No Longer Want to Go Downhill Skiing? Try Cross-country Skiing

“Cross-country skiing is for old people” my partner’s son said in horror when we mentioned we were going to ski in the French Alps.

It’s true that ‘alpine’ skiing is the form of skiing seen as glamorous and sporty and cross-country skiing is seen as the poor cousin – but in fact cross-country is more fun than you might think. This was to be my first time cross-country skiing (ski du fond as it’s called here in France) and we decided to give it a go because my partner broke his back downhill skiing a few years ago and was understandably put off the slopes afterwards. (He had a clean fracture in one vertebra, which healed well, but nevertheless he spent a long time in a cast and then in physiotherapy.)

We chose to ski at Molines, a tiny village in the beautiful natural park of the Queyras in the French Alps. A quick search online got us a reasonably-priced apartment (400 dollars for a week) and off we went. I bought the skis and shoes I needed for cross-country skiing as they different from the equipment used in Alpine skiing. My partner decided to hire. Again, he hired everything he needed on the spot and prices were very affordable.

When I spoke to friends about going cross-country skiing, it was clear they thought that it was just a matter of gliding along on flat terrain and probably pretty boring. The reality is different and you can choose pistes that are as steep and complex, or as flat and simple, as you like.

We’d chosen an apartment in a building at Molines that had the ski lift for Alpine skiers right in front of it and the tracks for cross-country skiers right behind it. Twenty steps or so and we were on the track. For beginners, there were parallel tracks or grooves cut into the snow so you can just get your skis into them and stay on course if you want to.For anyone wondering ‘How easy is cross-country skiing?’, the answer is it’s pretty easy, and even easier if you just want to stay in the grooves.

Although you need to know how to use the snow plough manoeuvre and you need to know how to turn, and stop – just as in downhill skiing – one clear difference in cross-country skiing is that you need to climb slopes, sometimes steep ones. To do this, you either ascend with both skis parallel to the slope (making sure you don’t end up careering backwards downhill!) or you use a ‘duck’s step’, going forward by opening the front half of your skis in a ’10 to 2′ angle and moving one ski forward after the other.

To cross-country ski on flat snow you push one foot forward forcefully while lifting the heel of your other foot, which trails behind you until you push that foot forward, lifting the heel of the other foot. It’s just a matter of getting the rhythm and you’re off. Some people use their batons, both at the same time, to push themselves along, keeping their feet together, but that seems to me a pretty limited way to move. With the basic cross-country skiing step, which look likes fast walking, or gliding, you can move surprisingly quickly.

The other step you’ll want to learn is the ‘ice skating’ step. In this step, you ‘kick’ one ski back and to your side as you glide forward on the other. Then you kick the opposite ski back and away from you. Again, once you get the rhythm, you move quickly.

We covered an average of maybe 20 kilometers each day and it was great exercise in breathakingly beautiful sourroundings. We’d pack a picnic in the morning and off we’d go. We skied quite high into the Alps, crossed through avalanche zones (snow conditions were officially safe at the time) and descended onto flat snow to ski by frozen rivers. The sky was a deep azure blue every day, without a single wisp of cloud. The sun was dazzlingly brilliant on the virgin snow and there were few other skiers around. Everyone was on ‘the slopes’ and yet we were also on slopes as well as every other kind of snow!

If you’re wondering “Is cross-country skiing fun?” or “How easy is cross-country skiing?” I’d say: give it a go. It’s a lot of fun. It’s not expensive. It’s easy to learn. And compared with downhill skiing, it’s relatively safe. So next time you think of going skiing and taking to the slopes you might instead consider cross-country. We tried ‘raquettes’ one day as well – tennis-racket sized shoes which allowed us to walk into soft snow, into pine forest and to explore the riverside in detail. That was quite good fun – but cross-country skiing was even better.

Source: personal experience, skiing in Molines in the Queyras in France, January 2012.


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