The Canadian Birkiebeiner is held just outside of Edmonton and the first one was held in 1987. It follows the tradition of the Norwegian Birkiebeiner, held in Lillehammer, Norway since 1932. There is also the American Birkiebeiner which began in 1973 and is the largest cross country ski in North America. Skiers ski from Cable to Hayward, Wisconsin. We have both completed the races in Norway and in Wisconsin, U..S.A. Our hope was to complete all 3.

We drove from Canmore to Edmonton to stay with some friends who were also racing. It was really fun to have meals together and to share wax ideas and ski stories.

On Saturday, February 11 we raced in the Canadian Birkiebeiner with plans to finish the Torskeklubben race which is 55 km with a 5 .5 kg. pack. We both crossed the finish line! It was a really tough ski-very, very icy with thin snow in places. Fortunately, it was about -4 degrees and sunny not the very often -25 below. The course was super fun- lots of rolling hills with nice downhill where it was easy to see the run out. I managed to fall about 4 times though. The scenery was rugged, raw and dotted with many lakes. For a little ways huge moose tracks could be seen on the trail. Ross did a fabulous klister etc. wax job on our wax skis. We have decided that skins are super easy but definitely slower overall. The glide can’t hold a candle to wax skis. I re-waxed twice on the course and Ross did 3 times. At the finish line we met one of the founders of the race! Always fun to hear old ski stories!

That evening we went to the Viking Feast. It was a super fun evening with a huge buffet dinner with perogies, cabbage rolls, roast beef etc.We both were called up to receive the hugest mugs you’ve ever seen for the Hakkon Hakkonsonn award for completing all 3 Birkiebeiners in the world.

After the awards there was a Ukrainian dance group of about 30 dancers who were traditionally dressed and put on a spectacular show! A fabulous finale to a fantastic day!