Oregon Public Broadcasting will run a story about the great Stumptown Birkie urban ski races of February 2014 during the Oregon Field Guide episode scheduled for 8:30 pm November 20.

Birkebeiner enthusiasts managed to run urban ski races through the Pearl District after a rare snow storm completely shut down Portland on Thursday, February 6th. Lead organizer Win Goodbody led the festivities Friday morning in his hot pink Lycra suit along with a couple dozen skiers, an enormous dog, a snowshoer and a lone snowboarder in need of a snowmobile. A follow-up race on Saturday featured sprint races and GoPro shenanigans.

Shred Hood’s story about the first Portland Birkie was one of the most widely viewed and shared articles of 2013-14.

An Oregon Field Guide crew attended the second birkie and will air their story 8:30 pm Thursday, Nov. 20 and again at 1:30 am and 6:30 pm Sunday, Nov. 23. For more info see the Oregon Field Guide website.

A birkebeiner is a community ski race through a town or city, a long-time tradition in Northern Europe with roots reaching back centuries in Norway. The word birkebeiner derives from the birch-bark leg protection worn by Norwegian ski soldiers during the Norwegian Civil Wars of the 12th and 13th centuries.

Hopefully we’ll get enough snow to shut down the streets for a few more Stumptown Birkies in 2014-15. A few inches is really all you need in “the City that Works.” And that snow day could come as early as Thursday, November 13 if the forecast proves accurate. The latest reports are calling for 4-6 inches of snow in Portland.

Bookmark the Stumptown Birkie Blog to get first-hand news about plans for the next race. You can also follow @StumptownBirkie – and @ShredHood – on Twitter.

Last modified: November 11, 2014