My XC Ski Equipment 2o14

Gear and waxing are big topics to break the ice with random skiers you meet or chew the cudd with pals.

My gear? Well I reckon i had outgrown my Fischer PowerWax tour skis but this year the soft going has shown that 2 inch broad tour skis are useful and enjoyable in new snow and lighly pisted runs with or without "tram lines".

Planks

I have standard rottefella amateur button release bindings, not the moutain heavy weight ones as often are fitted to powerwaxers. I actually broke one on ice last year at Årstøl, with the heel section loose. This actually really messes up your balance so i demounted them after one more tour and found my old completely knackered atomics had the same binding and after cleaning clister and rust off them i found them to be in good order. So one was transfered over, touch wood it has been fine.

The skis themselves are Fischer's "short-cut" design, allowing more pre load or curve in the kick zone for a shorter ski. This makes them really good for a heavy guy like me, being broad while holding my weight. I often do need though to toe-up to get speed on downhill so there is something not quite right for me. The sidecut (in swing) is more pronounced in action probably because of the short cut prebend arch, so you get better downhill steering at the expense of some odd tracking in the tram-lines.

My edges have been damaged a bit in icey conditions, so i recommend actually getting used or old stock powerlight steel edged skis for use in harder southern conditions or on a combi back woods / light mountain tour.  At the moment i found no other light tour ski with track touring classic centre arch with steel edges. The fischer E89 and the similar Åsnes Vikefjell are long arch mountain skis which will clap a lot in tram line tracks or harder pisted sections. Fischer steel lights are training skis with steel edges, the only i can find on the market and more or less made to order. Madshus Lillehammer have a steel reinforced egde and are a good trainer / distance racer ski apparently.

The powerlights come into their own versus training skis on tracks with a firm base and new snow on top, where their breadth helps them float and track quite well. Also down hill the full side cut in swing helps turning on softer hills. This week in 15cm powder on a semi firm base I was able to lift the tips a bit down hill and keep the skiis accelerating while the poweder fizzed ! Also for carrying any weight in a ruck sack then a touring ski is better.

Sticks

My poles are a bit fancy as i did a bit of a haggle for them in G Max Skien, stating my budget and they sold me  way-over- spec swix carbon racing 160cm with half glove velcro grips. These are a bit too fancy for my level of confirmed "mosjonist". But they are light and encourage proper modern technique of shoulder high swing and long back pole at knee height. Also they are ideally strong and light for the " falling forward/tip toeing" efficient lean in with poles vertical planted at the ski tips. Which showed their weakness in soft snow, having a small bail : scallop formed and only about 4cm broad. I did a menacing face plant as they duly disappeared into meter deep snow. Over cooked.

Fun and Fitness Equipment Reality?

This got me thinking that maybe as a fun&fitness skier, a "mosjonist" , i should go back to the older fashion of arm pit high poles and not shoulder high ones. Then i could get them planted verticle nearer the centres of gravity and effort, making a body weight driven poling less extreme. Also interchangeable bails up to full mountain bails would be a good plan. I will try and borrow modern mountain poles to arm pit height to see how they go.

This theme of down sizing the best racing techniues for Fun&Fitness level is big for me!

Boots

This year i got a "purchase power" from Coop Obs . They have bought in a shed load of Alpina racing boots. I was recommended to use combi style boots (ones for classic and skating with an ankle bail and velcro support system). I had to up a size to EU 46 to get the width but i now too find the legnth gives me better balance and comfort. Alpina RC combis are really way too bling bling for me but have proven themselkves a boost already

Combi boots are more cumbersome but are good for those of us not born on skis looking for more support and control from the ankle and lower leg. Also they make skating on ordinary skis easier and of course you can jump onto skatin.g skis, tighten the ankle binding and off you go.

I fjind that i have more confidence in manoevres especially plough and step turning. Partly the boot also seem to fit the binding better too, but mostly it is the well fitting bootie, sole and the ankle straps which help.

Just to be super fancy, Alpina also include a heel clamp system with an adjustment bail and ratchet above the heel. Since i have very big "spurs" on my heels, this has also been good for eliminating heel lift while not having to over tighten the laces.

