2004-02-10
Vilhelmina is the second largest municipality of Sweden. It is 894 km
from Oslo, 1327 from Hamburg, 697 km from Stockholm and 647 from
Helsinki. It is also the host of the Winter Weekend in Vilhelmina.

The
winter weekend draws a crowd of over 150,000 people with a rapidly
increasing rate every year. That's largely due to the events that take
place. Their motto is "the xtremer the better". The night life is pure
action. One could presume that the pubs, discos and concerts create
enough body heat to fuel the city of London for a day.

The
event starts out with the ice pillar sitting. The rules are simple,
dress warm in -30 Celsius weather and sit on the two meter ice pillar
for as long as possible, which has been specially designed for this
purpose from the "iceman" himself. The iceman is also the creator and
designer of the Alta Ice Hotel in Norway. Day turns to night and
hopefully the participants will still be sitting there in the morning
when it warms up to a comfortable -20 Celsius.

Holeshot

It
is now Friday and that is the kick-off for the games, the X-games known
by ESPN. The name Holeshot means "quick start", and that is exactly
what this contest will be. Only a glance at the arena will tell you
that. The beginning has a sand trap and rubber mats, which the snow
scooters have to maneuver through, followed by an uphill 30-meter
distance. Now it gets fun. The track is still straight and the ground
changes from a place you could have a dance competition to an inferno
called "total ocean storm". It goes up and down for 50 meters. The snow
scooters are as sharp as knives and one can easily decapitate a toe, so
better hang on, since there are many snow scooters on the track.

The Big Jump

A
sensation in itself, with some of Europe's finest scooter artists among
them such as, Fredrik Johansson, Daniel Bodin Fredrik Frog Berggren,
Mackan Frosty Demons. Fredrik Johansson will show for the first time a
Backflip on motocross, on ice of course, and for the first time
presented in Sweden.

The World Record Attempt on a Snowboard

Take
a 2 km long stretch, a snow scooter and one Tomas Skldebrink on a
snowboard who will hang on for dear life from a cord attached to the
snow scooter while reaching a speed of over 173 km/h.

Of
course, there are all the regular competitions like the 50 kg backpack
and the 90 kg backpack competition, where one must carry that weight
over the longest distance possible. The ice sculptor competition. The
bob sledge competition...and at night, yes one could relax if it would
not be for the scent in the air...it smells of PARTY! I will see you
there!