Cross Country Skiing

[nscrbug]

After being glued to the TV, watching all of the Winter Olympic Nordic skiing events...I have somehow convinced myself that this is something I would like to try. Let me preface this by saying...the ONLY time I have put on skis of ANY type, was in high school gym class back in 1982!!! It was cross-country and I have to admit...I didn't take to it very well. Fell down a LOT, and was just very uncoordinated in general. Up until now, that one experience had left a rather unpleasant taste in my mouth in regards to skiing. BUT...after watching several events on TV and seeing how hard those athletes are working...I am up for the challenge.

I live in IL, so we have plenty of snow. I found a golf club a few miles away, that does a ski rental package. It's $12 for the boots, skis, & poles for 2 hours...so very reasonable, IMO. Their website says that skiers have access of the golf clubs grounds to get to the "groomed trails" which are located in an adjacent forest preserve. I'm thinking this might be a good option for my hubby and I to give cross-country a try. Am I in over my head with this? Should we take lessons first? Or is this something that we could "pick up" on our own by just getting out there and doing it? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Linda

[Cataboo]

There's a bunch of videos on you tube, if you want to get an idea of the technique.

I haven't had lessons and just mostly have been taking myself & my skis to go play in the snow. I'm okay going uphill (well, relatively), on flats, and my downhills leave a bit to be desired. I need to learn a telemark turn.

However, I have mastered the art of avoiding hitting trees on the downhills:



Even if it's just flinging myself to the ground before impact.

[Crankin]

I sort of taught myself and took a couple of lessons back in the day when the rest of my family was off doing downhill (those days are long over). For 12 years, I didn't do much except go on green trails and some mild blue ones. About five years ago we got invited to go skiing with our cycling buddies, who are serious x country skiers. With their encouragement, I am now climbing pretty steep slopes and going downhill (not that pretty, but without falling). I tend to avoid very skinny trails that are surrounded by trees! Seriously, I've skied black trails at some touring centers that are tough, but are wider.
I occasionally go out in conservation land and ski there, but nothing too crazy. I like going out after a fresh snow, when there's fresh tracks from another person! I'm not much of a risk taker, so I really prefer going to groomed trails, but some of them are pretty tough.
I am not fast, but generally I can handle most stuff. I went skiing with a group last month for the first time and I was able to "fit in" with the people. Some were very experienced, better technical skiers than me, but slower, as they were older (like late sixties) than me. The 2 women my age were just a little faster, but I seemed to have more endurance, so by the end, they were skiing with me.

[nscrbug]

Ok...so I see some of you reference trails by "colors"...green, blue, black. I assume the different colors represent different levels of difficulty or skill, am I right? What should I be looking for, as a total novice?

I'm glad to hear that some of you are self-taught skiers...which is probably the route we will end up taking. It's nice to know that it IS possible to learn this on our own...as I doubt my hubby would be up for taking formal lessons.

[roadie gal]

Striding (classic skiing) is easy to just pick up, especially if you're not planning on racing. At its most basic it's like walking on skis. If you're going to get aggressive or race then it's worth taking lessons because being efficient, with good technique, is much more important.

Skating is much more technique driven. If you're interested in that I would start with a lesson. Otherwise it can be EXTREMELY frustrating and tiring.

The colors do refer to the difficulty of the trails. Green is easiest, followed by blue and then black. Start with the green and see how it feels. Move up to harder stuff if the green seems easy or you want to challenge yourself. Each ski area rates its runs differently. There are no set standards (this applies to downhill areas, too). The ratings are a comparison of the runs at that resort to each other, not to other areas. A blue run at an "easier" area might just be a green at a "harder" one.

[Skierchickie]

Self-taught here - both striding and skating. When I was 9 my parents borrowed skis from some friends, and Dad took us each out in the yard, one at a time (only 2 pairs) to see if we liked it. We did. When our own skis showed up, the poles were back-ordered, so we went out around the yard without them for a few days (which is a very very good way to learn technique!). My sister later turned to downhill (and lives in Texas now), but Mom & Dad and I are still at it, 35 years later.

It can definitely be done without lessons. I don't really agree that skating is more technique-driven, though. I think it is more strength driven, and so you feel it more if you aren't doing it correctly. Well, actually, I think you have to have the strength before you can have the technique, if that makes any sense. I've always thought striding was more technical - it's just that you can shuffle along from Point A to Point B with really poor technique. An awful lot of people really don't have any kick at all, and just shuffle. Which is fine, by the way, as long as it is fun!

I say, go out and give it a try, and then see if you want to take lessons later. Get a feel for the skis first, anyway, or you'll be wasting your time and money on a lesson, when you're just trying to get comfortable standing on the things that first time.

