Cross-country skiing

The Finns are avid outdoors-people during all seasons and weather. They love the fresh air and the peacefulness of this forested country. The city of Helsinki is no exception: there are parks and wooded trails everywhere. Some of the trails even make you forget that you are inside of Helsinki proper. Winter is no exception for outdoor activity and it may in fact be more highly regarded for it's ability to combat the depression associated with the short days. One Finnish favorite activity is skiing. Here, the simple verb skiing needs no qualification to know that it refers to the cross-country variety. Finland is rather flat and there are only a handful of resorts in the north that have down-hill skiing hills. The vast network of hiking trails multitask during the winter and are groomed by the city for skiing. This means that everyone has relatively easy access to a ski trail and some a illuminated at night. Ski equipment is affordable and most people have their own skis, so anyone can ski whenever they want, even using it as a mode of transportation. 

I thought that since I know how to down-hill ski that cross-country skiing would be a cinch. Wrong. There is very little about down-hill that will prepare you for cross-country skiing, except maybe for carrying the skis and poles, how to 'walk' in skis, and the perpetual hope for fresh snow. After some convincing from natives, we recently took a lesson to find out how exactly one cross-country skis. First, I learned that there are two styles: classic and skate; we took a classic style lesson. Second, the equipment is much different. The boots are only about ankle high and are more tennis-shoe-like. The skis are more narrow and they bow out in the middle. The bindings are fixed distances so that skis are interchangeable among adult shoes (must be the same system, though, different companies make different bindings, shoes, etc). Ski lengths are determined first by height when you are starting (they should reach your wrist when you raise your hand), and as you improve you can start making modifications based on your weight and skill. Poles are also part of the kit and they should come up to your armpits. They are designed to propel you forward, so right and left matter. The poles come with wrist straps and rather dangerous-looking, sharp metal picks in the end. 

Now, onto the moving part. This is somewhat reminiscent of down-hill in that you glide on one ski at a time. But, gravity only assists you in falling to the ground when you've lost your balance. To get your skis moving you squat, stick your right pole in the ground in front of you and kick your right ski back and glide on your left while pushing your left hip forward. Alternate sides and repeat. It is a whole-body work out! You use all of your muscles between your triceps and your quadriceps. I was exhausted after the 90-minute lesson. We learned how to 'run' up a hill, how to double-pole, and the fastest way down a hill. The only thing we didn't learn was how to stop. Hm. Our teacher left us with the following tidbits of advice to practice on our own: dare to fall and watch some videos on YouTube. Sounds like good advice for most things in life. Happy skiing!