After Kore’s contract was completed that year he and Eva decided to move to the NSW north coast, where Kore worked as a woodcutter and cane cutter initially camping in the forests around Bellingen and then moving to Woolgoolga.
However, in 1961 the call of the Snowy Mountains and skiing was too strong so Kore and Eva moved to Perisher Valley to manage the Cooma Ski Club lodge. The following years saw the family live in the mountains during the winter and live in Woolgoolga during the rest of the year before eventually settling down in the Snowy Mountains for three decades.
Kore Grunnsund won all combinations, cross-country, ski jump and alpine (slalom) and went on skiing until he was 75.
Kore resumed his competitive skiing career and went on to win eight national and numerous state cross country titles. While winning a number of Jump and Nordic Combined national titles in the early sixties his big goal, the National Cross Country title, eluded him with a string of second places.
Finally, in 1965 he won the title and announced his retirement soon afterwards. Retirement was short-lived, however, and he continued to compete for many years. He competed more in alpine skiing, placing in state events and, in an international slalom race at Thredbo, came second in front of fellow Australian Malcolm Milne, who later won a world championship medal.
His true love, however, was cross country skiing and he worked hard to advance the sport, making new trails and becoming Perisher Valley’s first cross country ski instructor. He became a mentor and inspiration for a generation of cross country skiers both male and female, and nurtured many Australian representatives and national champions.
His exploits led to him and his son Kyrra (also a champion skier) being featured in TV documentary Father and Son on the ABC. He was also legendary for hard work, becoming an expert stonemason and inducting other skiers, including Kyrra, into the trade.
In later years, Kore began visiting his childhood home town of Kroken regularly, torn between his love for Australia and Norway. On three occasions Kore moved back to Norway only to decide a few months later that Australia was the country for him. Kore and Eva moved back to Woolgoolga and then Coffs Harbour, spending his last years at Ingenia Gardens Retirement Village.
Kore Grunnsund died on March 19. He is survived by Eva and Kyrra. Another son, Stig died shortly after birth in 1957.
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