Skiing

American Birkebeiner

Important ski organizations and ski events with Nordic roots continued to form in the second half of the 1900s. The American Birkebeiner, the largest cross-country ski race in North America, was started in 1973 by Tony Wise, a founding member of the Worldloppet Federation of cross-country ski marathons. Wise also started the Telemark Lodge in 1947 in the Cable-Hayward area. 

Tony Wise, a native of Hayward, was a visionary who took initiative to attract skiers to northwestern Wisconsin. Wise was born in 1921 and earned a bachelor's degree from Ohio State and master's degree from Harvard. Between his degrees, he served in World War II. While serving as lieutenant for the Army National Guard in Germany during the War, Wise learned how to ski. In 1947, he paid $750 to purchase "the hill" in Cable -- the future site of the Telemark Lodge Ski Resort. 

Before founding the American Birkebeiner, also known as the Birke, Wise founded the Lumberjack World Championships in 1960. Beyond skiing, Wise also founded the Sawyer County Historical Society in 1957. Tony Wise was an important person to ski history and an entrepreneur who was dedicated to his home in northwestern Wisconsin.

Wise grew on his Norwegian heritage to organize the American Birkebeiner, which is held each February in Wisconsin. His American event is named for the famed Norwegian Birkebeinerrennet. The Norwegian ski race commemorates a pivotal event in the country’s history in 1206, when a group of Birkebeiner soldiers, who fought for Sverre Sigurdsson and his descendants in the Norwegian civil war, smuggled the illegitimate son of Norway’s King Håkon Sverresson from Lillehamer to safety in Trondheim. 

Every February the American Birkebeiner is held in Hayward with various ski races depending on ability levels. The race weekend includes a 29 km Kortelopet (Korte) for recreational and elite junior skiers, and the 15 km Prince Harken for those who are not ready to take on the harder courses. The course in the Cable-Hayward area is hilly and is recognized as one of the more difficult cross-country ski marathon courses in the world. Registration for the event is capped at 10,000 participants. 

The American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation records that are housed in the NAHA archives include numerous photographs, 35mm slides, and video recordings of many years of the race's history. The large collection also includes board meeting minutes, Worldloppet records, various clippings, Birch Scroll newsletters, and more. Portions of the digitized collection can be found here. To view the physical materials, contact the NAHA archivist for more information. 

Sources to explore:
American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation records, 1973-2011
Birch Scroll, official magazine of the American Birkebeiner, 1984
 

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