Wow, how did I not know about this 36 page thread before now?!

Anyhow, I'd love to pick all y'all's brains about XC skiing. As a pre-teen I had a nice pair of skis. My entire family was equipped. We had a lot of fun. Nowadays I have a fat bike...but in the Winter it's REALLY cold and can be icy on the beach and after busting my wrist mtn. biking 3 years ago I don't really want to ride trails, even though we're seeing more and more groomed specifically for fat bikes. Trees scare the bejeezus out of me at any speed. Add slippery ice and snow to the mix and...meh.

14 year old DS had a field trip 6 months ago to a nearby Winter sports complex and XC skied for the first time and LOVED it. We have running snowshoes and neither of us enjoyed that (I'm a year 'round runner and found that my strides are too narrow and I couldn't keep even the minimalist running snowshoes from whacking against each other with each step).

Tonight a friend was telling me that she thinks I'd really like skate skiing, since I'm so aerobically active and have strong legs. I'd never given that much thought, before. I had been thinking if we bought new ski packages that we'd just look at classics.

So I guess I'm curious to hear what you ladies might recommend.