Feb. 27, 1904.] 
16S 
running is between thii-t}^ and fortj^ years old, when 
regularly arranged meets were first held. 
Since then, ski running has grown wonderfully in 
popularity until it is now easily the most popular 
sport in Norway. Meets are held, on Sunday after- 
noons, throughout the snow season. Some of these 
are local in character, arranged by and participated in 
by local clubs, where the principal event is the long 
jump; others include all the clubs in a certain district 
and comprise trials of speed as well as jumping con- 
tests. Still others are of national interest, and at these 
are to be found the most noted ski runners of Norway, 
which is to say, the best in the world. 
But the classical event is the annual meet, held early 
in February, at Holmenkollen, just outside of Kristiania, 
under the auspices of the Society for the Advancement 
of Ski Running. This meet was intended to be inter- 
national in it's scope, but it was not until 1903 that 
others than Norwegians took part in it; yet it is the 
on the lake in which the course terminates; and here 
it is that the nntltittidc congregates, thousands and 
thousands. 
The course is about 500 feet long, laid out on a 
rather steep hillside and terminating, as mentioned 
before, in a lake. The lake furnishes a horizontal sur- 
face on which the jumper can stop himself after his trip 
down the incline. These stops are made with a sharp 
turn, and would do credit to a fancy skater, although 
made with a pair of eight or or eight and a half foot 
wooden skis. The course is cleared of trees, stumps, 
brush and stones for a width of about 100 feet and is 
as smooth as a Canadian toboggan slide, although not 
worn down and compact like it. About half way down 
the course, a wooden step, ten or twelve feet wide is 
built, extending horizontally some fifteen or twenty 
feet from the incline and ending in a vertical drop of 
about six feet. This is known as the jump-off, and, 
having been built in the fall before the snow, is of 
THE HOPREND — SKI-LEAPING. 
From "Thirty Seasons in Norway." 
event of the year, and it is the ambition of each and 
every Norwegian ski runnner to carry of¥ a prize from 
Holmenkollrendet. 
, The first, and of course, the most valued prize is 
■the Kmg's Cup, given annually to the best man taking 
part m the meet. One annual special prize is the 
Ladies' Cup, donated by the ladies of Kristiania, for 
the best jump made. This meet, like all others held 
m Norway, is strictly an amateur affair, the prizes 
bemg invariably articles and never converted into cash 
by the winners. 
At the Holmenkoll meet, the long distance run is 
always the first event to be decided. The course is not 
over a well-defined road but is a mere trail, through 
dense spruce and pine timber, marked out but a few 
iiours before the start, to .prevent the contestants from 
jomg over it and becoming familiar with its difficulties 
before the race. Bits of red bunting are suspended at 
requent intervals from overhanging trees to keep the 
■unners on the course. 
The distance covered is between seven and eight 
niles, and is over very rough country. Steep hills from 
: ,oco to 1,500 feet high, up which the runners labor- 
rously work their way, to rush down the opposite slope 
iVith the speed of an express train, is a kind of country 
o test one's ability on skis. Considering the nature 
)f the country traversed, it is really wonderful how 
resh the runners finish; coming in often inside of an 
aour and a quarter. One of the most notable things 
bout ski running is the small amount of fatigue ac- 
ompanying it; the sliding stroke giving the runner 
momentary rest between each step. The writer knows 
everal instances where men have traveled from five 
0 ten mUes on their skis to a meet and within a couple 
f hours' time have entered a race and won a prize. 
Some years the awards have been made solely on 
:ie time used to cover the distance; while other years 
iUdges have been stationed at points of extreme dif- 
^culty on the route, to note the dexterity with which 
ach contestant negotiated them, and this information 
as then entered as a factor in making the awards. In 
■le latter case the country boy has a decided advan- 
ige over the city youth, as his every day use of the 
ci in the woods tends to accustom him to unexpected 
ifficulties. 
The long distance run is not largely attended, owing 
) the inability of the crowd to see more than the start 
nd finish; still there is a goodly sized throng in evi- 
lence. It is reserved for the next day, on which the 
ciimping contest is held, for Kristiania to, literally, 
lut up shop and go en masse to Holmenkollen. 
