Highlights from the 2025 Swedish Vasaloppet
My grandfather, Karl Johnson, was thirteen when he came to America in 1913. His family of eight was from Emmaboden, Sweden. He passed away when my mother was only eighteen years old, so I know him only through photos and stories. It is doubtful his family had the means or time to enjoy cross-country skiing. I can easily forget the privilege of travel and leisure sports that so many of our ancestors did not have the opportunity to partake in.
Last spring, my husband and I registered for the Swedish Vasaloppet with our friends in Tonsberg, Norway. The 90 km classic race has been on our bucket list for decades. The chance to ski in my homeland would be a dream come true! This past fall, our daughter Leah decided to join us on our Scandinavian adventure, which made the trip even more special.
The Vasaloppet is the oldest cross-country ski race, starting in 1922. Gustav Eriksoon carried out the first historical Vasalopp as early as 1521. During his flight from the Danish king, he stopped in Sälen and returned to Mora to lead the uprising against the occupation forces. Gustav eventually united the realm and became Sweden’s first king, better known as Gustav Vasa.
A few days following our American Birkie, we flew to Oslo and drove north to the Norwegian town of Elverum. Across the street from our hotel, groomed ski tracks twisted through neighborhoods and climbed into the foothills.
We enjoyed Moose burgers and Elggryte (Norwegian Moose Stew). Norway’s mountainous regions are famous for moose and other types of venison. It is common in Norway to make a Viltsaus (game sauce), which is usually flavored with brunost (brown cheese) and eninbaer (Juniper berries). This was the most delicious stew I had ever consumed.
I cannot say enough how our family enjoys eating Norwegian brown cheese. On our first jetlag wakeup walk through the delightful town, we picked up our first package of Johaug brown cheese, jam, and Norweigian crackers. The following day, we indulged ourselves with more brown cheese and the most decadent breakfast buffet.
Why can’t American hotels offer this kind of breafast? Fresh bread, fruit, veggies, salmon, hot eggs, meatballs, bacon, pancakes, and various cold-cut meats and cheeses. It’s like consuming lunch and breakfast in one meal. Scandinavian food was by far one of my favorite highlights of the trip!
After we had filled our bellies with food and caffeine, we drove two hours across the border to Sälen, Sweden. Our Norwegian friends had downplayed Sweden so much that we did not have high expectations of the scenery. To our surprise, the drive was spectacular, with rolling foothills, mountain peaks, rivers, and lakes.
Sälen hosts several downhill ski resorts and Nordic ski trail systems. It is an intimate ski resort located in the heart of Sweden’s snowy wonderland. With around 100km of slopes, Salen caters to all levels of skiers and offers a range of other winter activities, such as snowmobiling, dog sledding, and ice fishing.
After checking into our lodging at Hotel Bügelhof, we headed to fetch our race packets, which were located at the Vasaloppet start.
The course crews were pushing snow back onto the start area since they had been moving it around with all the rain and warm weather leading up to the event.
We skied from the start up the first big climb. The top 3000 skiers mostly double-pole the entire 90 km (including our Norwegian friends Karl-Andrea and Trym Wian). After climbing the 3 km hill, we decided it would be best to have kick wax. I do not regret our decision one second.
Following the first major climb, the course is primarily flat, but there are some gentle climbs and rolling hills toward the end of the race, and I was relieved to use my legs. I don’t understand this craze of double pole madness in all the European World Loppet races. I know it is faster, but how enjoyable is it to double pole for 90 km?
I have always been a strong leg skier since I endured a level 3 shoulder separation 15 years ago and a recent shoulder neuropathy diagnosis. My core and arm strength have improved tremendously, but I would choose to stride even if I had perfect strength. I am thrilled that the World Cup races have mandatory striding areas with steep terrain to keep this beautiful striding technique alive for us to view!
We met with our Norwegian friends in the evening for a pre-race dinner, which included pasta, Swedish meatballs, potatoes, and lingonberries topped off with a tasty blueberry tart.
I was skeptical that I would even finish the race. I had been nursing a knee injury all winter and was awaiting surgery when I returned from Sweden. I woke up the day of the race and felt a burst of energy. How hard would racing 90 km be anyway?
The breakfast buffet opened at 4 A.M. for those who wanted an early start to enter their waves. We decided to get up around 4:30 and were on our way to the starting line by 5:15. It felt like we showed up late, with thousands of skiers already waiting in their start pens and bathroom lines.
While waiting in the wave 6 entrance, we met a lovely young Swedish man who was quite comical. We asked him how long wave 6 participants would take to finish, and he looked around and replied, “Half of these people will not even finish.”
Craig had applied green base klister covered with a start universal/purple klister mix to our Klister skis. Nothing is better than a good Klister ski that can kick up any hill yet glide on the downhills. The higher wax pocket of our Rossignol Klister skis, with the white bases for warmer temperatures, proved an excellent choice.