Have fun!

[Kathi]

I started classic skiing last year. I'm an alpine skier who was in a season long women's clinic. One of the instructors is an awesome Nordic skier, she tried out for the PSIA demo team. She offered lessons after our downhill lessons and they were wonderful. I learned to glide and other basic skills necessary for classic skiing. I even rode the beginner chairlift! The hardest part is getting your balance but that came pretty quickly for me.

I bought skis and boots a few years ago but didn't use them until last year. I've used them about 10 times, enough to know they aren't right for me. Unlike alpine skis, the size of nordic skis are by weight. My skis were rated below 140 lbs. They are too stiff for my mere 105 lbs so I just bought another pair, women's, that are rated 90-120 lbs. Trying to figure out the correct ski for me has been the hardest part of this venture.

I’m really enjoying this sport, it's great for weekends when the slopes are crowded and good exercise. Here's some websites that I found useful as a beginner.

http://www.xcskiworld.com/equip/equip_5minute.htm
http://www.xcskiworld.com/training/Technique/intro.htm
http://www.xcskiworld.com/training/T...ue/classic.htm

Specifically for women, scroll down to XC Clinic for Women.
http://www.xcskiresorts.com/WomenXCEvents2.html

As one of the articles points out, learning on a groomed course is probably the best place to start. A lesson or 2 will help to get you on your way. Have fun, it's a great sport.

[Kathi]

Groomed means the snow is packed down, a wide area for skate skiing, 2 tracks for classic skiing. I use the tracks to glide in flat areas and easy uphills and downhills. For herringboning uphill and snowplowing downhill I use the skate skiing area.

[DebW]

I mostly stay out of the set tracks at groomed areas. I'm more used to backcountry skiing and find the tracks too wide. Also, I frequently find the tracks glazed and not gripping my wax as well as the snow outside the tracks.

[Crankin]

It's true back country skis are too wide for the tracks. One of the times I went with an AMC group to Windblown, one woman had bc skis because they were more comfortable than her regular ones. She spent the whole time skiing in the skating lane and was miserable. By the end, she couldn't keep up, even with me. My new skis are wider than my old ones, but still fit in the tracks.
I wouldn't mind doing some back country skiing, but it would require different skis. Not this year...
Until then, I prefer to ski in the tracks on the flats and little uphills and downhills, but serious climbing/descending in the skate lane.

[DebW]

My backcountry skis are a tad wide for the tracks. But regardless of that, I think the distance between the 2 tracks is too wide. It's just uncomfortable to have to keep my feet that far apart. It's not a natural stride. And I've done many many all-day backcountry ski tours.

I'll probably be at Windblow this Saturday unless it's going to raining all day.

[Kathi]

Skied my new women's specific skis today. Wow, what a difference over my unisex skis. My balance was better, gliding, climbing and snowplowing so much easier. I skied an advanced beginner trail backwards and went down a pretty steep hill without problems. I felt very secure and confident on these skis.

The width of the tracks don't bother me, probably because I'm used to the width of 78-96 mm alpine skis. At first the narrowness of the skis and lack of support from the boots was much more disconcerting to me.

We don't have the freezing and thawing here that you have in the east so groomed trails here are soft, not icy and the tracks don't get very wide.

My nordic center has a designated place for learning. Tracks and a groomed area on flat terrain, very nice for beginners. Also, a good place to practice gliding witout poles.

After years of alpine skiing I'm excited to discover a new way to enjoy snow.

[Bron]

I'm glad to hear that some of you are self-taught skiers...which is probably the route we will end up taking. It's nice to know that it IS possible to learn this on our own...as I doubt my hubby would be up for taking formal lessons.

I'm self-taught too, although now I'm racing I've taken some coaching which has made an enormous amount of difference.

I've always thought striding was more technical - it's just that you can shuffle along from Point A to Point B with really poor technique. An awful lot of people really don't have any kick at all, and just shuffle. Which is fine, by the way, as long as it is fun!

My thoughts too - somehow getting decent skating technique has been so much more difficult than sorting out my classic ski-ing.

[beccaB]

This is really good timing. My husband wants us to cross country ski, but he wants to buy the equipment from craigs list sellers, and I'm nervous about doing that. I imagine with technology changes we might have a hard time matching up the bindings with the shoes we have to get new. I just won't wear other people's stuff on my feet!
The trails we have access to are un-groomed and hilly, but I see a lot of ski tracks out there when I'm snowshoeing.

[Ja Da Dee]

My husband and I started classic skiing last year, and are having a load of fun! We were able to purchase a package deal from REI at a really reasonable price. you also may want to look into closeout because the winter is coming to an end. Personally, I skipped craigslist because I don't know enough about the equipment to purchase used.