A popular sport in the New Hampshire’s White Mountains, cross-country skiing is an adventure one must experience.  This activity is perfect to enjoy the snow show in the region. Moreover, you get to witness the beauty of Mt Crawford and the banks of the Saco River which makes cross-country skiing even more worth one’s time. In these mountains, many hikers switch to cross-country skiing because of local peak-bagging and self-propelled miles skied without using ski lifts, which is equivalent to the number of miles hiked.

I was always enthusiastic about cross-country skiing but went for it only this winter. As a teenager, I had done it with my father but at that time, I couldn’t experience all that it had to offer. This was because there wasn’t a proper trail system like the one in the White Mountains. At present, I have taken up a beginner’s lesson despite having some amateur experience and rented my equipment for the first few times, even though I was well aware that it would cost me some money. But soon, I got myself some basic equipment which turned out to be much more economical, although there is always a need for upgrading them from time to time for different un-groomed ski trails, etc.

I could have jumped straight into difficult levels of cross-country skiing, but instead, I decided to start from the basic levels by skiing on groomed trails for a season. It helped me build my confidence and hone my skills for difficult terrains. I worked on the lines of the phrase “practice makes a man perfect” and built my proprioceptive skills thoroughly by practicing the entire winter.

For my initial days, I opted for very simple equipment. I went to the REI and purchased a complete Rossignol Recreational Touring Ski Package. This package included a Waxless Rossignol Evo Glade Cross-country Skis with pre-installed Rottefella NIS buildings, a Rossignol X5 OT Cross-country Ski Boots (also suited for backcountry XC skiing), and Rossignol XT 700 Ski Poles. I brought these because when I would rent my equipment, I had used the same ones. So buying something that I was familiar with felt safe and good. Also, the pre-installed bindings were an added advantage.

Till now the journey has been enjoyable for me. I go out once or twice every week to ski in the mountains for a few hours, especially on the days before my winter hikes. I also enrolled myself in some ski clubs. This helped me with getting direct access to the cross-country trails and encouraged me to invest more time in this activity.

I am pretty confident and sure that in the years to come, I will keep increasing the time I dedicate to cross-country skiing and level up my tours to overnight trips into the wild and back. But at the moment, I am taking it slow and steady at the beginner level, grasping as many techniques and knowledge as I can.