Did You Know the Viking Kings Were Skiers?

When you clip into your skis and glide through the Arctic wilderness with SkiTromsø, you’re following in the tracks of viking kings, warriors – and even Norse gods.

Skiing in Norway is more than a sport. For over 1,000 years, it has been a way of life. Saga writer Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241) told of how the Sámi were masterful hunters on skis. Norse mythology also speaks of Ull, the Norse god of skiing and archery, and Skadi, the goddess of winter.

Even viking kings valued the skill. According to Snorri Sturluson’s Heimskringla, around the year 1000, Arnjlot Gelline skied across the mountains for King Olaf the Holy (Olav II Haraldsson, 995–1030), later fighting in the legendary Battle of Stiklestad. Snorri also writes that by 1040, King Harald Hardråde (1015–1066) ranked skiing alongside swordsmanship and horsemanship as a noble art.

After the Viking Age, skiing became a part of everyday life. Norwegians used it to hunt elk in deep snow and even to deliver royal messages in winter emergencies. By the 13th century, skiing was so important it was written into Norway’s oldest laws.

When you ski with SkiTromsø, you’re learning Norway’s national sport and stepping into a thousand-year-old tradition of strength, survival, and adventure.

(Sources: Snorri Sturluson, Heimskringla; Jakob Vaage, Skienes verden)