Northug weary of his own celebrity
February 7, 2012
Petter Northug, Norway’s sometimes surly skiing star, reportedly is getting tired of his celebrity status at home. The coach of the men’s cross-country ski team is worried Northug may cut his career short so he can just be a normal guy. Vidar Løfshus told newspaper Adresseavisen in Trondheim that he sees how Northug is plagued [...]
Hopeful world champs arrive in Oslo
February 2, 2012
Holmenkollen’s arenas and the hills above Oslo are coming alive once again with the sound of skiers, snowboarders and cheering fans, as the first of two major international competitions gets underway. First out is the IBU World Cup Biathlon, to be followed by the World Snowboarding Championships next week at nearby Oslo Winterpark at Tryvann. [...]
Swimmer and skier won big at home
January 9, 2012
He looked quite a bit different in a tuxedo instead of a swimsuit but there was no mistake about who won Norway’s most coveted athletics prize over the weekend. Star swimmer Aleksander Dale Oen was voted the top athlete of the year, by his own fellow athletes from the full range of sport. And the [...]
She did it again! Northug did not
January 5, 2012
Norway’s undisputed ski queen Marit Bjørgen logged another victory in the Tour de Ski on Thursday, narrowly beating her arch rival Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland and boosting her chances of winning the Tour itself. Norwegian skier Petter Northug, however, saw his dream of winning the Tour de Ski crumble, after losing on Thursday to defending [...]
Ending and starting the year on skis
January 2, 2012
When the going gets tough, the tough go skiing. At least in Norway, where Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre have been among the latest to talk about the importance of a ski trip to clear their minds, get some exercise and control stress. A new study (external link) conducted by [...]
New ski jump needs to earn money
December 20, 2011
Oslo’s newly rebuilt Holmenkollen Ski Jump shattered all budget estimates and now is costing much more money to operate and maintain than the old one did. That means the ski association in charge needs to start renting it out on a regular basis, in the hopes of generating needed income. Skiforeningen, the ski association that [...]
Hotel investors challenge Skistar
December 4, 2011
Hotel investor Petter Stordalen was back in the news late last week, after confirming that he and fellow hotel investor Anders Buchardt planned to launch a new company to invest in ski resorts. In doing so, they aim to challenge Skistar of Sweden, which controls the major Norwegian ski centers Trysil and Hemsedal. Stordalen, who [...]
Northug already irritating many
November 22, 2011
The season has just begun but Norway’s bad boy of skiing, Petter Northug, has already managed to annoy rivals and even his own sports bosses at home. After dominating the weekend’s first World Cup event, it’s clear that neither Northug’s expertise nor his cockiness has subsided over the summer. Northug seemed to easily beat all [...]
Six ski resorts decide to open
November 18, 2011
An ongoing lack of snow continues to frustrate ski resort operators all over Norway. Even with snow-making equipment running at full speed, only six resorts appeared able to open this weekend, compared to 39 at this time last year. The season’s first World Cup event in Norway was moving forward, though, at a new location. [...]
Sports leaders want Olympics in Oslo
October 25, 2011
Cheering crowds and Norwegians out in front at last winter’s Nordic World Ski Championships in Oslo were all it took for local sports bureaucrats and civic boosters to start plotting their next big project: Attracting the Winter Olympics to Oslo in 2022. Rival host sites in Norway are already protesting. Sverre Seeberg, president of the [...]
Scenic valley’s fans win award
August 31, 2011
The scenic valley of Maridalen in Oslo is known as a rural oasis on the fringe of an urban environment. Now its biggest support group has won this year’s “cultural landscape prize” for its work to promote cultural development in the protected scenic area. The group Maridalens Venner (Maridalen’s Friends) won the prestigious award from the [...]
Brand new ski jump full of mistakes
August 4, 2011
Oslo’s new Holmenkollen Ski Jump opened just in time for last winter’s Nordic Skiing World Championships, after enormous budget overruns and political controversy. Now it seems it’s full of construction mistakes and deficiencies, and the price tag may rise further. Newspaper Aften reported last week that a long list of problems has cropped up after [...]
Ski legend plans ‘careful’ comeback
June 22, 2011
Bjørn Dæhlie had won more Olympic medals than anyone else when he retired 11 years ago after a decade as Norway’s best cross-country skier ever. Now he seems to have clearly missed the sport, after accepting a spot on a professional ski team. Dæhlie, now age 44, is joining Team Xtra personnel, billed as Norway’s [...]
Alpine skiing loses out to cross-country
April 22, 2011
As Norway’s ski season melts away, new figures confirm what many have suspected for months: Norwegians prefer cross-country skiing to alpine (slalom or downhill) skiing, and are more active on the trails than ever before. Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) reports that Norwegians bought nearly a half-million pairs of cross-country (langrenn) skis this past season, up from [...]
Late Easter trims annual exodus
April 15, 2011
Thousands of Norwegians were beginning their traditional Easter holidays this weekend, but fewer were heading for the hills for a final fling of spring skiing. The Red Cross would still be out in force, even though the late Easter and a sudden spurt of warm weather last week spoiled the snow all over southern Norway. [...]
