Today I made a better choice. I focused on making the “wax pyramid” whose crest lies right in the middle of the curve of the ski in the kick zone. This structure along with the flavor of wax I had chosen worked well on my roughly 28km ski trip today. My skis slipped a tiny bit but glided extremely well.

The snow was light at the bottom of the hill but got progressively much better. I went with my old touring skis in the event there would be gravel at the start. But I took my good poles since the route had a lot of double-poling.

On the way back I got to hone another one of my skills. I love taking the bus to go ski. It makes me feel stronger than those who feel they need the comfort of a car. But when I’m lightly clothed and it’s cold, I need special bus techniques. With the current snow conditions I have to go far, with several bus changes. I therefore plan my route in advance with layovers in cafés and grocery stores. That way I can drink something hot and eat some energy while staying warm. The way home takes a little longer, but it’s bearable in spite of the cold.

As you say in Norwegian: alt skal læres. Everything will be learned.

The weather forecast didn’t see this coming. Happy happy happy! More later on how the skiing turned out.

Went on this season’s first ski trip this past weekend. Two days on man-made snow in the Natrudstilen area of Sjusjøen, above Lillehammer. Happily a fresh dusting of snow in the trees made place look properly winter-like.

Since I got some video footage of myself, I’m now wondering (or worrying) who I look the most like from Sindre Wiig Nordby’s great parodies here:

And here:

I vote Emil Jönssson from the second one.

How cool this is! Rollerski race in Reinosa, Spain. Enjoy!

“Lysløype” means lighted ski trail in Norwegian. Waves of pleasant memories from years ago came back to me as I ran alone taking in the beauty of the lights of the houses on the hill on the other side of the valley and the stars in the sky.

Dance speaks through a different language than words. It speaks profoundly about relationships, love, joy, solitude, doubt, life, death and mourning. Just to name a few of its possibilities. But, much more than in the other arts, its language is physical effort.

I saw a performance of “(im)possible” at Dansens hus yesterday here in Oslo. One of the things that touched me the most was when the music fell silent and we heard the pair of dancers sitting still beside each other breathing heavily. That wasn’t simulation. Behind the wall of ideas that separate us, breath is what we share. Which, one day, will certainly pull us apart.

I am good at formal analysis. Even works that are dissonant and disparate I will break down into symbols, motifs, contrasts and thereby meaning. My brain does that automatically, even compulsively. But it feels like a sterile, academic, finally circular exercise.

In the end I enjoy dance for the same reasons I like to watch skiing. This body here, my body, your body all move and suffer alike. No need to search for further meaning. The body is at the origin of every important idea. For me that is the most satisfying conclusion. One confirmed by my experience that there’s nothing profound that can’t be expressed by the language of dance.

Update:  I’ve just come back from a panel debate in which the Choreographer of “(im)possible”, Ina Christel Johannessen, took part. The question was precisely about what can dance express. There was a consensus among the panel members that dance isn’t an instrument for debate or for supporting a specific political platform. I agree, but that doesn’t diminish the importance of dance to me. The more I get wrapped up in my body, the more I grow sceptical about ideas.

I have come out from self-imposed exile in the forest. I’ve been stepping beyond the little summer territory I traced out between Korsvoll, Skar, Grefsenkollen and work. Now downtown, bars, restaurants, culture too.

I’ve been out in the forest because I needed it. Viscerally. I needed to feel strong. On a long term basis, not just ups and downs. This had to be a month-by-month, year-by-year process. That was the only way I would be profoundly convinced.

And now there are a lot of surprised people around me. I know it doesn’t feel good. I’m sorry about that. But when I come to a hill, I throw everything into it. Poles and muscles flex, legs push. Momentum instead of hesitation. I keep my head down and my body high.

Just like that I’ve confronted head-on in the past two months things that were holding me back.

I know that people around me have been hurt. I’ve broken rollerskis while climbing. But these changes have made a difference in the way a lot of people perceive me. Without me having to say a word to them. And, indeed, they’ve changed the way I see others.

I’m starting to live in this city I approached so timidly before from the edge.

Jeg har det mye bedre nå. Du kommer til å se det.

Jeg bor i Oslo.

Madrid roller skiers are organizing a competition 2 October. They’re promising an 11,5 km long, grueling hill race. Just my style. I want to go!

Ragnar Andresen, Norwegian winner of the sprint event in this year’s World Championships, published a plea about rollerskiing facilities that I would like to repeat. He’s currently competing in the World Cup race in Markleeburg, Germany.

I had the chance to rollerski on the track there last year, and was overjoyed with the experience:

On his blog Ragnar writes:

Why in the world can’t we have one place like this in Norway? Just a few kilometers from Leipzig there’s a 10km  track around the Markleeburger Lake. The asphalt is the best there is and the track is roughly 4-5 meters wide. [...] There aren’t any critical spots and it is of course closed to traffic year round.

In Norway we tend to make rollerski tracks where even the best risk killing themselves and except for a little stadium flat they aren’t fit for training enthusiasts. Idiocy, I think….On a track like Markleeburg anyone can safely train for speed while cycling, rollerskiing, inline skating [...] without being worried about getting into scary situations.

Hear, hear! It’s local election time here in Norway. A candidate that would support this would get my vote.

P.S. Lykke til Ragnar!