was thinking how I could get riding in in this weather but it always seems to be compromised in some way, all the fun stuff is too deep and too steep to ride at the moment

… so this gets me round to wondering about getting a set of XC skis just thought I'd pick brains on here first:

is this going use similar muscles to the bike?
is it easy to pick up?
what's the deal with the different types eg Telemark etc.?
does it work reasonably in most types of snow eg this stuff that has partially melted and then frozen hard on top?

I thought it might just be a bit more fun than slogging away on the bike purely to keep the legs going and get some exercise.

I'm reckoning I'd mainly use it on forestry tracks, don't know how much off piste I'd do, is this suitable?

I live in Aboyne (Aberdeenshire) so we get maybe a couple of suitable weeks a year.

TIA!

i have a set of XC skis which get used a few days each year in the Cotswolds, for the UK get crown skis, Wax may be better but it is very temperature sensitive, and the UK isn't!

I find my legs are OK but my arms and upper body suffer, you simply don't use those muscles on a bike.

you can get XC touring skis, which are similar to dowhill but the bindings tend to be more complicated as they allow flex, i guess Telemark fits in here as they are free heal bindings.

XC race style skis are either Langlauf or skate, don't bother with skate as the tracks you are likely to find aren't going to be any good.

What i have noticed is that crashing on XC skis hurts, having 2m planks attached with non release bindings makes you not crash.

Tried it in Finland, found it really tricky. Waxing the skis was the key get that wrong and you dont go anywhere 🙂 expensive to get all the kit from new, can you get skis and shoes up there?

There were loads of tracks cut all over the place, not sure how tricky it would be without them, going round corners was a lottery many comedy crashes.

Mat

waxless is the way to go as you can kick and glide with fishscales and they are quite hardy

havea look at mountain spirit in aviemore http://www.mountainspirit.co.uk or telemarkpyrenees.com for set ups

tbh normal xc skis are too limiting, what you want is a touring type ski
something like fischer out a bounds an NTN binding and one of the chunky boots that pairs with them

fairly cheap to get started vs telemark and quite surprising what you can do with fairly lightweight kit

hope that helps

edit reakised you are up at aboyne so have a look at cairngorm mtn sports and huntly nordic ski club for help

I've done a bit in the past; second the 2 shop recommended above, both very helpful. I sold mine as wasn't getting away enough, but if current winter continues might need to reconsider!

I've done quite a bit when living in the Czech Rep. and still go back for an annual trip. If you can DH ski fairly well at the moment then you will pick it up more easily but it's still not going to be easy. It is a *very* technical sport – if you have no technique it's really no different from walking with big slippery planks on your feet, and you will scare yourself to hell as soon as you even look downhill. When I first got to CZ the company I was working for had a 'winter Olympics' and being reasonably fit from riding I thought I might be in with a chance for the xc skiing – I'd done it a couple of times back in Australia as well. It opened on a fairly flat section of about 500m then looped through the woods and back to the start, I think we did three laps. TT style start at 1 min intervals, two guys passed me before I'd even got to the end of the straight. I was very nearly last overall, and that included some upper-middle aged women in the field.

That said it's worth putting in the effort to learn. There's nothing wrong with a walk in the woods with slippery planks on your feet, and when you start to get a bit of a glide going it's really very rewarding. Plus for me just being out in the woods with snow all around and dead quiet is one of the most serene experiences imaginable. Nevertheless, I haven't bothered getting my xc gear back over here (it's with a friend in CZ) despite a couple of days of decent snow. Even having had nearly a foot of snow on the ground here there still would only have been one or maybe two days when the skiing would have been any good. It's really just too warm. Perhaps if you are further north it would be worth contemplating.

Also keep in mind that starting out what you will want are relatively flat fire roads – your normal mtb routes will be far too winding and likley too much vertical change for it to be at all enjoyable on xc skis.

Agree with dab that a touring type ski (possibly even one with some metal edges) and some beefier boots and bindings rather than full on xc race gear is going to be the way to go for versatility and ease of getting started.

Sam

Learnt to XC ski with the Army and used to do regular trips to Scotland as well as using them when we ever had snow, though I never really found conditions that good and eventually sold mine.
However, I really do fancy getting some roller skis for some non bikey training as opposed to running.

To add to the above – non metal edged skis are fine for parks etc + ideal for prepared tracks and can be OK on forest roads if you have a good cover of fresh snow over a hard base. However , in the UK skis with metal edges are generally prferable as things tend to get quite crusty.
Telemark skis are a different thing altogether and are for downhill [piste / off piste or mountain touring[as opposed to ski mountaineering gear]with much heavier skis , bindings and boots – not the sort of thing for the North Yorkshire Moors etc.
As a work out XC skiing is excellent

Cheers for all the replys so far guys, I'm going to look into it, doubt I'll have any free time for the rest of this winter (midway through my MSc) but I'd like to be ready for next winter!

I should also have added, with reference to your question on appropriateness as cross training for mountain biking, it is excellent. Numerous pro level mtb racers (and roadies) cross train on XC skis in the winter – Ned Overend, Henrik Djernis, Steve Larsen and many others are accomplished XC skiers. Katerina Nash has competed at the Olympics in both sports – fair to say they are quite complementary.

SPLITBOARDING IS THE ANSWER!!!!

Greg LeMond was, apparently, a big fan of skate-style skiing as winter training.

I'd love to have a go, have never skied, never been interested until this winter. Maybe even roller skis would be good off the bike training, when there's no snow.

I fancied the idea of roller skis, but the only times conditions would be OK for them was when it would be ideal to ride.

You can get great cheap skis (I paid something like £130 euro for poles, bindings fitted, skis and boots) and they were great – but only really for groomed trails. For the UK you'd want something wider like what they call 'backcountry skis'.. they vary a lot just like bikes do.

It's brilliant tho, no harder to pick up than say riding a bike 🙂 I took to it really well. I'd also never been DH skiing at the time.

Have seen youtube footage of people skiing on the beach. Have only seen them doing classic, not skate, so don't know if that's possible. Might be better than roller-skiing, which I've tried & found vvv hard. Others said it was harder than skiing on snow.

One of my colleagues races (age category) for the UK in Loppets etc. He also roller skis a lot – oldgit they hold a couple of races at Hillingdon every year and have just had one at Hog Hill.