Five years ago I got fed up with the fashion conscious, pretentious side of skiing. I love the mountains. I love the snow but I don't care if I am wearing this year's color or if my shades have got an "in" label. So I went cross-country.
Why we did it
My wife and I both love rambling but walking on snow covered tracks is really hard work. If you've ever tried it you will know how difficult it is when your feet continually sink down below the knee. It was in this frame of mind we first tried cross country or Nordic skiing and we haven't wanted to put on a downhill ski boot since.
Where we went
We went to the Capcir Plateau in the Pyreenes, staying in the mountain village of Les Angles. The greatly expanded old village now has a wide range of apartments, chalets, hotels and restaurants. Both downhill and cross country skiing are possible here but it is cross country that the area excels in. Driving from the north of England to the Pyrenees for a week in winter is a daunting prospect. We took an Iberia scheduled flight from Manchester to Barcelona and there hired a car for the 2 1/2hour drive up the new road through the Cadi tunnel to the Capcir plateau.
All through the forests, along the ridges and the valleys and around lake Matemale are way-marked ski du fond trails of varying lengths and difficulty to suit every ability. In summer many of these are way-marked for ramblers and for mountain bikes.
Equipment
Hiring cross country equipment was very easy from one of the many sport shops in the village and though no lift pass is necessary you have to buy a ticket to use the way-marked trails. These cost a fraction of a lift pass and finance the maintenance of the trails.
Go for it
Off you go then, drive to the car park at the beginning of your chosen trail, show your ticket to the person in the little hut and you are cross country skiing.
The long thin skis take a little getting used to if you have been used to alpine skis. They have ridges on the bottom so that you don't go backwards when pointing up hill. The poles are longer and the boots resemble trainers or sneakers rather than the rigid downhill boots. The most important difference is the binding which is only clipped to the ski at the toe of the boot and so allows normal walking movements. It also makes many downhill ski techniques near to impossible. I am a passable parallel alpine skier but I felt that I had gone right back to my first day on skis when I first tried them on. But after half an hour I had mastered the differences and was confidently striding out along the tracks.
It is easy on the flat, which is what the green trails are. Going up hill also you are perfectly in control though you quickly find out if you are out of condition, but going down is quite terrifying at first. The down hill techniques of slowing down and stopping that you instinctively try to use just don't seem to work. But with practice the gentle slopes of the prepared trails become easier as you learn the technique for slowing down.
The motion is between walking and gliding though when we first saw tele markers in their body hugging skin tight suits striding out with graceful skating steps at double our speed it made me feel very pedestrian.
Wide appeal
On the trail it became evident that the average cross country skier is different to your average downhill skier. Firstly they are likely to be much older. They look too as if they like being out in the winter countryside rather than enduring the cold exercise as an unpleasant prelude to the apre-ski. French Nordic ski families seem to carry large rucsacs for le lavish picnic.
Benefits
There are environmental benefits too. The mountains do not have to be re-engineered to create pistes.. all you need is a snowy track. Lifts, tows and gondolas are not needed. And you can appreciate the beauty of the winter mountain scenery in silence, save for the panting of your breath and the swish swish of your skis moving forwards. And there is a warm glow from tired muscles at the end of the day together with the satisfaction that you did it all yourself.
