Short Hops

An alpine nut discovers Nordic skiing
By Adam White

A member of the Williams College Nordic ski team practices at Prospect Mountain in Woodford

Even a long-overdue dose of healthy snowfall this winter has done nothing to make alpine skiing any more affordable for those of us living near the poverty line. But having to look out my window every morning and see mounds of white stuff which I could not fully enjoy, I started to feel the effects of cabin fever.

So I decided to try my hand at cross-country, or Nordic, skiing.

For anyone like myself who grew up on downhill skis, the very concept of Nordic seems somewhat backward. You want me to ski UP the hill too? And there is NO chairlift? Uh-oh, my suspicions have been alerted that this type of skiing may actually involve strenuous excercise, a workout even, rather than just using technique, form and a much lesser degree of exertion simply battling the effects of gravity as one does in alpine skiing.

Luckily, we have the Prospect Mountain Nordic Center just to our east, atop a curvy climb up Route 9 into Woodford.

The face of Prospect Mountain. Those two main trails are former alpine trails, now used for telemarking

This facility – which was, years ago, an alipne skiing area – is now one of the leading Nordic cnters in the state, and arguably the region (Olympic skier Andy Newell said as much the last time I interviewed him). Co-owners Andrea Amodeo and Steve Whitham have implemented a comprehensive grooming system, a well-stocked rental equipment shop and a charming old world Euro-style base lodge into an already fantastic network of trails, which spiderwebs through a wide, thickly-wooded area bordering the area's expansive section of Vermont state forest. The trails are meticulously maintained and very well marked, allowing skiers to wander through the network for hours, varying their course on a whim at every intersection, without any threat of getting lost, growing bored or ending up on un-skiable terrain.

The trails comprise a wide variety of terrain types, as well; the flat, meandering gentleness of Troll Road, the pristine naturalistic single-track of Hoot, Toot and Hollar and Joe Parkway, the curvy rise-and-fall rush of pretty Beaver Pond Loop, and the twisting mountain-goat climb on the marquee Mountain Trail. In between are myriad "magic spots" like the Sunny Four Corners, Hobbit Hollow and the Lollipop Tree. It is the kind of place where every new trip out reveals something you've never noticed before.

Just about every major intersection in Prospect's trail network is marked by a trailmap sign

But that's not to say that my Nordic skiing adventure was all oohing and ahhing over the gorgeous scenery. More accurately, it was a whole lot of huffing and puffing as I discovered that the single greatest form of total-body excercise there is demands quite a bit from one's, well, total body.

There are two types of Nordic skiing: Skate and Classical. The former involves smooth-bottomed skis and a motion composed of, as the name implies, skating. The latter involves either textured "fish scale" bottomed skis or, for more experienced skiers, temperature-specific waxed ones. The motion in that technique is more of a step-and-glide one, which makes it a little easier for beginners to pick up.

As someone who grew quite adept at skating on my alpine skis, I decided to give both styles a whirl but concentrate a little more on skating. It did indeed prove to be a ball, though the amount of energy it demanded was at first a bit shocking. I know I'm not in the greatest shape – especially at this point in the winter where I've stopped road running – but this sport had me gasping for air like nothing I'd experienced in the alpine realm.

The one major similarity between Nordic and alpine, aside from the obvious equipment likenesses? Style. Looking good is half the battle in both, and in Nordic that means tight-fitting pants to show off those rock-solid legs and gluts that the sport helps deliver. There is no place for the baggy, belted snow pants that the snowboarding craze has helped make cool in alpine skiing again. Nordic is about being sleek, aerodynamic and hip, all at the same time.

In other words, I cut quite a figure in my baggy pants and jacket and old-school knit cap. Let's just say, none of the hardcore XC skiers who saw me out on the trails at Prospect had any question as to whether I was "one of them."

Looking good is half the battle. Quite obviously, I am losing that battle

But regardless of how silly I looked, I quickly grew proficient enought at the sport that I could spend an hour or two at a pop, zig-zagging through the trail network and having a blast. Did I yearn for the alpine experience? Sure, especially on descents on which my skinny Nordic skis felt nowhere near as stable as the shaped wide planks I was used to. But all I had to do was think back to this sport's roots, to Scandanavian people trekking through the woods of yesteryear, to appreciate Nordic.

It's an experience I'm glad I found, and a sure-fire cure for ther winter blues. See you on the trails!