Holzweiler Ski Club: Ski Ballet Revival In Verbier

Sweet Protection introduced us to their longtime friends, Olympic champions and fellow skiing enthusiasts, Thomas Heyerdahl and Simen Andresen. Just as we celebrate our family, community and home country, they love their sport as an eternal ode to Norwegian traditions and culture. “Ski ballet just stayed with me. The close community was a big part of the sport,” Simen muses. “When we travelled around the world doing World Cups and national events, everyone and all disciplines were together. We were one big family.” 

If you aren’t familiar with the practice, then, in short, it’s a ‘triple threat’ - a combination of mogul and aerial skiing, plus ballet, combined in one discipline. “It’s a really difficult sport to get right and that's also the interesting and fun part about it,” Simen explains. “Artistic expression is a very personal thing - you need to feel good about yourself. The music choices could have been anything from Michael Jackson to symphonies, as competitors all had different styles in how they wanted to express themselves.”

Don’t be fooled by the beautiful artistry in motion, laborious and tough on the body, this serious, multi-faceted sport takes great skill, endurance, flexibility and strength; and to really master it takes a lot of training in power skiing, acrobatics, gymnastics, trampolining, figure skating, jazz dance, choreography to music and somersaults. “To be the overall champion for all three disciplines was the coolest thing to be,” Thomas explains, musing about his Olympic career. “Then you can show off that you are the perfect skier, having control on all those!”

The overall 1992 European and national ski ballet champion, Thomas has bragging rights. Simen looks back fondly on qualifying for the 1992 Olympics in Albertville and being part of the opening ceremony. The pair went into ski ballet simply because they wanted to have a good time on skis, but they got so much more out of it. They light up when they reminisce about their sporting careers and how proud they are to have represented their country in such a niche, rare way. You can tell that the hard graft didn’t dampen their fun and sense of humor. “There was no money in the game, we just did it for the love of the sport. For around 5 years we were sponsored to travel all around the world together to different continents and had a blast.” Thomas chuckles: “Simen and I had like 150 days in bed together yearly - more than with our girlfriends!”

Just as Oslo and Norway inspire our creativity at Holzweiler, Simen and Thomas’ Norwegian heritages are integral to their ski ballet journeys. They were both in the right place to harness the opportunities, and on an uphill trajectory as the success of the sport grew and became more recognised - it was divine timing, all meant to be. “Ski ballet is a good appreciation of Norway and keeping traditions alive,” Simen states. “As Norway is known for its ski origins, it’s cool to have been part of that story and the evolution of what skiing can be.” They both grew up in the Oslo area, and the universe brought them back together after 20 years as, funnily enough, they moved only 10 minutes’ walk away from each other again with their kids ending up in the same school and kindergarten. 

Simen’s journey started in the mid-’80s, right near where he lived. “The first time I saw ski ballet was the Norwegian championship here in Oslo,” he tells us. “I was just coincidently passing by and thought it looked cool so I found where the club was, and joined them.” He delayed his education for a few years to be part of the squad, instead learning invaluable lessons all around the world. Thomas also discovered ski ballet in the ‘80s, when he was studying to become a goldsmith. He found alpine skiing boring and wanted something more exciting, and the extreme jumps and tricks gave him that outlet. “All competitors had their own signature trick they loved most. For me, it was the rock'n'roll flip.”

“Pole flips were my go-to tricks generally, and then definitely rock'n'roll with the full twist if I wanted to show off!” Simen agrees. With this in mind, there are no better people to test drive our skiwear debut. Our friend in common, CGO of Sweet Protection, Erik Hegbom, is part of the freestyle skiing community, so you can be sure your safety is in good hands with our exclusive Holzweiler x Sweet Protection gear. One of the many reasons ski ballet is so beloved, is the celebration of nostalgia and revival of retro slope trends. These can be found in the timeless silhouettes and tonal palette of our skiwear garments, boasting the perfect blend of technicality and contemporary style. “I fell in love with the Tryvann vest,” Simen tells us. “It's warm without being too hot, and you have the freedom of arm movement.”  

Even though ski ballet was removed from the Olympics, there’s beauty in it being a celebrated era frozen in time. Whilst bittersweet that the sport ended with Thomas and Simen, they’re happy to have reached their goals. “I'm so glad I had these years and now we have good friends all over the world, and still meet like we did in Verbier. It only takes 5 minutes and then we are back to those good years and this amazing experience we shared.”

They’ve left their mark and continue their legacies in their own ways, encouraging the younger generation to find their own spirit in their own sport. You may recognise Thomas from ‘The Solo Man’ commercials. Whilst Thomas is honoured to be part of this revival of nostalgia each year, he doesn't want to reinvent the wheel. “It’s not right for us to reinvent the sport,” he explains. “We want to show the new kids what we did and let them do their own thing in freestyle.” Simen agrees: “If we can inspire them in some way, that's our contribution.”

This lost discipline only stopped in a competitive sense -  you’ll find the creative foundations they laid out there still if you look for them. The spirit of the spectacle will live on forever, never leaving the self-professed misfits and rebels who love ski ballet. As Simen explains, it’s “in our backbone”. Today, they may have swapped pole tricks for golf trips, but the special memories of their shared history will always remain with them. “We're back to sharing rooms together, now it’s on golf trips!” 

Filmed in Verbier 2025, Thomas wears the Tryvann Down Jacket, Tryvann 3L Trousers, Duke National Crewneck Sweater and Ski Logo Wool Headband; Simen wears the Tryvann Lt Down Vest, Tryvann 3L Trousers, Tryvann Top and Ski Logo Wool Headband; and Lara Rosenbaum (USA) wears the Steilia Faux Fur Down Jacket.