Norwegian alpine skier Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and his American fiancée Mikaela Shiffrin – one of the most decorated skiers in the world – have faced thrilling highs and harrowing lows together, including recent simultaneous career-worst crashes. Taking a brief pause from the breakneck speed of the ski runs (and their daily schedules) the couple invite us to their remote fjord getaway outside Oslo to capture a slower moment away from the slopes
Like many Vogue Scandinavia photoshoots, the task of capturing Norwegian alpine skier Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, together with his fiancée and fellow ski star Mikaela Shiffrin, required an ‘off-piste’ adventure beyond the beaten track. To reach the shoot location, the Kilde family cabin that sits on an island a two-hour drive (and a short boat ride) from Oslo, our team members were ferried back and forth across the fjord, a few at a time, by Kilde himself – with cameras, equipment and clothing in tow. Later, the couple cosied up for the camera’s lens, gazing out at the surrounding inlets, pine trees and undulating rocky terrain of the Langøy island from the same vessel.
It’s not the first time that Kilde and Colorado-born Shiffrin have found themselves in the same boat, albeit recently it’s been in a more figurative sense. About six months before our shoot, in a case of synchronised severe misfortune, both of the elite champions experienced the worst crash of their career. Soaring downhill at no less than 120 kilometres an hour towards the finish line of a race in Switzerland, 32-year-old Kilde missed a turn and catapulted into the safety net, sustaining a slew of lacerations, dislocations and nerve damage. He was swiftly airlifted to hospital in the nearby city of Bern. Upon news of the crash, 29-year-old Shiffrin dropped everything to be by his side when he woke from surgery.
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The couple properly connected whilst Mikaela was navigating the death of her father and Aleksander was overcoming a knee injury. He reached out to her on social media and they’ve been each other’s unwavering support ever since. Mikaela wears Classic belted trench coat, €2,131. Burberry. 18k yellow gold earrings with diamonds, €18,700. Ole Lynggaard. Cotton scarf. Mark Kenly Domino Tan. Aleksander wears Cotton sweater, €349, Denim trousers, €120. Both BOSS. Photo: Eivind Hamran
From his hospital bed just two weeks later, Kilde was watching a livestream of Shiffrin competing in the Italian Dolomites when suddenly she struggled to regain balance after a jump and careened off the course at high speed. “It was a very strange situation,” Kilde says. “I had a physiotherapist there working on my shoulder and at the same time we were watching Mikaela on the screen. Suddenly, she went ‘ka-bang’ into the nets. My physio just stopped moving, he didn’t know what to do,” he laughs, reflecting on the absurdity of the situation.
While Shiffrin’s injuries were not as critical as Kilde’s, the duo were both abruptly forced to gear-shift from the apex of their athletic game to a bed-bound state, spending weeks away from scheduled races and enduring rounds of rehabilitation. “It has been incredibly tough for both of us, especially during those first weeks,” Kilde says. “But maintaining the same positive mentality as each other, and being in the same boat, it really helps.”