If We Can’t Slide Across, We Might As Well Slide Down

By Cara Williams, Photography by Clay Dolan & Ski Television

It was Boxing Day 2020. My nine-year-old came bounding downstairs dressed in her new Christmas long johns and wearing her helmet and goggles— which she wore all through breakfast. Like every other year, we had planned on spending the holiday ripping groomers at Blue Mountain. Unfortunately, we were on day one of a 28-day provincewide shutdown of our ski hills. Suffice it to say, there were tears. By the time the chairlifts would turn again, we would go 52 consecutive days without downhill skiing. Including time off due to injury, this would be the longest my family would go without skiing in a winter season—cue more tears.

By early January we were starting to collectively lose the plot. Schools were closed, arenas were closed—so, too were bowling alleys, swimming pools, and most skating rinks. What. The heck. Were we going to do with ourselves? My husband Dak was in the crawlspace one extremely dull afternoon looking for toboggans when he pulled out a pair of dusty old cross-country skis that belonged to my university roommate. I found the corresponding boots in the basement and as luck would have it, they fit our 13-year-old. After a few phone calls to Play It Again Sports in Collingwood we were able to source a pair of junior Nordic skis, boots and poles for our daughter and even found a pair of gently used boots in my size. The kids spent the next week or two racing each other up and down our street while Dak and I drank wine in lawn chairs on the driveway. Not the classiest way to spend our pandemic “break” but the kids were getting exercise and we all laughed harder than we had in a while.

As much as we enjoyed our Trailer Park Boys-esque afternoons, Dak and I were steadily heading towards gaining the dreaded “Quarantine 15” so we decided to get ourselves some gear too. As it turns out, nearly every piece of Nordic ski equipment was either back-ordered or completely sold out. We called Kamikaze Bikes in Collingwood, Squire John’s in Craigleith, Highlands Nordic in Duntroon. I think we even called a few mom-and-pop shops in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Similar to what happened last spring when there was a run on bikes, everyone, it seemed, had the same idea—if we can’t slide down, we might as well slide across.

Ultimately, we were able to scrounge together enough mismatched bits and pieces to make a complete set, and we begged, borrowed and stole the rest (truth be told, it was just an old pair of bamboo poles from my mother’s garden shed—she probably didn’t even know they were in there). And just like that, we were a Nordic skiing family.

Cross-country skiing delivers a superior workout with less potential for injury than many sports. And because there is a brief learning curve, first timers like me can enjoy it right out of the gate. I will say that the more you ski, the easier you’ll find it. Each time out you’ll gain a combination of muscle memory, fitness, and self-assurance among other things. Now that our family has one winter under our belts—and since we’ve acquired all the necessary equipment—we can’t wait for the first snowfall of the season.

Given the ongoing pandemic, it’s probably fair to predict that the winter of 2021 will see continued growth in cross-country skiing. With its lower priced equipment and much lower priced access to trails (compared to alpine skiing or snowboarding) this is an accessible and affordable winter activity for many families and can even be done in urban areas. If you’re new to the sport, there are a few things you should know—there are two types of skiing: classic and skate. Classic employs a traditional kicking and gliding motion, while skate skiing is more akin to ice-skating, but with poles to propel you forward. Endurance junkies might find themselves better suited to skating, but classic is slightly more user friendly for beginners with less balance required—it’s also more tolerant of less than ideal conditions—skating requires a groomed trail, whereas classic skiers can more easily break their own.