The popularity of cross country skiing in Ontario has increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I fully understand why…
Being outdoors and skiing on a nicely groomed trail in a snow covered forest is a fantastic way of breaking the monotony of ‘work from home’ and the pandemic isolation.
Our family has become enthusiastic cross country skiers this Winter and now we want to ‘give back’ by sharing our ‘lessons learned’ on
- buying budget ski gear
- how to dress for skiing
- location hints in Waterloo Region/Ontario
to help other beginners to get into this ‘game’.
Cross country skiing is an affordable hobby as you won’t need to pay significant amount of money on ski passes as xc skiing can be free or you will only need a very limited budget. Also, you won’t have to drive hours to the nearest downhill ski resort as it’s very likely that there are xc ski trails close to your home if in Southern Ontario.
Cross country skiing is relatively easy on the body and it is easy to learn the basics. The proof is out there as you will see a lot of senior people cross country skiing. Are you over 40 or 50 and you have never skied? Don’t worry you can get up to speed it pretty quickly! Literally.
How to learn
If you can learn new sports easily, you can get familiar with the basics on your own by watching a couple of Youtube videos and practising what you saw. If you need more support, find a nordic/cross skiing club in your area.
In Kitchener/Waterloo The Waterloo Region Nordic Sports Club runs seasonal youth- and adult xc ski courses for a small amount of money. The WRNSC is non-profit organization, volunteers run the courses and the quality is pretty awesome. We did our XC course with them.
You can enrol your kids to the youth programs and go cross country skiing together. The WRNSC rents gear for kids who enrol the youth programs. The rental price is reasonable enough not to bother with shopping for pre-used gear. This season my 8 year old son has his own equipment but next year we will rent through the club as it was painful finding the matching skis, boots and poles.
Look for the announcement in October-November when registration opens as the demand is quite high.
Buying pre-owned ski gear
We bought our ski gear on Kijiji during the Winter of 2020/2021 but it took weeks to find the right gear.
A couple of hints if you want to buy used-gear:
- Start with classic skis. Skate ski is more complex to learn.
- Get familiar with the various bindings and compatibility. Here is a great visual guide:
- Don’t buy three-pin sets! People are trying to sell their vintage gear all the time, however three pin sets are quite old and the performance of XC skis deteriorates over time. Does your neighbour or family member has a gently used set with the right sized boots for free or for a small amount of money? You can take it to learn XC but don’t give serious money for a 3 pin set.
- SNS (Salomon Nordic System) is still available, however buying SNS boots can be a challenge as nowadays NNN (New Nordic Norm) is the most popular binding. You can consider buying gently used skis with SNS binding if you are willing to replace it to NNN at your local ski shop. However, they will have to drill new holes into your skis which can cause problems later if water gets into the wood core of your skis, therefore look for a reliable shop.
- If you are a beginner, go for the waxless skis as they have a better grip and waxing can be confusing without experience plus you will need a waxing kit (another $100 or more).
- After a season or two you will likely go for the waxable skis as gliding is much better on these skis but the learning on waxless skis will be more challenging. (I know because I have done that.)
- Go for skis with ~50-60 mm width as groomed tracks are not wider than 68 mm. There are 64 mm wide touring skis but those will create a lot of friction when trails are freshly cut or icy which will slow you down. Anything above 64 mm is for skiing on ungroomed trail which is a great exercise for more proficient skiers.
- When shopping for skis don’t get confused too much with height/length conversion charts as your weight will be the primary driver. I am tall (6’10”) and heavy (200-210 pounds), therefore I have 208 cm long skies (longest available) so it was an easy choice for me.
- My wife now uses Rossignol EVO XT-55 waxless skis in medium size (175 cm/69 inches) since that was the recommended size for her weight. This is an entry level waxless model as she hated removing the old-wax coat and re-waxing her previous Fischer skis.
If you still want to try buying used skis, here are a couple of things to look for:
- Look for dents at the base and around the edges of the grip zone. Seeing dents are normal but seeing a LOTS of dents or damaged edges would suggest heavy use that can indicate weak camber. Plus a heavily dented base can slower your slide.
