Vasaloppet

Vasaloppet is a long distance cross-country skiing race that is held annually in Sweden. The race distance is 90 Km between the village of Sälen and Mora and is the oldest, the longest and the biggest cross-country ski race in the world. It is held in the first week of March each year. Legend has it that King Gustav Vasa was escaping the king of Denmark toward Norway. He first tried to convince the people in Mora to start a rebellion against the king and they refused. He continued toward Norway and was later caught in Sälen on skis. The people in Mora had changed their mind in the meantime and now wanted him to lead the rebels against the king. 

Having started my own adventure on a pair of cross-country skis this year, I got curious about Vasaloppet. On the day of the race, I woke up a couple of minutes prior to the race by chance and got to see the a mighty and jaw-dropping sight: 15800 skiers at the start point! I somehow felt like Jalal Al Ahmed in "A straw in Mecca"...a tiny drop in the ocean...gave me goosebumps directly. Next thing I know, I am stuck in front of the TV and watching the race until the first person (Jörgen Auckland from Norway) passed the finish line. Hell, I have fallen much into XC skiing that I even had some favorites in the top 10 and wanted them to win (Daniel Tynell and Jörgen Brink, both from Sweden who finished 2nd and 4th respectively). Needless to say, I have never bothered to care for Vasaloppet all these years but like everything else when it comes to skiing, I noticed that I have been missing something big so far. Ah well, better late than never, eh?

Here are some pictures of the event:

Here's the winner of the race in 2013, Jörgen Auckland as he was about to pass the finish line. Funny thing that the Daniel Tynell just behind him took the 2ns place...for the 2nd year in a row!

And here's the starting point as seen on the TV.

And finally, here's me drinking coffee in my kåsa and having cakes while watching the race and hoards of people were killing their bodies by double poling for a good 6-7 hours. I just couldn't help it so I put on my hat and XC glasses on while 'watching' the race!

On a irrelevant note, cross-country skiing has nothing, and I repeat NOTHING, to do with downhill or alpine skiing. The mindset and the the way that its joy is considered is totally different to begin with. I would even claim that one of them (and I'm not sure which one) should even be called 'skiing'. I just leave it here although I am fully aware that this is subject to massive debates.