It is now recommended to wear only one pair of thin sports wool socks in modern, insulated , breathable fabric boots. I find this a little cool, but right enough i have not had sweaty feet. Being about half a size bigger than perfect, i can also wear an bigger sock and lace less for minus ten degrees or less. The boots outer shell are waterproof, breathable and seem very tough.

The only draw backs are 1)  a tight and awkward zip and 2)  that any snow trapped inside while putting on or takin.g off stays cold between the outer shell and the booty, leading to a wet boot later on.

I feel much more confident in these boots so turning youtube tips into hard wired technique is going very well this year.

Glad-Rags

Me clothes are merino wool underwear with a pertex jogging jacket down to minus 10, when an extra layer fleece or double pertex is layed on.

Trousers are both Bjorn Dæhle touring pants, a light, p-tex fronted, mesh lined trouser with a calf long boot zip and refective flashes. Oh and they are like sacks on anyone, not a flattering cut. 

I also now have a pair of overly fancy OW three layer pants which are shape hugging and so far better for down to minus 6 in activity, but need wool underwear in bigger wind chill or with a more.plodding pace. I had to get XXL to my shame, but the beer belt coverage also means good, high back coverage. They also have a good top boot fit with soft rubber keep-me-up ribs to do the exact opposite , keep them on the boot at speed.  A little cold for plodding about in, they do however have front insulation p tex to help downhills after an energetic uphill.

On the subject of back fit - "kidney coverage" - i also got a Madshus drinking bottle belt bag, which I discovered is actually as much a kidney warmer as it is a drink, wax and cork carrier. It probably has a foil inner layer. Great buy once again at Coop Obs.

My usual longer tour set up is a camel back style mountain biking ruck sack sans drinking system, but with a synthetic towel for sweat,x and a rolled up oversjized p tex jogging jacket in either sides webbing lattice.  I find the double ptex set up for stops, downhills or sudden drops in temperature is ideal as long as stops are not more than 10-15 mins and the condensation has not become really heavy on the first layer. So for colder days or longer stops a light fleece layer is carried jin the sack.

P tex double is light, highly breathable and offers surprising warmth or wind cheating. Buffalo had this in fact with their over jacket. I must also try light over trousers.

The sports towel gets used on interval training or when the wind chill is negligible and i sweat.

I use just buffs as head gear , having up to four on me, but i have purchased a wee proper ski bunnet in light synthetic, Norsk flag an' all. Just forget to take it with me. B uffs get saturated and dont stay warm so i do have some wool ones which however make you sweat more in the first placed. So often in cooler stuff i go double layered, get up a sweat and take the outer wool off, and when the syn.thetic buff is saturated and icing, towel me off a tad and plonk on wool round head and a new buff round chin and neck.

My other trouble area is gloves and condensation or wetness. I seem to sweat a lot in gloves when skiing and i do fall over once i.n a while. I found single layer fleece running gloves too thin for wind resistance and too cold when dampened by snow. Double fleece layer too warm! Bjorn DÆhle with letherete palms, they'll do the job when on offer ? Nope, hold sweat and water like a magnet and freeze in the finger tips after an hour at minus 10. 

Bula win.d cheat layered ? Nope, too clammy again, although they seemed highly water an.d wind resistant.

The perfect glove is maybe out there and probably the price of two months in a nice warm gymn.

Waxing remains for another blog another day!

Being an Invandere: Managing Expectations

Yes, a follow up to my tool kit in the last blogg:

What should you expect of Norway and what do Norwegians, especially employers expect of you?


I'd say 1) Lower your expectations and take it a little easy on these 2) Put in a heck of a lot more effort than you may think you need to, seeing this is only superficially similar as a western country with high education level!

Norwegians are skeptical to immigration on average and see "Invaders /wanderers in" as a migratory workforce by in large which is expendable: the breathing part of the economy which should be sent home if there is  a down turn.

Employers looking for skilled people are more positive, but mainly because they don't want to pay engineers all a million kroner a year starting pay, which they would have to in order to get enough noggies to graduate with those skills and even stay in engineering functions rather than drifting into administration!

