 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
is crosscountry skiing more difficult than regular skiing? I`m a beginner skier but would like to give crosscountry a go. I`m wondering though if the skinny skiis are much harder to balance on. I tried crosscountry before but with normal skiis, and it was fun while there were little hills to go down on but as soon as it reached flat ground it was nearly impossible because of the weight of the skiis! I like the idea though of it because of all the little trails in the woods and also seems a little less dangerous than skiing, i am a bit afraid of the drag lifts as well, when i got lessons 3 years ago in Seefeld, we did well going down the slopes but terrible on the lifts, evreytime we reached the top we kept falling off them , so now i`m afraid of them.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Tried it once, many years ago, when i was a beginner skier - all I remember is that it was b****y hard work although really nice views and really peaceful when I got into the woods, although not nice enough to ever try it again! The bindings didn't release either when i fell over so I can imagine a few injuries are caused by it, but don't know if this has changed since I tried (back in 1998 I think).
Don't give up on drag lifts - they can be a pain but stick with them, and once you get used to them and have a bit more experience they're dead easy 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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There are some other threads about Nordic skiing on this site.
I personally find it more difficult but I came from a reasonable alpine background and so the lack of edges / heel lift scared me silly initially on any sort of downhill. To do well takes a huge amount of practice and will get you very fit. Bindings still don't release at the toe.
By "little trails" do you mean groomed trails (i.e machine set) or just random footpaths. If random footpaths you need Nordic Touring (or backcountry Nordic) which are a halfway house between Nordic (which generally takes place on groomed trails) and alpine touring.
Read this thread http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=1741873 lot info with in it about resorts and techniques.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I think it's easier.
I started on both about the same time and enjoy x-c skiing more sooner. (actually, I was also scared of drag lifts so thought x-c skiing without lift were more appealing).
The lighter setup makes going on the flat or even slight uphills much easier.
You need a lesson or two to get the hang of going uphill efficiently (and fast on the flats). And maybe even a little bit of the x-c specific turns.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I tried it a few years ago in Lapland. At the start I couldn't balance on the skis to save my lif. After a few hours when I got used to them I found it much easier to balance and ski. I found the boots hurt much less than downhill ski boots. Once I got in the rhythm of the movement then it also became much easier. At all times I skied in the groomed trails though many people were skiing in the centre of the trails. I only struggled when I had to ski where there were no grooves. After 3 days of lessons we went off on our own to a frozen lake and managed to do about 10 km which I thought was pretty good for a first attempt. But agree with all the other comments that it is definately physically demanding. But the scenery you get to see is well worth it especially in Lapland. Not sure if I would try it again though now that I've started to learn downhill skiing.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Not sure that it is any easier just very different. Shuffling (not sure what the proper term is) on machine set tracks is fairly straightforward but skating with any style for any length of time is another story altogether. Its also best if you don't apply Alpine turning techniques as you either fall over or keep going straight!
To my mind one ting worth paying attention to is clothing. If you wear normal ski kit you will boil - at least I did. It wasn't just uncomfortable it began to feel very unhealthy. Fantastic work out though and you might discover groin muscles you never knew you had.
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Not sure that it is any easier just very different. Shuffling (not sure what the proper term is) on machine set tracks is fairly straightforward but skating with any style for any length of time is another story altogether. Its also best if you don't apply Alpine turning techniques as you either fall over or keep going straight!
To my mind one ting worth paying attention to is clothing. If you wear normal ski kit you will boil - at least I did. It wasn't just uncomfortable it began to feel very unhealthy. Fantastic work out though and you might discover groin muscles you never knew you had.
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Not sure that it is any easier just very different. Shuffling (not sure what the proper term is) on machine set tracks is fairly straightforward but skating with any style for any length of time is another story altogether. Its also best if you don't apply Alpine turning techniques as you either fall over or keep going straight!
To my mind one ting worth paying attention to is clothing. If you wear normal ski kit you will boil - at least I did. It wasn't just uncomfortable it began to feel very unhealthy. Fantastic work out though and you might discover groin muscles you never knew you had.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@ian999 It's "gliding", not shuffling! Well, it is supposed to be. In practice there's a lot of shuffling.
OP, I'm switching the other way this year - done a few years XC, want to try Alpine and wondering what it will be like. For me, one of the best things about XC is that its a way of getting out into the wilderness in winter - no lift queues, no hordes of people, no noise except for you going along. Magic! Re. danger, the main risk seems to be falling over in the icy car park, which is the only way I've known people get hurt 
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Kick-and-glide is what I believe the best description for it, "proper term" or not!
