An event for the whole family:  The Prospect Barnas Birkebeiner - Saturday, February 5th

 

    The Prospect Barnas Birkebeiner (Children's Birkebeiner) will be held on Saturday, February 5th, beginning at 10:00 a.m.  This is a non-competitive event for the WHOLE family.    Skiers and families choose either the 3km, 6km, or 9km loop to ski.   Food stations and FUN along the way!!   Special prizes will be awarded to the oldest and youngest "Birkebeiner," and the best Birkebeiner look-alike (see photo below).   Here is the info: 

 

            Our Birkebeiner is modeled after a famous expedition in Norway that happened 800 years ago!   Please read this story to your Bill Kocher:

 

    Take a close look at the picture at the bottom of this e-mail.   It is a painting of an actual event that happened in the year 1205.  Civil war raged in Norway.  Faction pitted itself against faction in a fight for the throne.  One faction was the birkebeiners.  They were the underdogs, often in such dire need that they had nothing but the bark of the birch trees as footwear. (Take a close look at those leggings and those skis!!)  The word birkebeiner, birch-leg, has come to mean a man strong in adversity, never daunted by trials and hardship.  

 

    The birkebeiners had gained ascendancy over great parts of the country, but the rival faction, the baglers, prevailed in the East of Norway.  After the birkebeiner chieftain Haakon died on New years Day in 1204, the baglers saw a dangerous rival pretender in his son, Haakon Haakonsson, who was born in 1204, a few weeks after his father's death.  His life was at stake, and the birkebeiners wanted to bring him to safety in Trondheim.  On Christmas Day in 1205, the party came to a small farm at Lillehammer, where they stayed in hiding over Christmas.  They found it too risky to follow the route north, so they cut across the mountains to the neighbor valley in the east, Østerdalen.  Due to bad weather and difficult snow conditions, the two best skiers, Torstein Skevla and Skjervald Skrukka had to go ahead with the two-year old prince.  The young prince was later crowned King of Norway and the civil war ended.

     The dramatic flight of the Birkebeiner warriors is now commemorated every year in Norway, the United States, Japan and Canada.  Today the Norwegian Birkebeiner still parallels this historic route over the mountains between Lillehammer and Rena, a 54 kilometer course.  The race is a classic race and is considered the King of Races in Norway.  

    To commemorate this famous race, we are having our own Birkebeiner at Prospect on Saturday, February 5th.   This is a wonderful opportunity for kids and families to ski a course longer than they might try on their own, with food stops and great ski comraderie along the way!

    For our Barnas Birkebeiner ("Barnas" is the Norwegian word for "children's") all skiers must wear a backpack and carry some weight (which represents the weight of the infant prince).   Here are the details:

Prospect Barnas Birkebeiner 

    1.   Classic race - untimed  

            Children ages 7 and younger need to ski with a parent.  We recommend children ages 8 and older ski with a friend and/or parent.

    2.  Registration:    9:15 - 10:00 a.m. in the Prospect Lodge.   All children and parents skiing with them will receive a bib.   

    3.   Fees:   Visiting Bill Koch skiers:  $5    There is no cost for Prospect Bill Koch skiers.

             Parents skiing with children ages 7 and younger, ski for FREE.   The trail fee for parents skiing with children age 8 and older will be $10/parent with a family cap of $25 (skier and parents).   There is no charge for Prospect parents who hold a Prospect season pass or BKL parent practice pass. 

    4.   All participants must carry a backpack.  We are suggesting the contents of your backpack be a 15 oz. non-perishable food item (can of soup, beans, vegetables, peanut butter, etc.).  At the finish line we will collect these items and they will be donated to a local food bank.  You can carry more weight than this, and children may want to throw in their favorite doll or stuffed animal to symbolize the infant prince.   You can also carry snacks and water.

    5.   Skiers will have a choice of three loops:    Yellow:  3 km         Red:   6.2  km       Blue:  9 km

    6.   There will be feed stations (water and snacks) at strategic places along the tour.

    7.   All children will receive a certificate upon completion of the loop.