On the way to 4th place in the veko freeride competition on Vikafjellet. Photo Nils-Erik Bjørholt / www.maxlys.no
Ekstremsportveko, “the extreme sport week”, goes off in the last week of June every year, in the little town of Voss, not far from Bergen on the west coast of Norway. Music and extreme sports make up the festival, which is the largest of its kind, and gathers thousands of people from all over the world.
Norrøna Ambassador David Underland and his wife Camilla have made it a tradition going to “Veko”, and have kept it alive also this year. With their two kids, My and Ebba, they headed to Voss, packing kayaks, skis, snowboards, shorts, Gore-Tex jackets, longboards, skateboards and much more.
After some not so good snow years, the freeride skiing and snowboarding competition was back on the program this year, and David managed to find a babysitter for his two daughters among the spectators, and sprinted up to do a run. With his wife working as the event rescue doctor, David managed to complete a run placing him fourth in the mixed ski/telemark/snowboard results. Quite impressive on a snowboard on summer snow we would say.
Can you two just chill here while I jog up for a quick run?
I’ll be right there….
Look, mom is coming too!
Now it’s my turn!
David also took part in the skateboarding competition, where, judging from the report at the ekstremsportveko.com web page, he managed to make an impression too, while taking home third place:
“When one of the participants, David Underland, suddenly does a spectacular trick by jumping up and putting his board on the wall above the skate ramp, he is given the skateboard applaud – boards slamming against the ramp.” (http://www.ekstremsportveko.com/news/articles/2012/06/30/back-on-track)
Training to beat daddy.
One thing is the competitions at “Veko”. But maybe most important is all the people who are there, competing and not competing, sharing the same outdoor action sports passion and having fun together, with a variety of toys, in the air, on the snow, on the water and on the ground.
Testing out air time in Voss Vind, “indoor skydiving” centre.
All photos: Nils Erik Bjørholt / maxlys.no