2006 Vasaloppet planning advice

A co-worker and myself have tentatively decided to make the trip to
Sweden and race the 2006 Vasaloppet. Other than making sure to
register ASAP after the 2005 race is over, I'm seeking any trip
planning advice from anyone that has made the trip before - best
airports to fly into, car rental, lodging proximity to start, etc. I
read on skinnyski.com Steve Crum's write-up of his 1999 Vasaloppet trip
which gives a good feel for the race itself and also some of the trip
logistics. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Jim Kelley

wrote in message roups.com...
A co-worker and myself have tentatively decided to make the trip to
Sweden and race the 2006 Vasaloppet. Other than making sure to
register ASAP after the 2005 race is over, I'm seeking any trip
planning advice from anyone that has made the trip before - best
airports to fly into, car rental, lodging proximity to start, etc. I
read on skinnyski.com Steve Crum's write-up of his 1999 Vasaloppet trip
which gives a good feel for the race itself and also some of the trip
logistics. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Jim Kelley

I did the trip a few years before Crum and gave him some trip advice.
When I did it in '96, I flew into Arlanda in Stockholm. However, if I
was doing the trip again, I would fly into Oslo and ski the
Holmenkollen Trails in the Nordmarka at least one day and probably one
evening. There's nothing in the World like skiing the Holmenkollen
under the lights. The scenery is spectacular. Next, I would head over
to Lillehammer and ski the Olympic Trails followed by a day on top of
the Vida at Sjusjon. You'll will ski on part of the original
"Birkebeiner Trail". From there, I'd head over to Salen or Mora or
wherever you are staying for the Vasaloppet. Logistically, Salen might
be better because it is the startint point for the Vasaloppet and it
is closer to Norway. However, it would be tough to pass on staying in
the Mora area. That's where all of the action will take place race
week. You can go into the ski shops and get wax advice, meet
celebrities etc. While in Mora, ski the Vasaloppet Trail and take a
side trip to the Falun World Cup Trails. As for flying, I'd go
Icelandic Air. You will be on a 757 instead of a 747 but the
connections in Rekjavik are much easier than in Amsterdam.

Hope that helps,

Jay Tegeder
Stick around this sport long enough and you'll beat everyone at least
once!" JT

Thanks, Jay

See you at Troll Hollow soon


Jay Tegeder wrote:
wrote in message
roups.com...
A co-worker and myself have tentatively decided to make the trip to
Sweden and race the 2006 Vasaloppet. Other than making sure to
register ASAP after the 2005 race is over, I'm seeking any trip
planning advice from anyone that has made the trip before - best
airports to fly into, car rental, lodging proximity to start, etc.
I
read on skinnyski.com Steve Crum's write-up of his 1999 Vasaloppet
trip
which gives a good feel for the race itself and also some of the
trip
logistics. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Jim Kelley

I did the trip a few years before Crum and gave him some trip advice.
When I did it in '96, I flew into Arlanda in Stockholm. However, if I
was doing the trip again, I would fly into Oslo and ski the
Holmenkollen Trails in the Nordmarka at least one day and probably
one
evening. There's nothing in the World like skiing the Holmenkollen
under the lights. The scenery is spectacular. Next, I would head over
to Lillehammer and ski the Olympic Trails followed by a day on top of
the Vida at Sjusjon. You'll will ski on part of the original
"Birkebeiner Trail". From there, I'd head over to Salen or Mora or
wherever you are staying for the Vasaloppet. Logistically, Salen
might
be better because it is the startint point for the Vasaloppet and it
is closer to Norway. However, it would be tough to pass on staying in
the Mora area. That's where all of the action will take place race
week. You can go into the ski shops and get wax advice, meet
celebrities etc. While in Mora, ski the Vasaloppet Trail and take a
side trip to the Falun World Cup Trails. As for flying, I'd go
Icelandic Air. You will be on a 757 instead of a 747 but the
connections in Rekjavik are much easier than in Amsterdam.

Hope that helps,

Jay Tegeder
Stick around this sport long enough and you'll beat everyone at least
once!" JT

Jim Kelley wrote:

Thanks, Jay

See you at Troll Hollow soon


Jay Tegeder wrote:
I did the trip a few years before Crum and gave him some trip advice.
When I did it in '96, I flew into Arlanda in Stockholm. However, if I
was doing the trip again, I would fly into Oslo and ski the
Holmenkollen Trails in the Nordmarka at least one day and probably

As Jay can confirm, Oslo (or Lillehammer) is nice as a starting point,
both are _much closer to Vasa than Stockholm.

OTOH, if you want to use public transport (which is cheaply available in
Scandinavia) instead of a rental car, then going directly to Sweden is
probably cheaper.

If you do decide on Oslo, give me a warning/hint. I have a tradition
going for taking US visitors skiing in Marka. :-)

Terje

--
-
"almost all programming can be viewed as an exercise in caching"

Terje Mathisen informed
rec.skiing.nordic with the following:
Jay Tegeder wrote:
I did the trip a few years before Crum and gave him some trip advice.
When I did it in '96, I flew into Arlanda in Stockholm. However, if I
was doing the trip again, I would fly into Oslo and ski the
Holmenkollen Trails in the Nordmarka at least one day and probably

As Jay can confirm, Oslo (or Lillehammer) is nice as a starting point,
both are _much closer to Vasa than Stockholm.
^^^^
I know this is nitpicking, but you mean closer to Sälen (start point
of Vasaloppet) as Vasa (or Vaasa in Finnish, URL:http://www.vaasa.fi)
in Finnish Ostrobothnia is certainly closer to Stockholm than Oslo.

--
Heikki "Hezu" Kantola,
Lähettämällä mainoksia tai muuta asiatonta sähköpostia yllä olevaan
osoitteeseen sitoudut maksamaan oikolukupalvelusta EUR100 alkavalta
tunnilta.

Heikki Kantola wrote:

Terje Mathisen informed
rec.skiing.nordic with the following:

Jay Tegeder wrote:

I did the trip a few years before Crum and gave him some trip advice.
When I did it in '96, I flew into Arlanda in Stockholm. However, if I
was doing the trip again, I would fly into Oslo and ski the
Holmenkollen Trails in the Nordmarka at least one day and probably

As Jay can confirm, Oslo (or Lillehammer) is nice as a starting point,
both are _much closer to Vasa than Stockholm.

^^^^
I know this is nitpicking, but you mean closer to Sälen (start point
of Vasaloppet) as Vasa (or Vaasa in Finnish, URL:http://www.vaasa.fi)
in Finnish Ostrobothnia is certainly closer to Stockholm than Oslo.

Not nitpicking, just absolutely correct. Mea Culpa! :-(

Terje

--
-
"almost all programming can be viewed as an exercise in caching"

Heikki Kantola wrote:
Terje Mathisen informed
rec.skiing.nordic with the following:

Jay Tegeder wrote:

I did the trip a few years before Crum and gave him some trip advice.
When I did it in '96, I flew into Arlanda in Stockholm. However, if I
was doing the trip again, I would fly into Oslo and ski the
Holmenkollen Trails in the Nordmarka at least one day and probably

As Jay can confirm, Oslo (or Lillehammer) is nice as a starting point,
both are _much closer to Vasa than Stockholm.

^^^^
I know this is nitpicking, but you mean closer to Sälen (start point
of Vasaloppet) as Vasa (or Vaasa in Finnish, URL:http://www.vaasa.fi)
in Finnish Ostrobothnia is certainly closer to Stockholm than Oslo.

LOL.. ;-)