Olav Bjaaland (5 March 1873 – 8 June 1961) was a Norwegian ski champion and polar explorer. In 1911, he was one of the first five men to reach the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

as part of

Amundsen's South Pole expedition The first ever expedition to reach the South Pole, geographic Southern Pole was led by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. He and four others arrived at the pole on 14 December 1911, five weeks ahead of a British party led by Robert Falcon ...

Biography

Olav Olavsen Bjaaland was born on the Søndre Bjaaland farm at

Morgedal Morgedal is a village in the municipality of Kviteseid, Telemark, Norway. The village gas been described as the "cradle of skiing". Morgedal, Norway is a village whose most famous residents were Sondre Norheim, known to be the father of modern sk ...

in Telemark,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. At the turn of the century, Bjaaland, together with the Hemmestveit brothers were among the best skiers in Norway. In 1902, he won the

nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first ever 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympic ...

at the

Holmenkollen Ski Festival The Holmenkollen Ski Festival ( no, Holmenkollen skifestival or ) is a traditional annual Nordic skiing event in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway. The full official name of the event is Holmenkollen FIS World Cup Nordic. History It takes place in March ...

, to this day the classic event in

nordic skiing Nordic skiing encompasses the various types of skiing in which the toe of the ski boot is fixed to the Ski binding, binding in a manner that allows the heel to rise off the ski, unlike alpine skiing, where the boot is attached to the ski from toe ...

. In 1909 Bjaaland, together with five others were invited to France to compete with the best skiers of Europe. On this trip, Bjaaland by chance met

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen bega ...

. The already-successful explorer invited Bjaaland to join his forthcoming expedition to the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

. Bjaaland was thrilled, and still believing that they were heading to the North Pole. However, they left

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, Norway on 7 June 1910 heading south to race for the Antarctic pole against

Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...

Bjaaland was a skilled carpenter, and on the trip he managed to reduce the prefabricated sledges bought in Oslo (Scott had bought the same type of sledges for his expedition, although never modified them) from 88 kg to 22 kg, without reducing their strength notably. On the actual sledge journey from the

Bay of Whales The Bay of Whales was a natural ice harbour, or iceport, indenting the front of the Ross Ice Shelf just north of Roosevelt Island, Antarctica. It is the southernmost point of open ocean not only of the Ross Sea, but worldwide. The Ross Sea ...

to the pole and return, Bjaaland was often used as a forerunner so that the dogs had something to run after. He was known for being able to ski such that the traces he made formed almost perfect straight lines in the terrain. After returning from the successful conquest of the pole, Amundsen asked Bjaaland to go north with him to explore the

Northeast Passage The Northeast Passage (abbreviated as NEP) is the shipping route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, along the Arctic coasts of Norway and Russia. The western route through the islands of Canada is accordingly called the Northwest Passage (N ...

, but he turned down the offer. In later years Bjaaland went back to Telemark and set up a successful ski manufacturing workshop with money lent from Amundsen. In 1961, Bjaaland died peacefully at age 88; of the five to reach the South Pole, he lived the longest, and was the only one to witness the advances made by the

IGY Immunoglobulin Y (abbreviated as IgY) is a type of immunoglobulin which is the major antibody in bird, reptile, and lungfish blood. It is also found in high concentrations in chicken egg yolk. As with the other immunoglobulins, IgY is a class of ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

, including the construction of the permanent South Pole base named Amundsen–Scott in honor of his expedition leader. The Bjaaland Museum in Telemark, Norway has a small collection of photographs and other memorabilia from the South Pole expedition and is well worth a visit.

Awards

*In 1912, he was awarded the

South Pole Medal The South Pole Medal ( no, Sydpolsmedaljen) or Medal Commemorating the 1910–1911 ''Fram'' Expedition to the South Pole (''Medalje til erindring om "Frams" ekspedisjon til Sydpolen 1910–1911'') is a Norwegian medal established by Haakon VII of ...

(''Sydpolsmedaljen''), a Royal Norwegian award instituted by King

Haakon VII Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick VI ...

in 1912 to reward participants in Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition. *In 1912, Bjaaland was awarded the Holmenkollen medal (''Holmenkollmedaljen''), the Norwegian highest competitive award for skiing. *In 1952, at Morgedal, Bjaaland lit the torch for the

1952 Winter Olympics The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 6. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 6. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, was a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 195 ...

. *In 2021, Håkon Anton Fagerås created a statue in bronze of Bjaaland commissioned by the

Fram museum The Fram Museum ( no, Frammuseet) is a museum telling the story of Norwegian polar exploration. It is located on the peninsula of Bygdøy in Oslo, Norway. Fram Museum is in an area with several other museums including the Kon-Tiki Museum, the ...

in Oslo in honor of Bjaaland.

References

External links

50th Anniversary of Amundsens Expedition

Holmenkollen medalists
nbsp;– click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file
Holmenkollen winners since 1892
nbsp;– click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file {{DEFAULTSORT:Bjaaland, Olav 1873 births 1961 deaths People from Kviteseid Explorers of Antarctica Holmenkollen medalists Holmenkollen Ski Festival winners Norwegian male cross-country skiers Norwegian polar explorers Norwegian male Nordic combined skiers Amundsen's South Pole expedition Sportspeople from Vestfold og Telemark

Biography

Awards

See also

References

External links