Cross-country skiing has been an integral part of Norwegian culture for a long time. In addition to stellar conditions and endless trails, the country’s rich ski history makes Norway a skier’s paradise.

This month, Lumi Experiences guests on the Norway-Birken trip will experience two historic races that highlight the country’s rich ski heritage: the Holmenkollen World Cup and the Birkebeiner ski marathon.

Cross country skiing goes back to cave drawings that inspired the logos and medals for the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Games. The first ski warfare ever recorded was during Norway’s civil war era, which lasted for 110 years and included regular conflicts between the two main parties vying for Norway’s Monarchy: the Baglers and the Birkebeiners. During the second Bagler war when the Birkebeiner-appointed King Inge Bardson was in power, the Baglers wanted to kill the future heir to the throne, Prince Haakon Haakonsson.

This is when the legendary story that most Birkie skiers know well comes in: two Birkebeiner warriors and the Prince’s mother Inga skied through deep snow over the mountains from Østfold to Østerdalen, rescuing the baby Prince from the Baglers. As the story goes, they wore birch bark leggings, which is how they got their name: “Birkie” means “birch” in Norwegian and “beiner” means “legs.”

To this day, a number of long-distance races in Norway commemorate this historic event. At the Norwegian Birkebeiner, started in 1932 and also known as the Birken for short, participants ski along the same route as the Birkebeiner warriors and carry a 3.5kg backpack symbolizing the baby Prince.

You already know the history of the Birkebeiner? How about the history of the Holmenkollen…

Norwegian soldiers also created some of the first skis for ski jumping and organized some of the earliest cross-country ski races in the world – including the first Holmenkollen Ski Festival in 1892! This early event included a cross-country ski race followed by a ski jumping competition, laying the foundation for today’s Nordic Combined discipline. These 19th century Nordic combined races drew over 12,000 spectators and attracted attention from Norway’s royalty, even though at the time the Holmenkollen ski jump was made from branches covered in snow…

Since then, the iconic ski jump overlooking the city of Oslo and fjord below has been re-built over a dozen times and the Festival – affectionately known as “the second national day” of Norway – now draws around 150,000 fans from around the world. 

In true Norwegian fashion, fans even camp out trail-side for three days, dancing, drinking, and eating lots of Brunost: a sweet brown cheese that melts in your mouth and is typically served atop waffles with jam. Their bonfires light up the 50km race course into the night.

This year’s Holmenkollen Ski Festival was historic with the first-ever women’s 50km at a World Cup event. Previously, the longest women’s race at the World Cup level was 30km, and the Holmenkollen 50km – a favorite event at the Festival for over 120 years –  has only been raced by men. 

Skiers like Jessie Diggins have been advocating for equal men’s and women’s race distances and FIS Cross Country is responding by moving towards even distances all around. 

This weekend, guests on the Norway Birken trip will have the opportunity to try their skills at a 50+ km cross-country ski marathon: the Norwegian Birkebeiner, better known in Norway simply as the Birken.

Wondering what it’s like to ski the Birken? Check out some of my reflections on skiing both the American and Norwegian Birkebeiners three weeks apart last year: A Tale of Two Birkies. Spoiler alert: because race day is right around the Spring Equinox (when day and night are similar lengths), our friend the sun rises early on race morning!

In March 2024, join Lumi Experiences on the Norway-Birken trip for a one-of-a-kind winter adventure to the place where skiing is a way of life. Reach out to info@lumiexperiences.com to see the itinerary and save your spot. Also, this month only: save $300/person on any 2024 Lumi trip!

See you on the trail,

Garrott Kuzzy
garrott@lumiexperiences.com