Viking Magazine - January 2022 - 39

AMBASSADOR INSIGHTS
It's All Downhill from Here
BY ANNIKEN KRUTNES
why Norway traditionally
piles up so much hardware
in international winter
competitions.
We've been skiing in Norway
forever. The inspiration for the
logo for the 1994 Olympics in
Lillehammer, a cave etching
in Northern Norway, is one
of the world's most iconic
early images of a person on
skis, dating back 3,000 years.
Fragments of skis that date
back even further have been
found in Norwegian bogs. The
word " ski " is related to an old
Norse word meaning " stick of
wood " or " snowshoe. "
Early skis were for
transportation. Eventually,
it is thought, Norwegian
and Swedish troops began
challenging each other to races
on skis, essentially inventing
merican sportswriter Tom
Boswell once wrote a book that
claims time begins on Opening Day.
It's not hard to understand his point.
While I'm no baseball expert-can
someone explain the infield fly rule?-I
get the appeal of a summer evening at
the ballpark enjoying a cool beverage
and the warm camaraderie of the crowd.
But as a Norwegian, I don't buy the
premise that time stands still in winter.
This time of year is when the real sports
happen. I'm thinking specifica ly about
skiing, the offic l sport of Norway, in
all its glorious forms.
Th y say Norwegians are born with
skis on our feet. This is an exaggeration.
The skis are actually home-delivered
by a stork along with each baby. From
the time we can walk, many of us are
taught to ski, which may help explain
@sonsofnorway
the cross-country ski race.
Being the military, naturally they
added shooting to the competition
and the biathlon was born. Many
Norwegian medals in international
biathlon competitions would follow.
Eventually, skiers remembered that
hills and mountains exist, and Telemark
skiing was born-fittingly, in Telemark,
Norway. This is d wnhill skiing in
which the skier's boot is attached to the
ski at the toe but not the heel, allowing
for freedom of motion and an exciting,
slashing skiing style.
Not every world capital has its
own famous ski jump, but Oslo does:
Holmenkollbakken is within a subway
ride of downtown and has hosted many
international competitions.
The sport continues to evolve. I'm
fond of randonée, back-country skiing,
which is done on tough terrain, not
carefully maintained slopes. Special
attachments for your skis help you make
your way uphill. Remove them at the
top and make your way back down. It's
a fun, challenging new take on an old
pastime.
While it can be a physically
demanding sport, skiing can still be
accessible. Ski for Light, for example,
is an organization in the United States
that helps mobility- and visuallyimpaired
people enjoy cross-country
skiing. Theembassy is a proud partner
in their work.
Whether it's cross country, Telemark,
randonée or some other form yet to
be invented, there's a type of skiing for
everybody. At this time of year, when
your instincts might urge you to take
refuge inside, turn up the heat and wait
for baseball season, why not embrace
the Norwegian concept of friluftsliv-
roughly, " open-air living " -and get
outside for some skiing?
After all, Opening Day will be here
soon enough. ▼
ABOUT THE
AUTHOR
Anniken Krutnes
is Norway's
ambassador to the
United States. An
expert in security
policy, the law of the sea and Arctic issues,
she has previously served as Deputy
Director General of the Department of
Security Policy, as Norway's Ambassador
IRU $UFWLF DQG $QWDUFWLF $ơDLUV DQG
as ambassador to the Netherlands and
Luxembourg.
facebook.com/
NorwegianEmbassyinWashington/
@NorwayAmbUSA
January 2022
39
PHOTO COURTESY ARCHIVART / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO, AMBASSADOR ILLUSTRATION BY RANDALL NELSON
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Viking Magazine - January 2022

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