Kongsberger Ski Club

  70 years of existence is no mean accomplishment for any organization, and KSC celebrated this milestone in style, with a gala event at the Nordic National Museum.  Big thanks to Suzanne and Krystal for getting the ball rolling when we realized this was a big year, and to Rachel and Augustina for getting the ball across the finish line. There was music, there was food (cake!), there were speeches and toasts and friends old and new, from far and near. It was a wonderful, memorable evening! Rune welcomed the crowd, then Rob gave us a beautiful, heart-warming, sometimes funny talk that described the old-time jumpers from Norway who gave the club its start, then moved forward to our contemporary old-timers, and finally to up-and-coming juniors. His vignettes provided historical notes and also brought the long-gone members back to life with his stories.  The full text of his speech is provided in the blog post that follows this one on the website; it's well worth a read when you have a

 Rob put a substantial amount of work into his lovely and humorous speech at the KSC 70th anniversary party and it deserves to be retained and reread at your leisure. Here is the text of the entire talk. Thank you, Rob, for these inspiring words about our past and current legends and their place in the club's history! A talk on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Kongsberger Ski Club.                     National Nordic Museum, September 22, 2024                             The Kongsberger Ski Club has been for seventy years one of the more distinguished ski clubs in North America. Through the efforts of its members and former juniors who learned to ski there it has notably advanced the cause of Nordic skiing. KSC founders Olav Ulland and Gus Raaum were fixtures on the international jumping circuit, as competitors and officials, between them for over fifty years. They were both Olympic Chiefs of Jump, Olav in 1960 and Gus in1980. Kongsberger icon Gunnar Hagen headed the ju

" Are you out there? Are you feeling it? That shift? That tang and push and thrust in the air? Tastes like... Fall. Transition. Light to dark, solar to lunar, Shiva to Shakti, the endless divine cycle, eternal and perfect, ever gently mocking our futile attempts to contain or control it."  ~Mark Morford The mornings are chilly and gray, the evenings are getting dark sooner; time to dig the wool sweaters out of the back of the closet and find the bike  lights  for the ride home. Fall is almost here, and that means winter is  just   around the  corner, and that means it's time to start thinking about your 2025 ski race plans! The big European ski classics are always an aspiration, but if your schedule or budget don't allow that kind of travel this year, never fear: there are a number of fun races within a five- or six-hour drive or a short plane ride from Seattle. Kongsbergers haven't set the dates yet for our three events [update: KSC races are now on the calendar!