The Birthplace of Skiing
Skiing to Norway is like what bull fighting is to Spain. It is the pride and glory of the nation. Those hailing from Norway are expected to be able to ski down a slope like a fish takes to water. It is no wonder that Norway is the country that has the 31 Gold, 34 Silver and 25 Bronze medals to their credit from the Cross-country skiing events in the Winter Olympics. Sweden comes in at a paltry second place trailing behind by a huge gap with only 59 medals in all to their credit as compared to Norway’s 90 medals.
A rock drawing found in Norway dating back to about 4000 to 4500 years ago depicts a man with ski on and a stick in his hand. The town of Morgedal is the cradle of ski sports. The concept of skiing as a beautiful form of sport called telemark skiing, in someway depicting a dance on the snow covered slopes, was inspired by an individual by the name of Sondre Norheim. Alpine skiing was obviously the other branch which was popular as a competitive sport. Amundsen and Nansen made the country extremely proud by skiing their way to the South Pole to become the first men in history to do so.
Children start learning to ski in Norway from the time they are able to walk. It is no surprise that when given an opportunity, the citizens of Norway flock to the mountains with their ski gear packed up on top of their cars to enjoy the wind blowing against their face as they glide past the pine trees on their skies. It does not hurt that cross country skiing can be done mostly free of cost at the demarked trails all over Norway. The capital city of skiing, Oslo, which is just about 30 minutes away from miles and miles of skiing trails leading deep into the forest, is a good starting point for all ski lovers. Last year I visited ostelli amsterdam then flew on to Norway, It was one of the best and most varied holidays of my life. I woudl highly recommend it to anyone.
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