Friluftsliv
(free – loofts - liv)
Literal Meaning: Open Air Life
As temperatures begin to rise and the earth begins to thaw, the end of the winter season is drawing near. The promise of longer days with more light and warmth has community members donning flip flops and firing up their grills, pulling their kids bikes out of storage, and clearing their decks to set up their outdoor furniture. Though we anxiously anticipate the onset of spring each year, we don’t let the cold keep us indoors all winter. In Warroad, we embrace the cold winter months by skating, skiing, biking, ice fishing, running, and even plunging into the lake for good cause.
It turns out there is a word for the way we live life here:
Friluftsliv (free-loofts-liv)
Literally translating as “open air life,” this concept is all-encompassing: it’s about enjoying the outdoors and getting in tune with nature, no matter the weather!
It makes sense that this Nordic term resonates, given a third of our state’s population claims Scandinavian heritage. But even if you aren’t Scandinavian, you can embrace this way of life—and how you do that is completely up to you.
For Chuck Lindner, a local business owner and biking enthusiast, friluftsliv is taking out his fat- tire bike to train throughout even the coldest days of winter. It’s camping outside his house in the winter to prepare himself for races like the Arrowhead 135—a 135-mile course he has completed an impressive 10 times—and his greatest accomplishment, the Iditarod Trail Invitational, a 350-mile Alaskan race he completed in 2017.
For the members of the Lake of the Woods Run Club, friluftsliv is continuing to train even when temperatures dipped below zero. Almost every Saturday this winter, a handful of runners threw on their winter running gear and prepared for that day’s jaunt, running somewhere between 3 and 10 miles, with the incentive of a warm Caribou drink as a post-run reward. To them, running is a way of life, a social experience, a continual push for your personal best, and so much more than chasing medals and finish lines.
For families that live along the river, hardcore hockey kids, and even coffee groups of retired men reliving their youth of skating and playing hockey, friluftsliv is getting out on the Riverbend Skate Path nearly every single day since its inception. Equal parts social interaction, physical exercise, and just plain fun, they will not be hindered by the weather.
And for 36 individuals this past weekend, friluftsliv was plunging into the freezing waters of the Warroad River for a worthy cause. At this year’s YetiFest, the sun was shining and the temps were unseasonably warm in the 50s, but the water, they will assure you, was frigid. And yet they willingly jumped in, sometimes in costume, sometimes in tribute, and always short-lived as the fire firefighters waiting in the water quickly shifted them to the ladder to get back out. After a quick towel dry and a change of clothes, they were back mingling within the crowds, St. Patrick’s Day green-tinted beer in hand.
Friluftsliv is attainable for every age, ability, and budget—and we can’t recommend it enough!
Maybe the intensity of the examples above seems unattainable or even undesired, but you can start simple. Take a walk on your next lunch break to gain a greater appreciation of nature and get some fresh air, and you may find your mood improves, perspective shifts, and productivity goes up as a result.
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