The organization of the Swedish Vasa is like no other race I have experienced. They have trucks for your backpacks and collect bags for warm-ups that you throw over the fence right before you start the race. The excitement grew as we danced to the music played over the loudspeakers and followed the warm-up routine led by Swedish women standing on a high platform. Two Swedish women sang a traditional high-pitched tune, and the gun went off!
Soon, skiers started to move down the tracks, and we were off just like that! Soon, we were double poling moderately until we reached the hill and completely stopped. By this time, I had already lost Craig and Leah in the crowd of a thousand lycra ski suits. Since I was either at a standstill or shuffling very slowly, I had time to snap a photo and video of the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd of skiers ascending the hill.
One skier ahead of me had his skis spread-eagle and was stepping over everyone’s skis. If I stayed behind him, my odds of ending up in a domino ski pile were very high. I decided to go around and followed two skiers who went off the trail onto the non-groomed section to get past more skiers.
After finishing the race, we figured out that I got up the hill climb 20 minutes faster than Leah and Craig in a total time of 45 minutes. What can I say? I have the art of “ski weaving” through large masses of people. Skiing with 16,000 people was like being a part of a moving organism on a momentous voyage. I learned patience during the slow-paced hill climb and chatted with other participants from Italy, France, Sweden, and Norway.
The first 45 km of the race is in remote wilderness with rolling and flat terrain. The race starts in Salen and passes through seven towns before ending in Mora. Each city hosts feed stations with hundreds of volunteers and crowds cheering us forward. When registering for the race, I accidentally signed up to get extra feeds provided by Enervit. The feeds came precisely when my body was craving an extra boost. I wish more races provided this service. Not once did my muscles cramp up due to the salt tabs and liquid gels they handed me along the course.
The regular Vasa feeds provided broth, electrolyte, water, buns, and the famous blueberry soup. I was familiar with the taste of Blueberry soup from my past Mora Vasaloppet races in Minnesota. At the various checkpoints, I slammed down at least 4-6 glasses of all these offerings. My stomach never got upset the entire race.
Since 1958, the Vasaloppet has served Ekström’s blueberry soup at its checkpoints. Before then, blueberries were picked in Dalarna in the summer by the same people who would serve them at the checkpoints in the winter.
While skiing the 90 km Vasaloppet, your body uses up nearly 8,000 kcal, corresponding to almost four regular days’ energy intake.
One of the highlights during the race was seeing some fellow Loppet Lemon race team members on the course, as well as the famous Minnesota tandem team skiers Joe Dubay and Chris Parr, who skied the entire race strapped to the same skis in an impressive time of 8 hours and 42 minutes.
It was hard enough to keep your balance in the slush and mashed down tracks skiing solo, so I can only imagine how many times they must have fallen along the course. I introduced myself and praised their efforts as they looked a bit discouraged.
During the last 10 km, my arms and shoulders felt like they would fall off. Skiing in 45-degree slush had taken a toll on my body. My feet were soaking wet from skiing through deep slush, and I felt the added weight with every stride.
The final kilometer was filled with spectators as I skied past the famous Mora Church and crossed the finish line with hands raised. I proudly took my finishing medal with a smile. In past years, they did not give out medals to all the finishers until last year, when they celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Vasa.
There were bonfires, saunas, and multiple food and beverage stands to replenish the body. Seven hours and 18 minutes later, I had completed my first Swedish Vasa. I am grateful to the Lord for providing me with the strength to ski 90 km pain-free!
Following the race, I reunited with Craig, Leah, and our Norweigian friends. Karl-Andre had an impressive race double poling the course in 5 hours and 15 minutes. Trym has broken a pole but was not much farther behind his father. We walked the nostalgic downtown Mora and stopped at the bakery with special cakes decorated with skiers. After inhaling a delicious Swedish hamburger, we hopped on the bus back to Salen.
After a final sauna and polar plunge ( which I firmly believe brings rejuvenation to both the body and soul), we drove to our Norweigian friend’s cabin in Rauland, Norway. A few feet of snow covered the ski trails but quickly melted with warmer temperatures and rain showers. We were hosted once more at Trym’s grandparents’ cabin for a fantastic Norwegian dinner including reindeer, rock fish, lingonberries, veggies, and the ring cake topped with cloud berries and whipped cream.
Craig and I headed back to Oslo to take in a few Museums. The Holmenkollen Ski Museum was fantastic, allowing you a ride up to the top of the ski jump. To our disappointment, we had no view of the city since it was a very foggy day. We also hiked on the newly built Ekebergparken, a hiking trail above the Oslo Fjord filled with modern art sculptures. Some were more impressive than others! Underwear hanging in trees? I do not understand most contemporary art, but this was the craziest art I have ever seen.
The night before we flew home, I tried out the floating saunas and took three plunges into the freezing Oslo Fjord. We purchased four blocks of brown cheese to take with us on our flight home and are enjoying the plunder!
I highly recommend racing in one of the many Vasaloppet ski races offered (six-person relay, skate night race, open track, and various distance races held throughout the week. Make your voyage to the world’s oldest and most nostalgic ski race!
Kim Rudd