Being married to a Noggie is not much help. On Askøy and Sotra in westland, it is often said " huh, English? He wont last. Not enough pubs here"

Firstly like France and Germany, Norwegians don't really tolerate mediocre use of their language. Some don't even tolerate people with different regional dialects! In either situation, some will drift of and become irritated rather than listening to you. Speak english and be very succinct and modest.

Languages school at night classes will be tough along side a job. If you get supported to do day school then put your back into it like it was a full time job! TOugh but worth it and if you are going to get up near average pay in non engineering jobs, then you must be fluent........

......if you are not coming to work on a tour from a central office in another country of course. Then they have to put up with you!

The next tough thing may be the social highway code being very reserved and certainly not Celtic of Mediterranean. If you build up expectations of friendship and even a little, then you will be shunned. It is the way here on average at least. Perhaps in North Norway people take you in more I dont know.

The best social way in is with a key person who speaks english and you have some commonality with, not least a sense of humour! Probably someone who studied abroad. DOnt expect your Norsk spouse to be any real help further than their family and a couple of pals. For example asking people around for dinner may hardly ever be reciprocated. People will communicate they would like to but have been busy, or ask you for a coffee instead thus cutting the visit commitment to just an hour.

Also remember that a lot of noggies are pretty darn DULL! and not worth the effort of coming in on! many lives go in a round of the public holidays as an annual perpetual clock like ground hog day carbon copies year in year out:  trips to cabin only with near family, visits to grand parents, endless training on skis and bikes without much socialibility, and only having a very small group of long established friends. it is closed, it is boring and only superficially interesting to a foreigner.

You can arrange your own cabin trips, ski lessons, travel to your own cultural or religious happenings abroad,  join a sports club which has a group which is at your level and so on, without laying any expectation on people you meet at work or through other people.

It may take years literally to be accepted as a "friend" but then you may well find you have made a very, very good friend who will open their door for you and include you in cabin tours, dinners etc.

Work is going to be tough too: the market is different , much more oriented aroudn th north sea of course and large petrochemical production. Houses are wood here so joiners are favoured over brickies.

It is worht as I have done, taking a new career direction whcih takes you up to average apay for the private sector after a couple of years ( around 380-000 to 450 000 NOK for the private sector and more in offshore positions of course. 185 kr per hour to 250 kr per hour app.)

New career direction means starting at the bottom in terms of maybe even like me, doing an internship. Thus you learn the day to day language and operations and the workplace culture while probably going on "day money" ie dole or some grant or other. This is low risk ,win win and if you don't like it you can have a look at other types of jobs.

Noggie employers are a bit simple when it comes to rectruiting experienced folk: you should be doing or have done the job you are applying ! It is good then to take a temp position just to get the right job title even if it is sonething you can master. English speaking companies are only so much of a help, the spoken word will be norsk.

So moving here is not like moving to many other countries but much the same in some ways!

Manage down your expectations of career and social life and put in a lot of effort on the work side and of course at language school, and then the social side will pick up.

Cultural Do's and Don'ts for New Jobs in Norway

For immigrants, those who "wander in" or are "invaders" as the word "innvandere" suggests, getting permanent contracts can be tough. 

Immigrants are generally seen as a commodity or at best if you are highly skilled, an excellent stop-gap measure for a position, such as covering maternity leave. So you are whatever your background, expendable.  That is a very, very common attitude amongst employers.

To move out of this general stream of being considered "temp", takes time in terms of language skills and cultural adjustment but more importantly a lot of effort. Effort is up to yourself but the cultural fine tuning is actually a very critical part of unlocking access to better jobs and permanent contracts: Here are my tips

1) If you are in a temp positions, use as much effort as you can to get another job offer elsewhere. Otherwise you are a temp-head-count and companies want to keep you as such! This applies equally to Norwgians in fact, but they often find it easier to get other work which is permanent. A "maybe-maybe, see what happens" is usually just as I write, you are a head count which the companies wants to keep expendable and if you put up with it, you will continue as a temp.

Consider negotiating an 80% position if it is a temp one, such that you can use the other day to find a permanent job. In the long run it will be worth going down 20% in pay.

