Birkie weekend is almost here! We are thrilled to extend a special invite to all Birkie skiers: stop by the Lumi booth at the Birkie Expo on Thursday, February 23rd at 1:30pm to meet Lumi travelers Jackie, Dan and Jim … this year’s Inga and Warriors! They’ll be in full costume and happy to talk about their adventure rescuing baby Prince Haakon Haakonssen and their trips to ski Worldloppet events in Europe with Lumi Experiences.
This year marks the 49th anniversary of the American Birkebeiner: the 53 km cross-country ski race from Cable to Hayward inspired by the famous Norwegian Birkebeiner, which started in 1932 to commemorate the legendary story that most Birkie skiers know well.
This weekend, Lumi guests Jackie, Dan and Jim DeRoma will dress up as the original Birkebeiner warriors and mother Inga who skied baby Prince Haakon to safety in 1206. They’ll ski the full Birkie course on wooden skis and in birch bark leggings, which the warriors wore when they skied through deep snow over the mountains from Rena to Lillehammer, Norway to rescue the prince. Did you know this is how the race got its name? “Birkie” means “birch” in Norwegian and “beiner” means “legs.” (of course you did ;).
Birkie skiers: keep an eye out for Inga, the Warriors, and Prince Haakon as they finish on Main Street in Hayward. Their baby Clara will be with them as the prince!
As we start to grow our family with our “Prince Haakon” it’s important to show how we can give back to the ski community that has provided us with so much joy. By representing the Birkie warriors we hope to spread the joy of the Birkie to other participants, volunteers, and spectators that we see on the trail. We hope to instill the values of courage, perseverance, and determination in our children. By representing the warriors, we hope to set a good foundation for the future. – Jackie DeRoma (Quote from the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation’s article, “Birkie Announces Skiers to Portray Inga and Warriors at 2023 Birkie”).
Cross-country skiing is a lifelong family pastime for the DeRoma family. In addition to volunteering with his wife Dianne to support the Birkie year-round, Jim has skied 25 Birkies and 11 Worldloppet races. His son Dan has already skied 17 Birkies and Dan’s wife Jackie has skied three.
Special Invite to Meet the Birkie’s Inga & Warriors
Jackie and Dan have also skied three Worldloppet events in Europe with Lumi Experiences: the Engadin in Switzerland and the Dolomitenlauf & Marcialonga in Austria and Italy last winter for their honeymoon. Everyone had a blast celebrating these Sposini (newlyweds in Italian)! The photos say it all…
I hope to see you at the Lumi booth at the Birkie Expo on Thursday, February 23rd at 1:30pm, when Jackie and Dan will be there in full costume to share stories about their trips with Lumi to ski in Europe. And if that timing doesn’t work, I’ll be at the Expo all day Thursday and Friday. Come by anytime to say hello and learn more about our trips!
See you soon,
Garrott Kuzzy
P.S. If you’d like to ski the original Norwegian Birkebeiner in March 2024, we still have space available on the Lumi Experiences Norway Birken Trip and would love to have you along. We are offering $300 off for all bookings before March 31. Reach out now to secure your spot: info@lumiexperiences.com!
