Unable to go skiing in the mountains because of anti-Corona bans on overnight stays, several overly eager skiers have gone to extremes in the local forests and hills around Oslo. Norway’s Aukland brothers, best known for winning Olympic gold and long-distance ski races, defied officials’ advice to just stay home and instead skied 516 kilometers on rapidly disappearing snow and ice during a 31-hour binge in Nordmarka.
The marathon started when acquaintances got up early one day before Easter and skied north through the hills of Nordmarka from Oslo to the popular area around Lake Mylla, a trek of around 40 kilometers depending on which route a skier takes. Then they turned around and skied back again, all in the same day.
That whet the appetites of others including the Auklands, and it didn’t take long before competition started between them and others including Joar Thele. More long treks got underway but the ski trails were disappearing after a winter with little snow and suddenly lots of use.
It all culminated when they set their sights on the lake known as Gjerdingen just south of Mylla, where there was still snow and ice. Newspaper Dagsavisen reported that after 86 trips measured at six kilometers around the lake, they finally had enough, and set an unofficial world record for a single cross-country ski trip. They at least beat the record set in 1983, when Bjørn Løkken of nearby Harestua reportedly skied 513.5 kilometers in 48 hours.
newsinenglish.no staff