Temping is really only any good for you in the long term if you gain new skills, or work for a medium to large company with good, recognised quality systems or a leading brand name in the sector. See more on this type of issue below

2) don't be a trouble maker. With respect of the above, it is very hard to try and negotiate or use tactical means you may be use to in other countries like the UK or USA, you cannot threaten to leave at a critical point in a project delivery for example. The real option is to have another job offer, even if you dont intend to go really. Then they know that you are not happy and have taken a practical way to solving the issue.

When you are in the trial period for a permanent, most often 6 months, then also you must avoid making trouble. Trial periods are used by some companies to "suck it and see" if they actually need the position in the first place. This is a little biased against immigrants but applies it must be said to naive norgies også.

3) Always talk directly with your prospective manager or director in the application phase. This moves you WAY up the queue because most noggies cant be bothered whereas a lot of employers place a lot of value on contact. It is very easier to gauge also the managers interest: if the position is really filled already or if they are a little racist, or in fact if they expect a far better qualified candidate with a recognised norsk education (NTNU, BI, NHH etc)

4) never talk badly about where you are at the moment or where you have just come from either at interview or in the first six months. Talk positively.

Norgie' bosses and people around you expect a certain boring stability and contentedness with life and view past experiences quite judgementally of YOUR ability to fit into a job socially and in terms of performance rather than accepting that you had a genuinely bad experience.

This is what psychologists call the "fundamental attribution error" :simply , you see your environment as a source for reasons why things go good or bad, whereas other people see first YOU as the source of positive and particlarily negative experiences.

In Norway they had town night watchmen from the late middle ages. Usually a sturdy man, who stood at the gates to a town or rustled about in the streets of a village like a town crier with a long imposing stave with a spiked maice head on it.( today it is a ceremonial and tourist guide position ) When someone new wandered to the gates or streets, they were challenged as to "and where have you just come from"?  followed by " and how was it there ?" . If they replied " oh it was terrible there, people were cruel and there was little work and I struggled to feed myself" Then the watchman would answer " Well I am sorry you will find only more of the same in this small town, I suggest you pass along to the next town where you may find better conditions"

Norgie' bosses expect that people have it pretty good here and nothing much to complain about! The culture for moaning you find in some offices is little evident, and if you find yourself in such an office then they are either a bunch of cynics or you actually have landed in a crappy employer!


When you are chagning jobs and looking for promotion, talking up the positive aspects of your current work place, and the positive social aspects is really good and makes the new employer think about making a really tantalising offer to secure you! This has just happened with me, much higher pay in the new job I have taken! Hurray!

5) "Prøveperioden" : The six months on trial.

i) fit in, keep your head down : A trial it can be. Here you are in the spotlight often. Can you do the job? Well that is often the least of the focus. HOW you do the job, how willing you are to tackle things is very important. Also how you fit in socially with your critical employees around you.

Just a few small black marks can be enough for you to be put under a big question mark for permanency.

They say you have to "swallow a few camels" and have "ice in your stomach" here which is very true in the trial period. Keeping a low profile while maintaining enough engagement in your work is good. Be keen, but be precise and not over keen. Go over and over critical tasks and follow up on what is happening with those you have placed in others hands for actions: do this without being pushy, just methodical.

ii) don't show any miscontent in the first six months. Unless there is some form for very poor and unfair dealing and you are entering into tasks which were not explained to you. This can be why it is good to work a couple of months thorugh a temp bureaux in a new type of job so that you learn the trip-wires and monkeys-thrown-off-others-backs to avoid in the trial period for a permanent position. Be a nice litte boy or girl. Dress like others at work, avoid taking too much sick leave, accept tasks with positivyt and be assertive in what the task and objectives are without seeming to be sceptical.

Later on you can cast monkeys off your own back. Also you are of course somewhat free to do the next

iv) If the job is not very demanding, worm your way in very slowly to new tasks and project responsibility or rather engagement. Be careful. Softly softly catch a monkey! take it slowly and do v:

v) Dont take too much initiative or come to bosses with fait-accomplis. Norwegians use a lot of "Kanskje" and open questioning to establish situations, opportunities and problems (challenges) : they are a bit snake like in asking because they know that bosses can be teflon in answering if they feel pressed into a corner.


vi) Initiative should be however be orientated around finding solutions to problems or new, small solutions and  opportunities and taking them to the boss to air them: explain them, and let the boss come back with comments: use of a pause instead of a leading question so the boss has time to digest it and sees that there is no pressure here: it is a conversation and a suggestion, not a fait-accomplis!

