Norway moves mountains to bring skiing to the people
NORWEGIANS, the saying goes, are born with skis on their feet. But with a lack of snow and the pandemic this year leaving many in despair, authorities are bringing snow and ski trails to downtown Oslo.
For the past few weeks, big trucks have been dumping hundreds of cubic metres of fluffy white stuff, made by snow cannons perched on the hills outside the capital, in the city’s still-green parks.
Packed down or groomed with cross-country trails, the parks have transformed into winter wonderlands for skiing enthusiasts of all ages: little children on excursions with their daycare groups, active seniors, and office workers taking a break from their work-from-home schedule.
“For three months, we’ve had very strict corona restrictions in Oslo, but we can still go outside,” city councillor Omar Samy Gamal says, as a grooming machine behind him prepares a snowboarding hill in the Torshovdalen park.
“Since we haven’t had a lot of snow this winter, we’re doing what we can to bring it to the people. We’re bringing them a little bit of ‘marka’,” he says.
What’s marka?
The word refers to the wooded hills outside Oslo, popular among urban dwellers for long walks, or more frequently, skiing after work or at the weekend.
The first snowfall of the season in early January caused long traffic queues, and, more worryingly during the pandemic, crowded commuter trains.
“We don’t want people packed together. We want them to keep their distance from each other, and the best way to ensure that is to make use of local public spaces,” Gamal says.
Four Oslo parks – including that belonging to the royal palace – have already been or will be partially covered in artificial snow to quench locals’ thirst for sledding and skiing.
“It’s extremely important to keep people active without everyone having to take the same train to leave town,” says Miriam Heen Skotland, a psychologist out cross-country skiing in the Voldslokka park on her lunch break.
White Christmas?
Before working her night shift as a nurse, Karen Margrethe Igland has also strapped on her cross-country skis, just 10 minutes from her home.
“I try to limit how much I use public transport. If I want to go to the ‘marka’, I have to take the train. So it’s better to be able to come here on foot,” she says.
Climate change has made winters in Norway shorter.
According to the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Oslo has over the past 30 years lost 21 winter days, defined as days where the temperature dips below 0 degrees Celsius.
The city could lose another 26 winter days by 2050, the Institute has warned.
“When I was young, it wasn’t hard to predict the weather in winter: it was often cold and there was usually a lot of snow,” Norway’s Education Minister Guri Melby said in January when new climate measures were presented.
“But for Christmas this year I wasn’t sure whether I should buy my kids a sled, because the winters nowadays are much milder with a lot fewer snowmen and ski days,” she said.
And in an almost sacrilegious move, Norway opened its first indoor ski centre in early 2020. It is however currently closed to the general public because of virus restrictions.
With Oslo fighting its battle against the thermometer, is it really reasonable to transport tonnes of snow by truck?
The vehicles run on biodiesel, with hydrotreated vegetable oil, the city notes.
“Using these carbon-neutral trucks to bring snow to the people so that they won’t use their own car to drive to the ‘marka’, I think it’s a pretty beneficial equation for the climate,” says driver Tom Kjetil Tangen.
MANCHESTER City are relentlessly marching towards a third Premier League title in four seasons as their gap at the top of the table stretched to seven points with a game in hand over the weekend.
Pep Guardiola’s men extended their English top-flight record of 16 consecutive wins by easing past Tottenham Hotspur 3-0, while Manchester United and Liverpool stumbled once more.
Leicester moved level on points with United in second by inflicting Liverpool’s third consecutive defeat with a three-goal blitz in six minutes to win 3-1 at the King Power stadium.
United’s form is not much better with just one win in their last five to let hopes of a first league title in eight years slip away.
Champions elect?
City were floundering in the bottom half of the table when they last suffered defeat, 23 games ago against Tottenham. In the three months since, the league leaders have picked up 41 points to Spurs’ 16.
That stat illustrates the consistency City have found in a season when all the other contenders have had their struggles.
After a run of just two wins in 10 games, Liverpool are languishing in sixth place – two points adrift of the top four – following wins for Chelsea and West Ham on February 15.
Even if City’s standards do
slip in the coming months as they turn their attention towards trying to win a first ever Champions League, there is no indication any of the chasing pack are capable of putting the run together needed to put them under any pressure.
“We won’t let them run away with it – we’re playing them soon. We’re not giving it away early,” insisted United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
But only last weekend he conceded his side are not title contenders and it showed as
they were held 1-1 on February 14 by a West Brom side that had conceded 24 goals in their previous six home games.
Contrasting fortunes
The story of City and Liverpool’s contrasting fortunes is summed up in the form of their goalkeepers at the moment.
Brazilian internationals Alisson Becker and Ederson are used to glowing reviews for their exploits since arriving in England.
Alisson had cemented his place as Brazil’s first choice stopper thanks to his role in Liverpool’s success over the previous two seasons, but that spot might be in jeopardy after his latest disastrous error provided a stark contrast to Ederson’s continued excellence.
Having already made two costly howlers in Liverpool’s 4-1 thrashing against City last weekend, Alisson was at it again with a calamitous error to turn February 13’s clash in Leicester’s favour.
With the game level at 1-1, Alisson needlessly rushed off his line, collided with Liverpool debutant Ozan Kabak and miscued his clearance to Jamie Vardy, who slotted into the empty net.
Just hours later the flawless Ederson rubbed salt into his wounds by keeping his 14th clean sheet in his last 16 games and providing a superb assist for Ilkay Gundogan.
Ederson’s long pass was perfectly placed for Gundogan to score his second and City’s third of the game and the accuracy prompted Pep Guardiola to suggest his keeper could yet become City’s penalty taker.
Southampton on the slide
The high of beating champions Liverpool in January must seem like a distant memory for Southampton, who have slumped so badly that February 14’s 2-1 loss against Wolves made unwanted history for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team.
After beating Jurgen Klopp’s side and knocking Arsenal out of the FA Cup, Southampton were hailed as a team on the rise with European qualification on the agenda.
Instead, they have lost a club record six successive league games since then and sit well adrift of any continental aspirations in 13th place.
A 9-0 humiliation at Manchester United seems to have shattered Southampton’s morale and there is no revival in sight after their latest defeat against Wolves.