Posts Tagged Ski
A good start
For once I was home the whole month of January (apart from a quick visit to London). It’s been nice, but the weather was so-so for my taste – very, very cold. Once again I confirmed that I’m not made for Nordic winters.
Being home it’s been quite interesting to follow the changes in the river running past the house. One evening it was just amazing to listen to the crackling ice. I wish I could record it for you all. I haven’t heard anything like it.
February is off to a very good start. Work is busy and interesting. Held a lecture at an event organized by the Embassy of Canada in Oslo on Wednesday and two days later I was at Cambridge University, holding a lecture at Judge Business School. The event in Cambridge was very rewarding. The passion, the interest, the curiosity, the participation, in general the vibe in and surrounding the different colleges is very inspiring and if I win the lottery something I would love to get better acquainted with. £50K is not something I just have laying around… :)
After a nice dinner with friends on Saturday night I enjoyed Oslo from its best winter side, cross-country skiing in Nordmarka with my dad and brother. On days like these I forget all about what I wrote earlier. It’s one of the best places to be. Sparkling white snow, bright sun a clear blue sky.
No pictures this time around, but I’ll make up for it in my next blogpost. In five days I travel again – going back to the more “natural” life of being here and there.
King winter has been kind
Less than a 20 minutes drive north of Oslo center you find Nordmarka, a haven for anyone with an inkling of the outdoors in his or her soul. Lakes and rivers surrounded by forested hills is the perfect backdrop for skiing of all kinds in the winter and fishing trips, hikes or a bicycle trip during the rest of the year.
Citizens of greater Oslo are very found of Nordmarka and spend a lot of time with open-air activities. Not surprisingly, Sundays are packed and on beautiful sunny days there almost queues on favorite paths. Today was not sunny, it was in fact quite the opposite, but with the heavy snowfall the past two days a lot had found their cross-country skis and set forth to many serviced cabins. It was very nice to ski with my father, brother, sister and her boyfriend earlier today. Now, a few hours later it feels well deserved to relax in the sofa – being very aware of my joints and muscles…
The heavy snowfall has clad Oslo in a beautiful white blanket. Looking at the all the people struggling with their cars, I’m happy I sold the red one last month. I’m also very fascinated by the changes in the river running next to the house. The picture below is taken before I went to bed last night, around midnight. I used my compact (G10) and set it to a 15 second exposure. It’s amazing how much light the camera finds in the white snow. I have a plan of setting up a camera in the window, taking one picture at noon everyday. Maybe for a week, month or year, we’ll see how patient I’ll be.
Coming down the mountain
It was very nice to spend time with friends at Øknevann. It’s been a while, a few years in fact, since last I was up at there. A three, four hours drive up through Hallingdalen from Oslo. Close to Torpo, between Gol and Ål for those who know their way.
We arrived in the early afternoon on Thursday. It was snowing hard, the sky as white as the ground below us. Flurries everywhere, and quite cold. Started the vacation with digging room for the car through the two-, three-meter high bank of snow next to the narrow road. After a quick lunch we started on the roofs of the three cabins, digging and sawing of the heavy piles of snow. Surfing on top of the large blocks of snow, sliding of the roof was great fun, and a bit dangerous. One time I landed right before the massive slab of snow knocked me down, before collapsing over my legs. I lay there laughing my stuck ass off…
The day after was just as white, with stronger winds. After a long breakfast we put on our skies and went separate ways. Some farther than others, one lifting his kite and sailed into the landscape. Back at the cabin, I swapped my skis with snowshoes. I went for a walk in the deep snow with my camera. Much to my dismay the wind picked up making it very hard to photograph. Spent the time to dig trenches through the snow between the cabins instead. After shuffling the rooftops and digging deep walkways I was wondering what kind of vacation this would be.
Then, waking up the next morning to a clear blue ski, blistering sun and -11 Celsius I finally got the vacation I wanted. It was absolutely fabulous to walk into the mountains, surrounded by white landscape with majestic snowcapped mountains in the distance, the warm sun in the face. In short, the days following gave us a very nice Easter vacation.
Now, back in Oslo I have a day left before I head back to work. It gives me time to enjoy some good weather in my city too, and if all goes well, spend some time with my photography.
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Listening to: Sigur Rós / Vaka