many frozen lakes to apply what we have learned directly. Although the swinging movements are unusual and the balance on the narrow skis leaves something to be desired, it works relatively well and it is definitely fun. In the evening, we have theory sessions on 'Backpacking' and 'First Aid Kit'. Afterward, as always, we wax our skis, which takes me about an hour. And yes, you could say that waxing skis is almost more exhausting than skiing itself because spreading the cold wax on the skis is not that easy.

Wednesday morning starts at 9 o'clock with a short and intense theory session on 'Map and Compass'. Afterward, we drive up to the ski area again, but not as high as the previous two days. There, we take a tour where we have to navigate ourselves, so we have to drive according to the map and compass. My map reading skills could use some improvement, I would say. On our way through the deep snow, Len suddenly points out moose tracks to us! So not too long ago, a moose has walked here. It's a pity that I haven't seen a moose or a reindeer yet. But in winter, it's rather difficult as the moose tend to retreat to the woods to search for food. After a beautiful tour through the forest and across various lakes, we return to the starting point after a few hours. There is a big slope where we do our technique training again. When we return, we wax our skis for Friday, the last day of our ski week. At 8 pm, we all gather in a cabin and enjoy our last evening together. We have planned an international evening, and every country represented in our 'Outdoor Education' course has prepared something for this evening. For example, we learn a typical American folk dance as well as a Dutch and Belgian dance. A fun evening!

On Friday morning, I pack my stuff. But first, we drive up to the ski area again to the same spot where we were the day before. There, we build a mogul slope, a small ski jump, and more with our shovels. After we have finished building, we do regular technique training on the slope again. Then we can try out the different stations we have built, which is a lot of fun. To conclude the week, we have a race down the slope. We are back at the accommodation at 4 pm, pack our things into the bus, and drive back to Kristiansand. It was an exhausting but very beautiful and eventful week!

When I come home now, I only have one week at university ahead of me before I set off on my trip to northern Norway (more precisely: to Tromsø and the Lofoten islands). More about that in the next post!

Until then,                                                                                            Sara