April 22 – The 2007 issue of Skarverennet took place yesterday, April 21. The
organizers were set to accommodate 12,500 skiers in this year’s event, and
it is fair to say every seat, table and square inch of available service
function was utilized. This a quite a feat as the whole event takes place
without any large campus or permanent facilities to accommodate the amount
of people remotely close to such numbers. Small rail road stations, quaint
mountain hotels and the alike, plus a few smaller tents house all the
organization logistics and services. Adding to the picture; this is a point
to point trek, and the start is only accessible by train. The 38K course
starts at Finse and finishes at Ustaoset, close to the Norwegian ski and
mountain resort of Geilo, located in the mountains between Oslo and Bergen.
Yes, you almost need to be born in Norway to pronounce these names, and that
is perhaps one of the reasons the international skiing community has not
embraced the race in huge numbers. However, we have to look far to find a
field stronger than what is seen here; all the front runners are
international medalists. The 12,000 some-odd rest of us have the options to
ski in the competitive event or without timing, and whatever you can imagine
associated with cross-country skiing, and a bunch more, is seen here.
