While others travel to Italy and France to train at 1800 meters above sea level, Magnus Waaler opts for a local training setup at the same altitude in Norway.

The 30-year-old skier from Norway, who competes for the Oslo-based Ski Classics Pro Team, Team Front Rustad IL, started skiing almost three years ago and debuted in long-distance races a year and a half ago. He’s heading into his second Pro Tour season, preparing with altitude training and real Norwegian natural snow under his skis.

While others head to Italy and France to train at 1800 meters above sea level during the summer, Magnus Waaler has created his own locally sourced training setup at the same altitude. In July, Waaler trained at 1850 meters in Norway for several weeks while working as a cabin host at Skåla. The wet and relatively cool summer in Southern Norway has ensured continuous snowfall on the training track he dug out and packed down in a snowdrift on Skåla’s ridge.

The track is 780 meters long, and Waaler has done daily long-distance sessions of over three hours on it as altitude training. 

“That amounts to about 100 laps back and forth on the track in three hours. The conditions are far from ideal, with poor snow quality and an isolated location, so it’s really training for those who are especially dedicated,” Waaler told Langrenn.com about his version of altitude training, adding:

“Passersby’s reactions vary from shock to admiration, and many stop to take pictures of this man going back and forth on the small patch of snow.”

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Heavy snowfall led Waaler to spend 20 hours digging out the track to carry out his planned sessions. 

“Digging out the track is effective strength training,” he notes.

As a break from the long-distance sessions on the self-made track, Waaler has run up and down the mountain several times, not least to buy eggs at Joker in Loen. During one of these runs, he accidentally broke the current Strava record for the segment: Waaler clocked in at 46:26 and now holds the KOM for that segment. The Rustad skier claimed at least five KOMs on the popular training platform in five days.

However, the training regimen is in addition to his duties as a cabin host. Among his other daily tasks are cleaning the toilets and restocking food and supplies in the cabin.

But why are you doing this? 
“I chose this as an alternative to more conventional destinations like Livigno. I use innovation and sheer willpower to exploit local opportunities fully. I hope I can inspire everyone willing to ‘go the extra mile,’ literally,” says Magnus Waaler.

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Coincidentally a Skier 

Waaler going all-in for Ski Classics is quite coincidental. Until August 2022, he had never engaged in skiing or any other sport. But Waaler joined the Oslo club and began skiing almost three years ago, debuting in long-distance races a year and a half ago.

Initially, it was solely to participate in Lysebotn Opp to create content for the Blink Festival. To register, you had to belong to a club, so Waaler joined the club closest to where he lives. His skiing debut was far from spectacular. 

“It was absolutely terrible. I came in last,” says Waaler.

With Blink behind him, he decided to join a group training session at Rustad IL later in the fall. After all, he had paid for the membership. That experience was entirely different. 

“It was really fun. So, I continued, and now here I am, about to start my second serious season in Ski Classics,” says Waaler.

In April, he won his first Ski Classics Challengers race, the 50km Fossavatnsgangan in Iceland, by almost 15 minutes.

Also Read: Magnus Waaler and Anikken Gjerde Alnæs winners of Fossavatnsgangan 2024

The Best Moments of Fossavatnsgangan 2024

Now Comes the Test 

This week, Waaler will see if the extreme altitude training has paid off. He is returning to where his skiing career began: at the start line of Lysebotn Opp, competing against long-distance skiing stars and much of the World Cup elite.

On Wednesday, July 31, he competed in the double-poling event of the brutal 7.5km uphill race Lysebotn Opp. From the start at the ferry quay at the innermost part of Lysefjorden to the finish at Øygardstøl, there are 27 hairpin bends and 640 meters of elevation gain.

At Lysebotn Opp, Magnus Waaler finished 40th, with a total time of 38:12, 7:10 behind the day’s winner, Andrew Musgrave.

Read More: Musgrave and Øyre Slind winners at the Lysebotn Opp double poling race 2024

Then, the long-distance race Blink Classics over 50 kilometers awaits in Ålgård on Thursday, August 1.

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