Freeheeler-17-18 Nachdruck

In 1868, Sondre and fellow skiers from Morgedal
travelled the tough 200 kilometre journey into
Christiania, Oslo, in order to compete and demonstrate
their new skiing skills. They totally dominated
the competition. The crowds having gathered to
watch were fascinated as they had never seen anything
like this before. Their skiing was a revelution... Sondre
and his crowd created a sort of “ski fever” that would change
the way the world would ski!
Under Norheim’s tutelage the ski cauldron in Morgedal produced
a succession of famous skiers and world firsts. Svein
Sollid, from Morgedal as well, was the first to win the famous
Kings Cup in what is now the world famous Holmenkollen
ski jumping competition. He also was the world’s first
recorded as jumping over 100 feet (33 metres) on skis.
The brothers Torjus and Mikkel Hemmestveit, from – where
else – Morgedal as well, started the world’s first ski school
in Olso and then started travelling with their new skis and
technique to Europe and America. Olav Bjaaland also from,
bien sûr, Morgedal, a skilled ski maker and international
jump champion then was the first managing to reach the
South Pole.
From transport to sport, skis were now being used for the
pure joy of the downhill, jumping and racing to the bottom
of the snowy hills. It was the dawn of modern ski sport and
it spread from Morgedal on a pair of Telemark skis!
The word “Sla-lom” has its origins in the hills around Morgedal
being dialect word meaning “traces in the snow down sloping
terrain.” Morgedal’s influence on the world of ski sport was
then fully recognised in 1952 when the inaugural Winter
Olympic flame was lit in no other than Sondre’s cabin, being
then transported to Oslo in order to launch the Oslo Winter
Games. The flame is still burning in the valley today.
Morgedal remains virtually untouched since those glory
days in the 1860’s – Sondre’s cabin still sits on its own high
on the hillside. There are no towering ski liftes, fancy resort
lodges or flashy ski suits – Morgedal still is the valley where
people have always loved to ski.
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