Early on the morning of the Hoprend, or Jump- 
in, the stream of humanity commences to pour itself 
-It of Kristiania. Small, boys and girls, old men and 
omen, and all the ages between these, are wending 
leir way to the scene of the meet. All sorts of 
luipages can be seen, from the home-made sled of 
e farmer to the perfectly appointed turn-out of the 
ell-to-do. It is a truly democratic gathering in, prob- 
)ly. the most democratic country in Europe. The 
ov/d continues and continues, some on foot, some on 
eds, in sleighs, on the trolley car, "any old way" to 
!t there, but the largest contingent on skis. As 
any a,T 30,000 people have been in attendance at one 
these meets. 
Both sides of the incline, down which the jumpers 
n, are lined with a dense mass of humanity; those of 
e crowd not finding room here, crowding the ice 
course covered with snow. When a jumper arrives at 
its brink, after coming down two of three hundred 
feet of steep, smooth hillside, there is "something doin'." 
On both sides of the course, in the neighborhood of 
the jump-off, and extending far out on the lake, are 
reviewing stands, occupied by the judges and other of- 
ficials of the meet, press reporters and distinguished 
visitors. _ One of these not differing from the others, 
is the King's stand, and it is always occupied; if not 
by King Oscar, by his son, grandson or other repre- 
sentative. Incidentally, the royal family is personally 
well acquainted with the ski; the Crown Prince often 
THE HOPREND — SHOWING THE SLOPE. 
From "Thirty .Seasons in Norway." 
makmg wmter trips in the mountains, and one of his 
sons having taken a prize at a Swedish meet, not by 
virtue of his position, but because he won it. 
_ Members of the Storthing, or Congress, men in high 
judicial positions, eminent lawyers, doctors, educators, 
theologians, representatives of the Army and Navy' 
prominent merchants, large land holders and foreign 
visitors in large numbers are all to be seen at this 
meet. The tall, erect figure of Dr. Nansen, of Arctic 
fame, is easily singled out from the crowd. He is 
always there, his favorite method of getting there being 
a pair of skis. This is probably the most representa- 
tive gathering to be found in Norway. 
Whil^ the officers in charge of the contest are making 
the final preparations, the last of which is a run down 
the course by three or four well seasoned veterans, the 
waiting crowd below is impatient for the proceedings 
to begin. They have not long to wait, as soon a 
trumpet blast from the top of the course announces 
the start of the first man. 
Here he comes, taking a few fast steps at the start 
and then letting gravity do the rest, coming faster and 
taster, one foot slightly in advance of the other. He 
has nothing with which to maintain his equilibrium, ex- 
cept his agihty, and as his speed increases and in- 
creases, this is called more and more into play; until, 
arriving at the jump-off, where the speed often reaches 
thirty or forty miles per hour, all his expertness is re- 
quired. As he approaches the brink of the jump-off, 
he crouches lower and lower until he reaches it, and 
then with a mighty spring, out into the air he 'sails, 
tall and erect. To a stranger to the sport it looks as 
though he could never reach terra firma again without 
breaking his neck, but he usually lands safely on the 
course with as nice precision as a cat jumping from a 
height and with fully equalled delicacy, and continues 
his run; still at a furious speed, out on the lake, where 
he ends with the famous Thelemarksving, named after 
the district in which it originated, amid the plaudits 
and huzzas of the crowd. Once, some years ago, a 
Dane, who was witnessing the jumping for the first 
time, refused to believe the evidence of his own eyes 
and exclaimed, after the first jump, "It is a lie." 
