SUNDRE – A program introducing youth to cross-country skiing offered annually by a local volunteer group of outdoor enthusiasts is once again returning to the Sundre Rodeo Grounds.
“We’ve got quite a few kids signed up,” said Katie Jo Munro, a member of the Sundre Bike n’ Ski Club, adding interested participants have to be registered.
The first of this season’s weekly one-hour Sunday afternoon classes, which are intended for youths ages five and up, takes place Jan. 8 starting at 2 p.m., said Munro.
“That’ll be our first day of Jackrabbits over at the rodeo grounds,” she said. “We start in there where it’s flat and get them going.”
Once the basics have been established and the instructors are confident the class is ready, she said the group eventually makes its way up Snake Hill, where the cross-country skiers learn how to go up and down rolling slopes.
While the class is often comprised of kids returning from the previous year, there are usually also a couple of fresh faces, she said.
As cross-country skiing is an outdoor winter activity, the group is of course essentially at the mercy of the elements, but the club is nevertheless aiming to run the Jackrabbits program every Sunday for 10 weeks, she said.
And although the official first day of winter is only about two weeks past, the club has been busy setting tracks ever since the first major snows started to come down.
“We’re pretty surprised actually to have as much snow as fall has given us, which is great,” she said. “We’ve got a good start there.”
Asked how things are shaping up for the club so far this season, she said, “The trails are our main priority.”
However, following the recent cold snap, she said higher temperatures have put a temporary damper on those efforts.
“The last couple of days have been a little too warm to do any track setting,” she told the Albertan on Dec. 28, adding volunteers will be back at it once the weather cools enough.
But the wintertime trails are not limited only to cross-country skiers.
“Fat biking is quite good right now and the cross-country skiing isn’t too bad,” she said. “Of course we’re looking forward to a few more snow falls and a little bit cooler of temperatures.”
Responding to a question about whether the club has up its sleeves any plans to deliver new initiatives this year, she said, “We do have some kids that have expressed interest in learning to skate ski, and that is different than classic.”
Skate skis are not only a bit shorter and designed for speed, but also tend to have more rigid boots for improved ankle support, she said.
“It’s way faster,” she said. “Instead of just going straight forward, you’re pushing with the inside edge and skiing in more of a V skating-type technique and pushing a lot more with your poles. It’s pretty fun.”
Someone with prior experience ice skating might be quicker on the uptake, she said.
“In my opinion, it’s easier,” she said about skate skiing. “But then, I grew up on skates.”
Learning the skate skiing technique on classic cross-country skis is possible, but more “difficult because the skate ski has a bit of sharper edge, and the classic ski doesn’t,” she said.
“Trying to skate ski on classics is like trying to skate with spoons versus knives.”
Whether the club will be able to officially deliver a skate skiing program this season remains uncertain as the group only has classic skis available for learners who don’t yet have any equipment.
“But maybe we can find some rentals from somewhere else . . . or just teach them with the classics,” she said.
One way or another, Munro said this will be the first time the club experiments with skate skiing.
“There’s a couple of kids there that really show some potential and they seem to really love skiing,” she said. “And I think that this will just hook them a little bit further.”
Otherwise, the club plans to keep focused not only on maintaining existing tracks but given the opportunity perhaps even expanding a bit on new ones.
“Our hope is to set a little bit more track,” she said, explaining that skate skiing requires a wider footprint to accommodate the V-skating technique, as opposed to traditional cross-country tracks that feature the narrower set of two parallel tracks.
Once some more snow comes down and time allows, she said the club has its eyes on expanding both classic and skate ski tracks along the berm on the southeast side of the Red Deer River.
“We’re volunteers,” she said in response to being asked if the club had a message to the community.
“We set those trails to promote exercise, healthy living, mental health – you know, get outside, get some fresh air, get your cortisone pumping,” she said, encouraging trail walkers and runners to use the corduroy portion of the track that has been set specifically for people who are on foot.
“Walk wherever you want, but it would be really great if you could stay out of the (ski tracks).”
