Olav Bjaaland was a Norwegian ski champion from Telemark

Telemark

is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...

. In 1911, he was one of the first five men to reach the South Pole

South Pole

The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...

 as part of an expedition led by Roald Amundsen

Roald Amundsen

Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the first Antarctic expedition to reach the South Pole between 1910 and 1912 and he was the first person to reach both the North and South Poles. He is also known as the first to traverse the Northwest Passage....

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His life

Olav Bjaaland was born in Morgedal

Morgedal

Morgedal, of the municipality of Kviteseid in the county of Telemark Norway, is called the cradle of skiing.Morgedal, Norway is a village whose most famous residents were Sondre Norheim, known to be the father of modern skiing plus Torjus Hemmestveit and Mikkjel Hemmestveit...

, Telemark, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. At the turn of the century, Bjaaland, together with the Hemmestveit

Torjus Hemmestveit

Torjus Hemmestveit was a Norwegian Nordic skier who shared the Holmenkollen medal with his brother, Mikkjel Hemmestveit in 1928.Torjus Hemmestveit was born in Kviteseid in Telemark county, Norway...

 brothers were among the best skiers in Norway. In 1902, he won the nordic combined

Nordic combined

The Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in both cross-country skiing and ski jumping.- History :While Norwegian soldiers are known to have been competing in Nordic skiing since the 19th century, the first major competition in Nordic combined was held in 1892 in Oslo at the...

 at the Holmenkollen Ski Festival

Holmenkollen ski festival

The Holmenkollen Ski Festival is a traditional annual Nordic skiing event in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway. The full official name of the event is Holmenkollen FIS World Cup Nordic. It takes place in March and has been arranged every year since 1892, except for 1898 and during World War II...

, to this day the classic event in nordic skiing

Nordic skiing

Nordic skiing is a winter sport that encompasses all types of skiing where the heel of the boot cannot be fixed to the ski, as opposed to Alpine skiing....

. In 1909 Bjaaland, together with five others were invited to France to compete with the best skiers of Europe.

On this trip, Bjaaland by chance met Roald Amundsen; the already-successful explorer invited Bjaaland, as a skier, to join his forthcoming expedition to the North Pole

North Pole

The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...

. Bjaaland was thrilled, and still believing that they were heading to the North Pole, they left Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

, Norway on 7 June 1910. Upon learning that they instead were heading south to race for the Antarctic pole against Robert Falcon Scott

Robert Falcon Scott

Captain Robert Falcon Scott, CVO was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13...

, Bjaaland had shouted: "Hurrah, that means we’ll get there first!" For his participation in the expedition, he was awarded the Medal of the South Pole (Sydpolsmedaljen), a Royal Norwegian award instituted by King Haakon VII

Haakon VII

Haakon VII may refer to:People* Haakon VII of Norway , King of Norway Ships* HNoMS King Haakon VII, a Royal Norwegian Navy escort ship in commission from 1942 to 1951...

 in 1912 to reward participants in Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition.
Bjaaland was a skilled carpenter, and on the trip he managed to reduce the prefabricated sledges bought in Oslo (Scott had bought the same type of sledges for his expedition, although never modified them) from 88 kg to 22 kg, without reducing their strength notably. On the actual sledge journey from the Bay of Whales

Bay of Whales

The Bay of Whales is a natural ice harbor, or iceport, indenting the front of Ross Ice Shelf just north of Roosevelt Island. It is the southernmost point of open ocean not only of the Ross Sea, but worldwide...

 to the pole and return, Bjaaland was often used as a forerunner so that the dogs had something to run after. He was known for being able to ski such that the traces he made formed almost perfect straight lines in the terrain. After returning from the successful conquest of the pole, Amundsen asked Bjaaland to go north with him to explore the Northeast Passage, but he turned down the offer.

In 1912, Bjaaland was awarded the Holmenkollen medal

Holmenkollen medal

The Holmenkollen medal is Norwegian skiing's highest award for competitors. It signifies top placings in international championships and other international events, including the Holmenkollen events....

, one of the highest medals a skier can win. In later years he went back to Telemark and set up a successful ski manufacturing workshop with money lent from Amundsen.

In 1952, at Morgedal, Bjaaland lit the torch for the 1952 Winter Olympics

1952 Winter Olympics

The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games, took place in Oslo, Norway, from 14 to 25 February 1952. Discussions about Oslo hosting the Winter Olympic Games began as early as 1935; the city wanted to host the 1948 Games, but World War II made that impossible...

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In 1961, Bjaaland died peacefully at age 88; of the five to reach the South Pole, he lived the longest, and was the only one to witness the advances made by the IGY

International Geophysical Year

The International Geophysical Year was an international scientific project that lasted from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War when scientific interchange between East and West was seriously interrupted...

 in Antarctica, including the construction of the permanent South Pole base named Amundsen-Scott in honor of his chief.