Sometimes the jumper is not so fortunate and ex- 
ecutes a succession of somersaults, that present the 
spectacle of a myriad of skis and arms whirling around 
and ending in a tremendous cloud of snow, when he 
finally stops and gathers himself up, jeered by the 
crowd. Serious accidents are rare indeed, as during 
the twenty-five years the meets have been held, only 
one man has been hurt seriously enough to neces- 
sitate being carried from the course. To those of us 
who witnessed this accident, it looked as though the 
man became unconscious while in the air, and losing 
his equilibrium, fell on his head and shoulders and was 
carried away insensible. A few days sufficed to get him 
into his normal condition. Several English sporting 
acquaintances stood beside the writer at the time of 
this accident, and after the meet, while we were com- 
fortably ensconced in huge chairs before the glowing 
logs of the pels in the hall of Holmenkollen Hotel, 
said that what most impressed them was the little 
effect such an accident had on the courage of the 
jumpers following. 
And so the sport continues, man after man comes 
down the course at short intervals; each one heralded 
by a single blast from a trumpet from the top of the 
hill; some standing, some falling, while the crowd 
cheers or jeers, as the case appeals to them; some 
especial favorite getting, possibly, the worst falls, to 
the disappointment of the onlookers. The jumps vary 
from sixty to ninety-five feet, measured on the slope, 
the latter (29 meters) being the record for this course 
This is far short of the record for the country, which 
is 1381^ feet (41 meters), and is due to the shortness 
of the run preceding the jump-off and the flattening 
of the slope below it, rendering the course particularly 
difficult. At one of the first meets held at Holmen- 
kollen, there were an unusually large number of falls 
resulting in a number of contestants registering a kick. 
They claimed that the jump-off was improperly built and 
that generally, the hill was impossible for good jump- 
ing. One of the judges happened to be a prominent 
lawyer about fifty years old and much more given to 
deeds than words, despite his profession, and he ex- 
claimed to the kickers: "I will show you boys that the 
hill is not impossible," and borrowing a pair of skis 
from a spectator, made an unusually good run and 
jump and no further kicks were heard. 
It is not altogether the distance that a man makes 
in these jumps that decides his standing in this con- 
test, but clean work, his command of himself and 
of his skis at all stages of the performance; a falling 
jump never being mentioned as. a jump. 
The long jumping is not to be considered solely 
in its aspect of an athletic accomplishment. It is an 
excellent training and is often of great value to a man 
on trips in unknown districts, where, going down a 
steep hillside, he may suddenly find himself on the 
brink of a low precipice. 
Besides playing an important part in the daily life, 
skis have a military value in any winter campaign in 
northern Europe, and must certainly be taken into 
account by an invading army from the south, lest it 
comes to grief. During the last war between Norway 
and Sweden, in 1814, the former was, by far, the better 
equipped in this respect, and after a very short cam- 
paign, the Swedes learned to refrain from aggressive 
tactics, except on days entirely unfit for ski running. 
It might be well to state that freezing weather is es- 
sential for the use of skis. 
The- ski has been adopted as a pastime and as an 
article of utility in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and 
Montenegro, the Germans especially taking to the 
sport. In addition to this, the armies of Germany, 
France, Austria, Switzerland, and even faraway Japan, 
have a ski contingent; and the Russian army quite 
a large one recruited in Finland. All of these military 
ski runners have been instructed in the use of the ski 
by Norwegians, except those of Russia, who, hailing 
from a land that has known the ski from time imme- 
morial, needed no instructors. Not long ago the Ameri- 
can papers had a short despatch stating that the guards 
stationed in Yellowstone Park were furnished skis for 
winter duty. 
In Germany, Austria and Switzerland quite a number 
of ski meets are held each winter, where attending 
Norwegians have invariably carried oflf the interna- 
tional prizes, although astonishingly great progress has 
been made by all these people. 
In Arctic explorations, the ski has been used with 
good results. Dr. Nansen and his companion, Johan- 
sen, on their well-known trip, left the Fram at a point 
north of the Siberian coast, took provisions in two 
sledges drawn by dogs and made their way on skis 
northward to latitude 86° 14". Turning back from this 
point they proceeded southward to Franz Joseph's Land, 
and after spending the winter here, intended to make 
Spitzbergen, and from there get home by vessel, but 
falling in with the American expedition under Jackson, 
returned to Norway with them. On the trip of Lieut, 
