Cross-Country Skiing Essentials

Why XC Skiing?

From the comedic quote:

"Cross-country skiing is great - if you live in a small country." – Steven Wright

To eloquently highlighting the physical demands of XC/Nordic skiing:

"In cross-country skiing, athletes propel themselves over distances of ten and twenty miles - a physical challenge that places intense demands on the ability of their red blood cells to deliver oxygen to their muscles." – Malcolm Gladwell

To keeping it simple:

"We do these things not to escape life, but so life does not escape us." – Author unknown

In The Beginning

I started XC skiing five years and was instantly hooked. More time in the mountains, in nature. Another way to embrace, enjoy winter, and actually be enthusiastic for Canada's longest season.

Take a lesson. Or five. My wife wisely signed us up for lessons (without asking me, of course). Instead of usual approach to learning by doing, we headed to Calgary's Olympic Park for our lesson. Our instructor happened to be originally from Finland. T

There were two other women in our small group of four who had some experience with downhill skiing, as did my wife. My general athleticism helped me catch on fairly fast (with a few tumbles). This allowed us all to get, as our Finnish instructor Mike stated, four or five lessons in one. He kindly spent an extra 45 minutes with us over and above what was to be an hour session. I'm forever grateful for the skills and tips taught to us that winter night at COP, Calgary.

Essential Resources

We'll be adding to the following list on an ongoing basis.

YYC

Ski Here: For anything XC ski-related in the area closest to the Calgary/Canmore area, Ski Here is your quintessential go to site. Whether it be West Bragg Creek, Kananaskis Village, Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Banff, or Lake Louise, Skier Bob, and readers/followers have you covered. It's my first stop when planning my XC ski days.

Norseman: The super knowledgable staff at this Calgary ski and hike specialty store helped get us started with our XC ski equipment. They are easy to deal with for ongoing maintenance and any issues that arise. I highly recommend them if you are are in the YYC area.

Stay Tuned

Check back often as this page gets constantly updated. Feel free to connect with us to share your XC skiing resources (websites, apps, etc.)

The mountains are calling...hit the trails and let us know how it was! Happy X(C)-rated skiing!