Assignment 5 – Holmenkollen Ski Festival 9.3.-11.3.

In the beginning of march, we went to Oslo to visit the Fram museum and attend the Holmenkollen Ski festival over the weekend. When we arrived in Oslo on Friday we first went to the museum which contains exhibitions of explorations of both the Arctic and the Antarctic. It was a very interactive museum with a movie, several samples and the big wooden ship (Fram) as a highlight where people can even go on board and inside. So, we learned a lot about Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen and the Frams role in all the expeditions.

After the exhibition we set off to Holmenkollen which is one of the most famous ski arenas and ski jumps in the world and the heart of Norwegian Skiing. Every year in March the Holmenkollen Ski Festival takes place attracting thousands of spectators and we were supposed to be part of it this year. As a tradition lots of Norwegians camp along the tracks, to support and celebrate their athletes in different competitions with the 50 kilometres men cross-country skiing race as the highlight. We arrived pretty late in the forest next to the tracks where lots of Norwegians already set up camps and built big firepits. It was quiet challenging to find a free spot in the forest which was big enough for all our tents and it took us a while to shovel campingspots into the deep snow. What we didn’t know was, that the area we chose would turn out to be the most crowded place at the next day and the middle of the youth’s party. However, we spent the evening walking around and marvelling at all the castles the Norwegians had built in the snow. The atmosphere was impressive as everyone was having a campfire, sitting together and being excited for the next days. There were Norwegian flags and music everywhere and one group even had a beamer and a screen showing old documentaries of former competitions at Holmenkollen.              We were completely overwhelmed by the enthusiasm, openness and happiness forming the ambience and surrounding the Norwegians in their winter camps.

The next morning when we got out of our tents, we were already surprised by the continuous stream of visitors arriving in the forest. As we also wanted to see some of the other competitions we left our campsite to go to the Holmekollen Ski Jump and attended the Nordic combined competition. We had time to look around and walk up to the Ski Jump to have a closer look there as well as an overview over the arena. Later we attended the combined ski competition where we had a good view into the stadium where start and ending took place and on the athletes, who passed us pretty close.

On our way back to the campsite we were surrounded by many other visitors heading into the same direction. We didn’t trust our eyes when we came back to our tents, where the whole forest and space next to the tracks was completely full of people. Our tents were surrounded by young Norwegians who captured every single bit of the area. In total it was a big party going on with music, people having campfires and eating sausages and Norwegian flags everywhere. As soon as the athletes where skiing along, the whole crowd was cheering and supporting them. The later it got the more drunk the young people were without taking care of tents and strangers items. The race seemed to be incidental but still it was a great experience to be so close to the athletes and in the midst of the Norwegian celebration.

In the afternoon we left the chaotic shindig and went back to the Ski Jump to attend the Team Jumping Event. As I always watch the competitions on TV it was imposing to actually be at Holmenkollen. The atmosphere was amazing and there were surprisingly lots of polish fans supporting their team next to many other fans from different countries. In the end Norway won followed by Polen, Austria and Germany.

After the event we went back to the tents where mostly all the visitors had left and just a few campers remained. There we had a relaxed evening with a campfire and our own small version of a snow-disco. We found a lot of equipment and things the Norwegians had left behind and the amount of trash was immense. On the next day we packed our camp down and half of the group went back to Kristiansand whilst we stayed in Oslo for a few hours to have at least a short look around the city.

All in all, this trip was a great experience and I learned a lot about polar expeditions as well as the Norwegian passion for skiing. It was great to be part of the Holmekollen Ski Festival and to see the Norwegian’s enthusiasm about winter camping and supporting their athletes. I was a little bit sad that the biathlon competitions were taking place one weekend later, as I would have loved to attend them. I definitely want to come back and make a smarter decision about the camping spot next time. Although it is a big party and part of the Norwegian Tradition the organisers are facing a challenge to cope with this huge crowd of spectators including logistical and environmental problems. It remains exiting how they will react in the next years to keep the event rich in tradition but still neatly and well-organised.