I love winter maybe more than the average person. If there is no snow, something is missing to make my winter experience complete. This year Hudson Valley received quite a bit of snow, making life during a pandemic bearable. Skiing and skating on frozen lakes kept me sane. We embarked on snowy adventures with friends and also on our own. I enjoy nature and the outdoors, and it is one particular Norwegian word that encompasses that feeling for me. Friluftsliv, which means free air life, is firmly embedded into the Norwegian culture and traditions of spending time outside in all kinds of weather and, whenever possible, quality time in nature.
Interestingly, “friluftsliv” is one more Norwegian word besides “hygge,” gaining traction. It is always fun to see a Norwegian word pop up in an unexpected place and have it take on a life on its own! I believe it is because of the sudden movement or interest in the outdoors spurred on by the pandemic and people needing a place to feel safe and retreat. People are flocking to the state and national parks in record numbers. In winter, though, it is still quiet, and finding winter solitude is easy on cross-country skis.
To me, winter is synonymous with years of various experiences in nature, from the smell of wet wool, high mountain sun interchangeable with blistering white-out storms. Consuming a juicy orange sitting against the wall of a cabin surrounded by snow and warm sun. Weekends cross country skiing in the mountains above our town accompanied by friends. After school evenings at the local skiing hill under floodlights casting the winter darkness away. It was a fun, packed place filled with friends where we practiced our jumps and skied among the pine trees. The lift was a tow rope contraption the like of which I have not seen since. It caused a constant trepidation among us children, and in some ways, I am grateful that my son does not have a ride such as the one I had to tackle. A chairlift makes it all the easier unless you are afraid of heights.
That was a constant. Sundays on cross country skis with family and friends, backpacks filled with hot chocolate and sandwiches, and sometimes a load of firewood on our backs too for hot dogs with “lompe,” a soft flatbread made from potatoes, flour, and some salt, as a pause somewhere along the trail are prerequisites for a full day. And what makes it so unique is that so many people are doing the same, and it is genuinely a national pastime back home. Most people know how to cross country ski. It is somewhat festive, and it is one of the feelings of connection that I miss greatly every winter: that and the guarantee of snow!
Most of these photographs are taken either with my iPhone or with my Fujifilm cameras (Fujifilm XT3 and the very stellar Fujifilm X100f.) Although the iPhone mini 12 takes lovely portraits with a depth of field, it still lacks vividity compared to my Fujifilm. It is not comparable in clarity, pixels, or color.
