Comments on: “We are born with skis on our feet”

By: BeccaØ

BeccaØ — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 09:38:38 +0000

My now husband told me this on our first date, climbing up a mountain which he sprung up like a mountain goat, while I, the English girl from east Anglia, struggled to figure out where to step while tiny norwegians over took me..???? I remember reflecting on what that must mean for childbirth! Fortunately when our first son arrived the following year it proved to not be literally true, though he was a giant baby, I blame the viking genes ????

By: Claire

Claire — Sun, 27 Jul 2014 13:42:41 +0000

I’m so happy to find this site!

I moved to Bergen from Aberdeen 2 weeks ago, it’s been between 26 and 30 degrees since I arrived yet I’ve already had this conversation with someone! I imagine the attempts to get me on skis will increase as we get closer to winter, maybe if I prove how bad I am they’ll leave me alone?!

Looking forward to reading more 🙂

By: Pete Story

Pete Story — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 16:29:16 +0000

Been there, done that, about 35 years ago! But perseverance paid off, now I can’t live without my skis (just gave up snowboarding and got hooked on skating skis). The problem with learning as an adult is that the Norwegians don’t know what to tell you to help – slippery ground and planks on their feet just comes as part of growing up. The most important advice I can offer my friends from abroad is “look up”, and that applies especially when going uphill – by looking up the hill you automatically shift your weight to a better place over the centre of the ski, and they will sit better on the snow.

By: Km

Km — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 07:13:51 +0000

This is so true! I can see how they all know- our 3 year old goes to barnehage here (like kindergarten or daycare), & as soon as the snow arrived, all the little kids showed up with skiis to wear while they played outside!

By: Wil

Wil — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 06:32:07 +0000

Haha! Laughed out loud at the wrong wax in you kit bag bit. ‘The butterman’ is what they call the guy responsible for the waxing, but apparently that’s not funny to Norwegians. They got the last laugh I suppose, with their massive chrome ski bus full of gold. If only there was gold for falling David!? Falls Gold perhaps 😉

By: Naomi Baltuck

Naomi Baltuck — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 09:08:33 +0000

The secret really is to go somewhere off the beaten track, and perhaps when the kids are in school, so that you can take your time and not feel the pressure to ski like a Norwegian on the first or second try. Wishing you the best of luck!

By: Joshua

Joshua — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 19:34:48 +0000

I’ve read about this before, wasn’t sure if it was true though.
Laughed at the snowboarding part, that was great.

By: Debbie

Debbie — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 12:41:17 +0000

I had to laugh as I read this one! My grandma used to say the same thing to me. She was born with skis on her feet. She would tell me stories of how she would cross country ski to school each day. I didn’t try skiing until I was an adult; on my honeymoon in Colorado. My husband is a fairly good skier and so he was teaching me. At one point, I almost freaked out and wanted to walk down the mountain. It took me quite some time but he patiently navigated me down the mountain. I’ve not been back to ski since! However, inside of me is this desire to tackle it once more and overcome. 🙂

I love reading your blog!