Through some rigorous convincing by a friend, I decided to tackle cross country classic skiing. There were two options of cross country skiing to choose from: skate and classic. After getting a quick explanation on the differences between the two, I figured skate skiing would be a bit more physical and challenging, so I decided to tackle classic skiing instead. Early the next day, we embarked on a road trip to explore this new endeavor at the Nordic School in Vail, Colorado.
The Nordic School offers a beginner's class that provides a couple of hours of lessons and all the equipment needed. Although it looks quite fun, I wasn't sure my legs would be up for the challenge. But hey, you only live once and I'm always up for trying something new.
We were fitted very quickly for our gear and then our instructor Jan drove us 30 minutes out to a nice open flat space. We were surrounded by a gorgeous scenery of mountains, trees and snow, it also was an area where we could we could learn to cross country ski without worrying about being run over by snowmobilers.
Although the snow terrain was a bit icy, as the day progressed and the sun came out, the snow became softer and easier to plow through. Jan was an awesome and patient instructor, she had us practice with one ski on a foot at a time. Then we progressed to having both skis on and once we had mastered that then we proceeded to add the poles to the equation.
About 45 minutes into the lesson I got my rhythm going and started truly enjoying cross country skiing. By the time I was done with my lesson I was hooked. It was definitely a great leg and core workout, not only I felt like I had an awesome workout but I also felt exhilarated and accomplished. I truly enjoyed every minute of it.
Amazingly, I felt graceful and badass at the same time and found it was a great way to just relax and enjoy the scenery as I glided through the snow at my own pace.
If you have never tried cross country classic skiing, then I suggest you give it a shot. If you're afraid of the physicality involved, I found it pretty low impact and a lot easier on the body (unless you take on cross country skate skiing or take on hills).
Unfortunately, winter is over but I'm certainly going to do more cross country skiing next winter season.
