Rødkleiva: Difference between revisions – Wikipedia

Hill in Norway

Rødkleiva is a hill located in Nordmarka in Oslo, Norway. It was taken into use as a slalom hill in 1947 and was used for the combined event of the Holmenkollen Ski Festival eleven times between 1947 and 1963. It hosted the slalom events for the 1952 Winter Olympics, which saw a crowd of at least 25,000 spectators. The Olympic course was 422.5 meters (1,386 ft) long and had a drop of 169 meters (554 ft). The course gradually fell into disrepair and was closed in 1988.

The hill has several times been launched as a potential location for a ski jumping hill. The first idea came in 1912; later options to replace Holmenkollbakken resurfaced during the 1930s and the 1970s, but were quickly rejected. With the closing of Midtstubakken, Oslo’s normal hill, in the late 1980s, Rødkleiva was again launched as a jumping hill. Vikersundbakken—Northern Europe’s only ski flying hill—was in the late 1990s proposed replaced by a new hill in Rødkleiva. The plans received support from the Norwegian Ski Federation, but the municipality and state were not interested in issuing grants and the proposal was finally laid to rest in 2006.

History[edit]

Slalom hill[edit]

The first proposal for using Rødkleiva for skiing was made by Fritz Huitfeldt in 1912. At the time Holmenkollbakken allowed jumps to 30 meters (98 ft) and Huitfeldt’s proposal to build an 80-meter (260 ft) hill was not taken seriously.^[1] In the 1930s, the idea of building a ski jump at Rødkleiva was renewed.^[2] However, Rødkleiva was rejected by the board of the Association for the Promotion of Skiing and in 1938 Holmenkollbakken was instead upgraded with scaffolding.^[3]

In 1939, the Norwegian Ski Federation proposed that the Association for the Promotion of Skiing arrange slalom as part of the Holmenkollen Ski Festival, but the plans were interrupted by World War II. The slalom hill was inaugurated in 1947, allowing Alpine skiing to be introduced in the Holmenkollen Ski Festival. Slalom took place at Rødkleiva while the downhill was carried out at Norefjell Ski Resort in Krødsherad.^[4] The event was named Holmenkollen Kandahar^[5] and the races in Rødkleiva were organized by SFK Lyn.^[4] Permanent cables for telephone and timing were installed in 1949.^[6]

A series of upgrades were made to the hill ahead of the 1952 Winter Olympics. A start platform was constructed at the top of the hill to ensure better start conditions. A double pull-hook ski lift was built on the north side of the hill. Floodlights were installed along the course to allow training and work during the evening. Ten loudspeakers and three microphones were installed as a transportable system. The hump at the top of the hill was leveled somewhat and the earthwork used to build out the bottom of the hill. The road from Lillevann Station on the Holmenkollen Line was upgraded and a tunnel laid under the course to allow spectators to gather on both sides.^[7] A 200-seat press stand, including work stations and telephone booths, was constructed on the south side of the bottom of the hill. Opposite a stand for official guests was built, with a capacity for 300 people. Boxes at the finish line were built for officials and time-keepers.^[8] The upgrades to the venue cost 336,000 Norwegian krone (NOK).^[9] During the Olympics the hill was 422.5 meters (1,386 ft) long and had a drop of 169 meters (554 ft), starting at 479 meters (1,572 ft) above mean sea level.^[7]

The Young Men’s Christian Association built a cabin at Ruudshøgda, next to Rødkleiva, which was completed in 1961.^[10] A new proposal to build a large ski jumping hill in Rødkleiva was launched during the early 1970s, but the Association for the Promotion of Skiing rejected the plans.^[11]

From the 1970s, Association for the Promotion of Skiing worked with plans to renovate the hill, especially to fill in the lower section close to Lillevann.^[12] The proposal met little support from the municipality, who wanted to prioritize Wyllerløypa, which was much cheaper to upgrade.^[13] Thus Rødkleiva was degraded to a training course. On 2 October 1986 the city council changed their opinion and granted funds for upgrading the hill. The upgrade would have given sufficient standard to allow FIS Alpine Ski World Cup events in slalom to be held and was part of a municipal strategy to market Oslo as a winter sports destination.^[12] In 1987, a proposal was made for the Holmenkollen area to become a national arena for freestyle skiing, with Rødkleiva to be made into a permanent mogul course.^[14] The hill was taken over by Tryvann Ski Resort in 1988.^[15] Plans to build a new ski lift which would connect with the other slopes were launched in November of that year. Rødkleiva was planned as the main competition hill for slalom and would regain its Olympics size.^[16] Det Norske Veritas withdrew Rødkleiva’s approval in October 1988, especially noting the poor condition of the ski lift. The necessary upgrades would cost…