Cross Country Skiing - is winter a wonderland?

For the lucky ones who live in a four seasons climate (with snow!) cross country skiing is a terrific cross training activity. It's a perfect fit - often when the running trails are too sloppy or icy, or when fresh snow has just fallen we have poor running conditions but great cross country trails.

Most northern cities have a few urban park areas where the city will maintain cross country ski trails. This extends your cross country season because at the beginning of winter and towards spring trail conditions need grooming.

I'll admit I'm a cross country enthusiast. We have a big central park area that's on my way home, and if the snow is good I'll stop for a ski on my way home from work several times a week. I'll also admit that it took me years to really get into cross country. I have both traditional skis and skate skis. Traditional cross country is easier technically speaking but you are more dependent on the right trail conditions and trail grooming. Skate skiing is easy to adapt to if you can ice skate, and it's a wonderfully graceful activity!

You know, there's more to cross country skiing than just cross training. I ran across this excellent video - parts of which were filmed in my own back yard. (Well, within a few hour's drive anyway...)

Here it is, the reason we're kind of nuts about this winter sport, as told by an member of the Canadian Olympic team. This is why we live here...

And now, on to the hard core info!

Calories Burned

Cross Country - It's a workout!

Balancing all this strenuous stuff is the incredible feeling of being able to be outside in the winter - pretty well regardless of the temperature - and be comfortable. Once you figure out how to dress for a given temperature and wind condition you will find that the heat your body generates during exercise means you can dress very lightly for the weather. But don't stray too far from a warm spot in case you need to make an emergency stop! If you're skiing in the country take a backpack with extra clothes in case you break a ski and need to walk out.

Planning for Ski Success

The good news is that everything else you'll need for cross country you will also use when you are running: socks, tights, long underwear, a light and medium fleece, nylon windbreaker,toque , and a couple pairs of gloves that you can wear in 'inner' and 'outer' layers. The principles for cross country clothes are much the same as for running: don't wear cotton and do wear layers so you can regulate your body temperature as you warm up and cool down.

Benefits of Cross Country Skiing

Downsides to consider are learning to ski if you don't know how (but most northern cities have clubs offering introductory courses). Oh, and another downside is moping around with the "Nordics" in August hoping for snow! If that's the case, buy a pair of roller skis and get on the trails!