TOBLACH (Nettavisen): Christmas and New Year are for many an important holiday time.
And for many Norwegians that means ski trips alone or with the family, but there are also many who choose to leave their skis at home when they head to the ski slopes.
For walkers who choose to get their feet on the ski slopes, there are also several of them.
It creates anger, where one party believes the trail is for everyone, while many argue that ski trails are for people who ski.
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– In the middle of hell!
In a recent Facebook post by Voss ski and hiking centre, the piste crew urgently requests that the walks be done elsewhere than on the newly prepared ski slopes.
“This is what it looked like in parts of the light trail this morning. Encourages those who walk with shoes to use the roads in the area which run parallel to the slopes. It is very frustrating to prepare trails now that they are being trampled to pieces by people walking with shoes on them, the message reads.
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Valnes: – I live in the middle of hell
It’s not just Voss that downtrodden ski slopes cause frustration.
During the Tour de ski, Nettavisen spoke to several national team skiers who live scattered all over the country and who experience the same problem.
Tour de ski leader Erik Valnes starts to smile when he realizes which topic Nettavisen wants to cover.
– I live in Tromsø and live in the middle of hell when it comes to exactly this, says Valnes.
– Are there many people who go for walks on the trails there?
– Yes, yes, there is a walking zone and a ski slope. It is complete anarchy though. It is not working. It has obviously become a bit of a culture for it. There are probably some who are not aware that they actually destroy. I usually say that if you’re going to skate on a track that’s broken, it’s like playing football in a potato field, says Valnes.
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He explains that verbal abuse has often occurred between hikers and skiers.
However, Valens is concerned that people are able to behave independently of what kind of point of view they have on the problem.
– I think it is important that you speak up, but in a proper way. I myself have experience that the atmosphere is often a little bad.
– Have there been any North Norwegian glosses?
– Yes, but I try to avoid it. I’m trying to be a little diplomatic. They can be decent people even if they are not aware of it. It is difficult for us to destroy pedestrians, but it is easy for them to destroy us. It can be a bit disrespectful and not well thought out, says Valnes.
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However, the women’s national team coach Stig Rune Kveen is not as diplomatic as Valnes.
– What do you think of people who ski slopes on their feet?
– To put it mildly, I’m not furious, but very disappointed. There is usually a road right next to the ski slope, so you just have to walk there. If I meet someone who skis on their feet, they will hear about it, says Kveen to Nettavisen.
Nor is Harald Østberg Amundsen particularly fond of hikers on ski slopes.
– There are divided opinions on this, one can safely say that. As a skier, I have to support that when the piste drivers have prepared completely new pistes, it is a bit annoying that people should go exactly on the piste and not on the sides or elsewhere, Amundsen tells Nettavisen.
– Are you someone who speaks up if you see it?
– At least if I see someone going in the classic track and not on the side. Then I’ll be damned. If the trails are completely hard and nice, it’s fine to go there, but you’re allowed to think about it, says Amundsen.
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Learning from Central Europe?
Teammate Valnes believes Norway can learn from other countries to end the conflict.
– Now I can only speak for the place where I ski the most, but there would have been a little better organization in many places, says Valnes.
He points to countries such as Italy and Switzerland, where he believes it is solved in a better way.
– You can look at the places around here and in Davos. There they run a separate footpath. Maybe you can learn from it in Norway and make better arrangements, says Valnes.
On Monday, both Valnes and Amundsen will hopefully compete in ski runs that have not been trodden down when it is ready for the 3rd stage of the Tour de ski.
See the entire program for the Tour de ski here!
2024-01-01 07:42:23
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