A Tribute to Leif Torgerson aka Doctor Wax

Martin Matsbo (l) and Torgersen in 1973 © courtesy of Swix

April 03, 2012 (Norway) – For many in the cross-country ski community, Norwegian Leif Torgersen was fondly known as “Doctor Wax”, the man who literally ate, slept and drank wax science during his  years as senior research scientist at Swix. He truly looked the part – straight out of the 1930s, professorial with eyeglasses, and a quirky demeanor. His affection for every aspect of the cross-country ski sport was well known as he was equally at home skiing the tracks or in the backcountry as he was working at a World Cup or Olympic event.

My first encounter with Torgersen was an epic 30-below bright sunny December tour around Oslo’s Nordmarka tracks with him, fellow Swix employee Harald Bjerke, and then ski writer Casey Sheahan. We literally froze our toes off but it didn’t matter as the snow was green wax perfect and the camaraderie the best. A year later in the spring, Sheahan, writer John Dostal and I joined Torgersen and Norwegian Ski Council chief, Tor-Eric Hannes Larsen, on a backcountry tour in Norway’s Jutenheimen Mountains. Torgersen had the time of his life as the wild environment suited him to a tee.

Torgersen in the laboratory 1998 © courtesy of Swix

Following our Jutenheimen outing, we drove to Geilo to ski in the annual Skarvarennet race/tour. The afternoon before the event Torgersen pulled out a new wax called Cera F and meticulously, and very secretly, waxed our skis. The next day as Sheahan, Dostal and I skated along passing Norwegian B and C team members, we experienced instant fame as they screamed at us: “What kind of wax are you using?” In the finish area, people crowded around wanting more information on the “secret” wax. Torgersen stood by smiling slyly.

Leif at Skarverennet 2008 © courtesy of SWIX

Years later, Torgersen arrived at my home in Bend, Oregon in June  to help with one my  cross-country summer racing camps at Mount Bachelor Nordic. He worked diligently with the camp’s participants on their waxing techniques. But on one particularly brilliant, warm morning he disappeared.

Later, with a huge grin on his freshly sunburned face he reappeared offering, “It’s such a beautiful day, I couldn’t resist the temptation to ascend the mountain and ski back down.” Over 3,000 vertical feet on racing skis that most assuredly had been waxed to go fast.

Torgersen passed away January 26.

2 Comments For This Post

1. Marty Hall, NH, USA says:
   April 3rd, 2012 at 1:46 pm

   In 1983, at the pre-Olympics in Sarajevo, we had one of the more horrendous weeks of waxing, maybe the worst in my career in skiing.
   it was literally impossible to find a wax to work on any of 2-3 days of racing we had and more cheating went on in these races then maybe in the history of the sport. There were more iced up skis, stilts like you couldn’t believe, changing of skis, illegal assistance, skiing through the finish area so skis couldn’t be checked–it was a wild week.
   I can remember at the airport standing on the tarmac waiting to board our plane and being in discussion with Leif and his statement, saying that all of the know principles of waxing that he had learned over the years went out the window here in Sarajevo this week. He was not looking forward to being here next year at all. What was ironic was the next winter at the Olympics, when we had all come prepared for another wild and wooly experience, we used one combination of wax day after day, SWIX EXTRA BLUe!! About half way through the schedule we were asking ourselves if this could be true. It was too easy!!
   We’ll miss Leif, it was always an exciting time for conversation when it was about racing and waxing—he always had a story or some new theory to bring forward. He was one of those guys, in skiing, you looked forward to running into in an airport or out on the tracks. He was the best.

2. Hal Higdon, Indiana, USA says:
   August 2nd, 2012 at 1:07 pm

   I was in the process of blogging some of my Olympic memories, mostly summer, but also winter since I wrote Olympic previews in Travel & Leisure before Sarajevo, Calgary and Albertville. While surfing around for information, I discovered that my good friend Leif Torgersen had died earlier in the year. Adding to Bob Woodward’s tribute, let me cut and paste from my blog:

   “While in (Sarajevo), I took a bus up to the Olympic venues to see the downhill slopes, but to ski on the cross country course. I stopped at the trailer used by the Norwegian ski team, training on the course they would race a year later. I had visited Norway on several occasions for running assignments, so had become friends with Leif Torgerson, a representative with Swix, the wax company. He outfitted me with skis, poles and probably boots, because I had not brought any gear with me to Yugoslavia.

   “I set out on one of the Olympic courses, either mistakenly or perversely skiing in the opposite direction of how it would be skied by competition. It was an eerie experience, because while it had been raining in the lower elevations in Sarajevo, it was snowing in the mountains—but there was thunder and lightning, which made me somewhat nervous skiing among tall trees.

   “I should have been more nervous by my choice to ski backwards on the course, since suddenly a pack of Russian skiers came over the hill moving at a much faster clip than I could imagine. I quickly leaped out of the tracks and into deep snow to get out of their way. Not long after, I almost got taken out by a snowmobile with the ABC Sports logo in front, but such dangers were minor compared to the dangers faced by the citizens of Sarajevo a decade later.

   “I prefer to remember Sarajevo the way I saw it in 1983.”

   I also remember visits to Oslo, several times in summer, one time in winter, where we stayed at the same hotel next to the jumps at Holmenkollen where most of the skiers also stayed. I skied a 42-K race at Holmenkollen, but also the Birkebeiner at Lillehammer, where I finished far, far behind Norwegian grandmothers. It amazed me that the downill resort above town had gentle slopes that wove down the mountain, whereas Birkie skiers plunged straight down the same hill. I was less scared falling than getting hit from behind by someone in full tuck position.

   But back to Leif. While we were at Holmenkollen, he and his wife joined us for dinner. I don’t remember what we ate, but I do remember Leif declining any wine–not a single glass! He said that Norwegian laws were so strict about drunken driving that even one glass might be too much.

   I haven’t seen Leif in many years. Thanks, Bob, for letting me share this Olympic memory of him.

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