Learn easy basics of cross-country skiing

Enjoying cross-country skiing is one of the pleasures of a crisp winter day. Learning the basics of this popular activity is easy and will guarantee you many a fun winters to come.

Flat Terrain

• If you are moving over flat land, it’s best to use what is known as the diagonal stride. It’s based on your natural walking action so feels comfortable and natural. These techniques will help:
• Imagine you are skating over snow and you have the fundamentals of the diagonal stride. You can use this move for flat land and gentle hills.
• Put one foot in front of the other, transferring your weight to the front leg so that the leading ski starts to slip forwards.
• For a moment, keep your weight over this ski to get the benefit of the ski gliding then "kick off" and bring the trailing ski forwards.
• Your arms will follow naturally with your ski poles and add to balance to the stride.
• This is the perfect stride for cross-country racing.

Herringbone Stride

• When you hit a steep slope and need to ascend it, change over to what is called the herringbone stride.
• Angle the ski tips outwards to form a V and step upwards; the steeper the slope, the wider your V should be.
• If you get this right, the pattern left behind in the snow should resemble a fish skeleton, which is where the stride gets its name.

Cross-country skis are not designed for tricky downhill manoeuvres but you can still enjoy the thrill of gliding back down a slope you have just climbed with these tips:

• Knowing how to control your speed and direction are essential for a safe and fun descent.
• You aren’t just aiming to avoid obstacles or falling but to form long, swooping turns.
• The diagonal snowplough and snowplough turn
• Push your heels onto the skis to form an inward V-shaped wedge.
• The inside edges of your skis should "bite" the snow and you will begin to slow down.
• The snowplough becomes a turn when you transfer additional weight onto the ski on the side opposite the direction you want to turn. Weight shifted to the right ski will turn you to the left and vice versa.
• The arcs of snowplough turns are wide and sweeping. To slow down your descent, make the angle of the wedge wider; to speed it up, make the angle more narrow.

This turn works on slopes covered with both powdery or hard-packed snow.

• To make this turn, bend your knees and push one ski forwards while keeping the other ski back.
• At the same time, maintain­ your weight over both skis.
• As the front ski advances, edge it into the snow. The trailing ski will follow­ the same line, creating, one long trail in the snow.

Cross-country skiing is great exercise throughout the winter as well as making the coldest months of the year more fun. These tips will help you learn the basics of cross-country skiing.