"Shuffling" is when you don't kick properly and got no glide. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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By "little trails" do you mean groomed trails (i.e machine set) or just random footpaths. If random footpaths you need Nordic Touring (or backcountry Nordic) which are a halfway house between Nordic (which generally takes place on groomed trails) and alpine touring.
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No you don't - I did over a hundred km on track skis around my house last year (just north of aberdeen), I was doing between 10 and 20km a day for over a fortnight and the nearest I got to cut trails were the ploughed and packed back roads, which were great for skating on. In deep soft snow the only real advantage of nordic touring kit is a bit of extra flotation from the extra width to help keep you above the snow and control on downhills, probably outweighed by the extra weight. On unpisted trails going out is hard work as your basically cutting the tracks, but on the way back you have cut tracks to ski in - you made them. The only big advantage of touring kit is if there are any steep downhills as you'll have better control, but the kit is heavy.
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Shuffling" is when you don't kick properly and got no glide.
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Or you've chosen the wrong wax for the conditions
I've got to admit I do find it a bit sad when I'm out xc skiing and you see people out for a walk on skis.
If anyone is in the aberdeenshire area HNOC (http://www.nordicski.co.uk/hnoc) open day is on the 6th NOvember and we will be offering free xc tuition - classic on the mat, downhill techniques on our downhill slope and skating on rollerskis .
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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thank you evreyone for your advice, i think i might give crosscountry a go, maybe hire out skis for 1 day and see if we preer it if not we`ll just go back to trying downhill skiing, i`ll have to try and get over my big fear of drag lifts!
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| Dave Horsley wrote: |
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Shuffling" is when you don't kick properly and got no glide.
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Or you've chosen the wrong wax for the conditions
I've got to admit I do find it a bit sad when I'm out xc skiing and you see people out for a walk on skis. |
That explains the popularity of snowshoes, even on flat terrain. No glide, just walk.
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You know it makes sense.
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That explains the popularity of snowshoes, even on flat terrain. No glide, just walk.
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Mind you with the amount of snow we've had in the Clash the last couple of years you needed something on your feet be it skis or snowshoes to do any walking (or wee wee the pisteurs off by walking on the cut tracks) otherwise you were upto your thighs in snow for quite long distances. Still if you have got skis on your feet its seems a shame not to use them properly and actually get some glide.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Still if you have got skis on your feet its seems a shame not to use them properly and actually get some glide.
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Absolutely. and I found I need quite a few lessons to become even remotely competent at classic SC skiing. There's simply no point in shuffling - much better to use snowshoes and just go for a walk in the snow.
I found XC far harder than I'd anticipated, but the place I started was a little more challenging than some - and anything other than a very gentle downhill then the tracks are no good, and you have to learn to snowplough on those difficult skinny skis.
So, my recommendation would be - give it a try but absolutely definitely get proper lessons. You do see a lot of people shuffling round, which is no fun at all. "C'est un sport de glisse, ne marchez pas!" our instructor kept shouting.
conditions make a big difference. Hard frozen classic grooves are very, very, intimidating (they intimidated me, at any rate, and I found falling was more painful than falling on downhill pistes. It's perfectly possible to break wrists, collar bones etc.
We had to do a drag lift on XC skis to avoid a very long uphill slog to the higher reaches of the domain. The downhill slope alongside the lift is a blue one, but with a relatively steep bottom section which we had no chance whatsoever of skiing on XC skis. The instructor warned us that if we fell off we'd have to walk up or down (depending on how far we'd got before falling off) and fortunately we all hung on. Feeling very wobbly.
It's actually quite a salutory lessons for those of us who think we can ski downhill but actually just lean on our equipment.
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Poster: A snowHead
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We had to do a drag lift on XC skis to avoid a very long uphill slog to the higher reaches of the domain. The downhill slope alongside the lift is a blue one, but with a relatively steep bottom section which we had no chance whatsoever of skiing on XC skis.
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The squad were over in Italy recently doing a bit of glacier skiing on an end of summer camp. Seems to get to the xc area they had to take a drag (lift or two) from the top of the cable car followed by skiing down a red all on xc kit while carrying ski bags with spare kit so they had both classic and skate kit with them - I'm sure it was good for their downhill skills
http://www.bnds.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=397:italy-day-2&catid=2:news&Itemid=4
You could always try a bit of rollerskiing to reduce the fear of speed, same nice freeheel bindings and minimal boots, same good balance required, even less control on the downhills and tarmac is even less forgiving than an icy xc track.
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