Blengdalen

Mother moose

Last night I got one of the biggest psychological boosts to my skiing that I can remember in a long time.

I recieved a text message from Aleksander at 11 a.m. telling me that he was going to Blengdalen later. Blengdalen I recalled, was a terrain park that a guy had built in his backyard which, according to Aleks, was absolutely insane.

We left at 6, and were to Seljord by 6:30.

"There are trolls up here," Aleks said, looking at me in the rearview mirror.

"Three of them" chimed in Espen.

"And big moose according to that sign we just passed," I added.

No less than 45 seconds later we had come to a complete stop. Standing in the dwindling light in front of us was a gigantic mother moose and at her side, her calf.

After our moose encounter, we pulled into a driveway. After a brief phone call, a series of flood lights were turned on and the hill took shape: a huge spine jump, 2 smaller jumps, 4 rails, and one huge jump, all complete with rope tow.

The little jump in front of the much bigger jump.

We made our way to the top and were greeted by an older norwegian with a sweet dialect, perfectly outfitted with cigarette and hand knit wool sweater. He briefly showed us how to operate the rope tow and after collecting the unofficial 40 kroner lift fee retreated back inside.

We got to riding and after a little bit it was obvious that we were all here to learn some new tricks. After watching Espen complete some backflips and Aleks some frontflips, I decided I wanted the front flip. And yet, after a few more jumps I wasn't sure that I could convince myself to attempt it. Aleks must have known what I was thinking because he told me that we weren't leaving until I tried one. So be it I thought, picturing the motion and trying not to think about my buddy Tripp who broke both of his legs trying the same trick.

No poles I decided, but your trying it.

The first was the worst, and although i landed on my skis, I was way backseat. The second was nearly the same, too far back seat- you need to commit! "Third times the charm" Aleks shouted from the bottom. "Third times the charm" I repeated.

On the way home we rocked out to some good old Blink-182. We didn't see any trolls or any more moose, but we were all definitely satisfied with the nights achievements, me especially- front flip and all.