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The Stumptown Birkebeiner is an impromptu urban ski race that leads skiers through downtown. Organizers plan a race every day this weekend.

(Stumptown Birkebeiner)

Thursday's snowstorm has led to an exodus from downtown Portland and has cancelled several events, including the much-anticipated Polar Plunge. But the weather has actually inspired the announcement of another event all together – Portland's impromptu urban ski race.

Dubbed the "Stumptown Birkebeiner," the event is a roughly-organized, multi-day ordeal that may or may not include three days of races, a book tour and a Nordic procession through the Pearl District.

It all starts Friday morning at 9 a.m. near Powell's Books (N.W. 11th and Couch). The route will likely run down the North Park blocks, through the Pearl District and down 11th back to Powell's.

Organizers want to hold another race Saturday morning (same time, same place), then meet up at 6 p.m. at Patagonia (907 N.W. Irving) to host a Nordic Procession through the Pearl, followed by a book tour with writer Porter Fox at 7. The following morning they're planning a third race, once again at 9 a.m. near Powell's.

It's ambitious to say the least.

The race has happened only once before, back in 2008, but the history of the true Birkebeiner races goes back much further. In 1206, Norwegian skiers traveled through treacherous mountains and forests to smuggle the young son of King Sverresson and Inga of Vartieg to safety in the midst of the Norwegian Civil War. Dubbed Birkebeiners for their protective birch bark leggings, the skiers were hailed as heroes or villains, depending on which side of the civil war you were on.

The tradition was resurrected in 1932, as Norwegians started the annual Birkebeiner ski race from Rena to Lillehammer, carrying packs on their backs to represent the 18-month-old child. Americans adopted the tradition in 1973 with the American Birkebeiner, held each year in Wisconsin, which draws more than 13,000 skiers and 20,000 spectators.

Portland's race will be a little smaller. In 2008, there were only eight participants, but there's no real telling how many people will show up this weekend.

If you do go, there are exactly five rules to know for the Birkebeiner, according to its website: Wear something colorful, speak Swedish or Norweigen, yield to large motorized vehicles, have fun and promise to come the next time.

When will the next race be? You'll have to keep an eye on the sky (and the Birkebeiner website) to know.

--Jamie Hale