OLDS — As winter descended this year, I finally fulfilled a desire I’d been thinking about for a while.
I tried cross-country skiing, also known as Nordic skiing.
I had finally decided to step back from downhill skiing, a sport my siblings and I had pursued enthusiastically for about five decades after being introduced to it by our parents.
I figured Nordic skiing might be similar; use some of the same skills, and thus be a different, but still pleasant way to still enjoy skiing.
So I tried it, with Mountain View Nordic Ski Club president Warren Smith. It worked out pretty well. I got into it and remained upright except for two falls – one in a college parking lot and another while trying cross a ditch.
Both were embarrassing, humbling, but didn’t deter me. And there were no broken bones.
Smith and his wife were introduced to the sport in the 1970s by a friend.
All these years later, Smith still loves it. He not only skis regularly, but he and a friend also set tracks for fellow enthusiasts by towing a device hooked up to a snowmobile.
Those trails are set at Trail Creek, southwest of Olds and now at the Rotary Athletic Park.
Smith was asked what he likes about the sport.
“It's about being in the outdoors in the winter, generating heat so not usually cold,” he wrote in a text.
“It's a total physical workout, upper, lower, arms and shoulders, the feeling of a sweet long glide.
“It is, for most, so invigorating, embracing winter. It is gentle on the joints, no pounding, just kick and glide. Quiet and social.”
Smith took me up on a suggestion that he give me a bit of a lesson.
First we went to the Community Learning Campus (CLC) Outdoor Centre by the gym to get some gear.
The Outdoor Centre rents a wide range of gear for winter activities in addition to Nordic gear. Some examples include snowshoes, skates, ice cleats and tents.
According to an equipment rental pricing sheet, an adult waxless classic package is $32 per weekend, $60 a week. For youth, it’s $24 per weekend and $48 per week.
A weekend is defined as four days. Equipment can be picked up any time Friday and returned any time Monday. The weekly package goes for seven days. You can pick it up any time on Day 1 and return it any time on Day 7.
We headed out to Trail Creek, a property made available to the Mountain View Nordic Ski Club by a very generous landowner.
As Smith noted, there are lots of trees on the property, which not only make it scenic, but also attracts the occasional wildlife.
The trees also help shelter skiers from the wind. Fortunately for us, it wasn’t that windy on that day anyway.
Smith started out by teaching me how to get into the skis. They’re different from downhill skis because they’re a lot skinnier and the bindings are designed so you can lift your heel to give you an added push as you glide along the track.
It was an adjustment, but I got into the skis pretty readily, thanks to Smith’s assistance and encouragement.
We then proceeded on to a flat area along a road.
That same patience and encouragement was evident as Smith showed me how to glide, pushing first one ski, then the other; the same with the poles, in a steady rhythm.
The trick to keeping your balance he said, is to look ahead.
I followed that advice – most of the time, but too often, I found myself barely looking ahead of my skis out of fear of falling.
After doing fairly well along the road, Smith took me into a trail branching out into the trees.
This was a fair bit scarier for a guy trying the sport for the first time.
Instead of a nice, long open space parallel to the road, this trail weaved in and out through the trees.
Granted, it was more scenic and certainly a challenge and undoubtedly way more interesting for a guy who’s done the sport as long as Smith has.
He was way ahead of me – all the time – but patiently waited for me to catch up.
Despite my nervousness, it all went pretty well.
Until the effort to cross the ditch.
I almost made it across, but eventually fell.
Trying to get up was a real struggle. In the end, I had to admit defeat, take my skis off and roll over to get up.
But it wasn’t bad. As I said before, no broken bones. And thanks to Smith’s advice, I had lots of layers of clothing which not only kept me warm, but generally kept the snow out too.
I would recommend cross-country/Nordic Skiing.
It’s not very expensive and not all that hard to learn. I plan to go again, and this time, take more extensive lessons.
Doug Collie is an editor with the Albertan.