Also in terms of initiative, judge your position and its sphere of operation and influence: if the company or department is very established you probably want to back down your eagerness and ambition for responsibility in the 6 months and actually the first year.

If however there is a lot of work, a lot of challenges and you know 100% you can contribute and you can tackle the norsk language vocabulary for the area,  or better still English is the lead language then you can indeed strethc your neck out.

Initiative in asking for more work volume is good BUT ONLY after you do as I say above: be double sure you have quality control on your own work and admin, have traceability and can answer things on the spot or refer to a way you will. Then you can ask for more work, but it can be better to go through things more and do the next thing :

vi) Make social contact via work tasks, avoid e-mail to people you havent met first or at least spoken to in the firm and externally. This is very important: it is norwegian sensible culture: if something is important then it needs to be discussed face to face. E-mails go unread without this, and I think that is healthy. Also it breaks down the "immigrant barrier" which is important. Face to face, press the flesh.

Remember softly softly! If you are dealing with a key person in another department, ask how they are to deal with from your co-workers. The same with suppliers and customers. Come with a subtle approach and be modest.

vii) remember Jantes law: be modest, be small a litte false modesty and soft language goes a long way. Dont blow your trumpet , use reverse psychology. You often should avoid stating what you have responsibility for in general or your level in the chain, but rahter talk in the third person and about the company in getting something done.

I find this a bit irritating, but this one point alone in terms of culture and langauge is a huge key in the lock of Norway and in fact it has helped me with my own self esteem and awareness: I think I was a bit of a pushy type who demanded things and grabbed responsibility withouth maybe being granted the  authority to do so!

Last year I found myself a little out on a wing, my boss left and the new boss was very much of the strategy type - ie a bit distant: He played very softly softly in his first two months. I carried on with my projects without involving him much, or when I did it was a it faite-accomplis, or I need a decision now! This lead to a great deal of uncertainty of the level of  responsibility my first boss had given me and because I flew alone I lost a great deal of my responsibilty when the department employed new staff, who were very much more experienced than me. However I took it on the chin and sorted out very much what I had in front of me and some contract manufacturers wanted me BACK in the driving seat because I took responsibility, came to practical solutions and made things happen. The Divisional director heard good things about me from two key contractors.

I should have built up more of a profile with my new boss, and involved him more in my decision making. I ended up being a bit stunted for promotion because of that, and had taken less money that i really need to live off, so just put this all down to learnign and moved companies  with my new learning of both applications and the culture of modesty but confidence here!


vii) I'd say a s a follow up to the last job: involve your boss and your coworkers / key facilitators around you in a social dialogue which shows your competence without you needing to say it, shows your engagement and involves them in your work so you can judge how much initiative to take, or be given more freedom to act.

I think also involving your departmental director on occaision is good, but be very careful here. Happy camper, sorted out a problem with help of key facilitators and involcement of your boss is the safe approach! Took grand initiative, trod on toes, got it fixed in brilliant fashion is a really no-no.

Charming bosses above your own line manager is often a way women get on and being in the sports team with them is often used by men to get on!

iiX) Social expectations: if you go into a work place or any social group in norway, then dont come with expectations on being pals with everyone and somehow being really matey with someone you have a lot in common with. Norwegians are very stand off with that personal barrier to being IN with them a s a pal or being in their social circle. The best approach is to join in sports activities where you are on a level playing field ( ie probably NOT cross country skiing) and make sure you go on company nights out if they suit you and you feel like being sociable, but relaxed. Finding one pal who is a bit more extrovert and has good social circles is a good start but it can be that others in the circle dont like it! Shit I know, but making new friends is hard in Norway: not so hard if you are Norsk, but still relatively tough for them if they move to either a large city or the converse,  a small inbred community like the one I have to put up with right now!