Controversies In Skiing  2019. The List

Controversies In Skiing 2019. The List

Newsfeed, Trivia
William Hazlitt, a XIX century English literary critic and essayist, was also a foreteller of things to come: "...When a thing ceases to be a subject of controversy, it ceases to be a subject of interest." For the modern world is build on controvercy - the more of them, the more interest and, ultimately, the more money to invest to keep things going. As the one of the most authoritative philosophers of our time, Miley Cyrus, once opined: People like controversy because that's what sells. By the way, at the tender age of 27, Miley has more money than needed to buy the whole of the international cross country skiing, lock, stock & barrel - were she so inclined. Armed with that ( controversial!) wisdom, we selected what we thought…
Read More
Did You Know: First Soviet Cosmonauts Were Avid Skiers. Two Of Them Had To Use Skiing Skills In Dire Emergency

Did You Know: First Soviet Cosmonauts Were Avid Skiers. Two Of Them Had To Use Skiing Skills In Dire Emergency

Newsfeed, Trivia
... The first Soviet cosmonauts were men of iron health, selected among hundreds upon hundreds of young airforce pilots. And, as a part of their space launch training,  they had to ski. A lot. In part because the guy in charge of their training, the guy who was ultimately deciding who gets to go into space and who stays on Earth, general Nikolai Kamanin, was the most avid skier himself. [caption id="attachment_14103" align="alignnone" width="786"] Lt.-General Nikolai Kamanin and his most famous " employee", Earth's first spaceman Yuri Gagarin. Gagarin was very decent skier on his own right - although he preferred water skiing [/caption]  Kamanin was a famed Arctic aviator in his youth - that's where he developed affection for cross country skiing.  That interest in the snow sport/recreation remained…
Read More
Skiing Together. Christmas – Inspired Story Of Couples in Our Sport

Skiing Together. Christmas – Inspired Story Of Couples in Our Sport

Newsfeed, Trivia
It's Christmas and everyone is meant to be merry, jolly - and ready for a positive entertainment. We can't think of a better story on occasion than sharing pictures taken this year on various locations with one thing in common - happy skiers'couples. Key word is "happy" - including happy to be photographed together. Some were too shy to pose for photo or even to show their affections in public ( yes, we are talking about you, Frida and William!). If someone didn't make it into our camera lens - next year, hopefully! [caption id="attachment_14076" align="alignnone" width="1885"] Anna Zherebyateva and Alexander Bolshunov. We shall never get tired of photographing those two. Their affection for each other is obvious, deep and comes out very naturally[/caption] [caption id="attachment_14077" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Another "…
Read More
Skiing & Media 101

Skiing & Media 101

Money & Finance, Newsfeed
We get questions that made us think it is worth explaining the basics of how media covers cross country skiing, what's the difference between writing, photo and television reporting and why does it all matter at the end. ....Once upon a time, when the xcskiing was a sport of bearded woodcutters, it was common for newspapers and television stations to just send their reporters to take a few pictures of them Nordic heroes in action and to do an interview at the finish line. Well, things changed since then - and rather radically. These days, the media allowed ( accredited ) at the event is firmly divided into two categories: paying and non-paying type. For reasons of political correctness it's rarely actually called that but it does not change the…
Read More
Ski Bosses R US – Industry Captains Descend On Davos

Ski Bosses R US – Industry Captains Descend On Davos

Leaders, Newsfeed
We are of opinion that putting a face to a name makes a huge difference. In this case, faces of people who play prominent role in cross country skiing industry. Aside from the world championships and the Olympics, there is no better place to catch them than the annual Davos Nordic stage of the World Cup in mid-December. It might be a Swiss air but we reckon it's more about a unique layout of the Davos skis stadium: there a place where athletes prepare and where equipment-making dignitaries congregate is one & same, creating a sort of "mixed zone" where athletes could casually talk to producers and suppliers immediately before or after the race. [caption id="attachment_14008" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bjørn Erlend Dæhlie is not just one the most legendary names in…
Read More