- Camber is an important part of your skis as in cross-country skiing camber helps lifting up your weight off the snow so you will glide on the tips and tails of your skis. Over years the wood core of the skis can lose flexibility. Therefore, always test the camber by holding the skis base to base and try to push the bases together at the bindings. This is still possible with human power, however you should feel significant resistance. If there is no or little resistance that is a red-flag.
- Most skis are made of fiberglass which can lose flexibility over time and can crack. Look for thin but visible cracks on the upper part of the skis. If there are too may cracks that can indicate heavy use or old age.
- Skis can be damaged during transportation or storage therefore look for visible damages on the skis. If the fiberglass outer shell is damaged anywhere that means that water can get into the wood core which is a red flag again.
Ski Boots
Finding gently used boots can be a bigger challenge than finding skis. I had tried it for weeks and didn’t work out, therefore boots had become the most expensive part of our gear. I bought NNN compatible Rossignol XC2 boots for my wife ($150+tax) that are comfortable, warm, mid-range boots.
Personally, I opted for Salomon Prolink boots which are unfortunately quite expensive nowadays ($290 plus tax) but in return I have snug, warm and super comfy boots with extra ankle support that will be valuable for two reasons:
- if I ever want to try skate-skiing (which is the plan), I will need the extra ankle support;
- plus this boots can save prevent ankle dislocation caused by an unlucky fall. Last week we saw a lady who hurt her ankles so bad that she had to be carried off the trail.
There are less expensive boots with the similar ankle-support system, they were just not available at the time when I bought mine in 2021 as gear was sold out in that period.
It is important to find the boots with the right size. If too tight, your feet will be cold, if too lose, your boots will rub your feet and will create friction.
Additional protection
I am tall, therefore I can lose my balance more easily than others. Plus I like to be on the safe side, therefore I wear wrist and elbow protectors when I am skating or skiing. They doesn’t look sexy but they are under my clothing so it’s not too obvious. These things have saved me from some serious injuries when I fell or icy or packed snow. (You will surely fall for a couple of times.)
How to dress for cross country skiing
You may have seen XC skiers in snug ‘spandex’ clothing, specifically made for skiing. Looks great but do you really need it when you are a beginner on a budget?
Nah, you likely don’t!
Just wear a your synthetic base layer and your regular late-Fall, or early Winter hiking clothes. That means windproof pants with minimal insulation, your breathable fall jacket with a fleece sweater, some lightly insulated gloves, a chute/neck warmer and a windproof beanie.
Don’t wear bulky snow pants and your regular winter coats as XC skiing will be a very intense workout and you don’t want to feel too hot.
Where to go in Waterloo Region (Ontario)?
Here are a couple of locations:
Rockway Golf course: Trails are maintained by the Waterloo Region Nordic Ski Club and the use is free of charge. (Please support the club by being a member for an annual $20 fee). The trails are a couple of km long and groomed regularly for classic and skate skiing. The quality of the trails are pretty reliable, especially after a fresh blanket of snow.
You can visit the Grand River Conservation Parks for an annual $140 which is a bargain considering that the GRCA maintains a couple of nice parks that one can visit all around the year.
Laurel Creek: This park is in Waterloo and there are 3 loops for xc skiers. The trails are shared use between hikers, skiers and snowshoers, therefore the snow can get packed and slippery pretty quickly. The trails are groomed ~weekly or after noteworthy amount of fresh snow (2-4 inches). Not much of elevation, therefore it is a safe choice for beginners. Most of the time there are no tracks set for classic skiing but if there is fresh snow and the sun is shining a quick tour can be pretty awesome. This is my go-to spot as Laurel Creek is only 10 mins drive from my home.
Pinehurst Lake: GRCA Park 30 min drive from West Waterloo or Kitchener in an area with nice rolling hills. There are 2 loops for XC skiers and there are nice remote parts of the park where there is not much hiker traffic, therefore trails remain great for a longer period. In this season tracks were set in January and early February but then they stopped doing that for some reasons. Hills can be tricky for beginners but nobody will say a word if you unbind and just walk down a hill where you don’t feel comfortable.
Shade’s Mill: GRCA Park in Cambridge, 10 mins from 401. My favourite XC spot as trails are not shared use. (Snowshoers and hikers have their own trails with some overlapping sections). The area has some flat parts but most of the cross country trail is packed with hills. The yellow and red trails can be quite challenging for beginners but other trails (blue and orange) are safe choice for everyone.
We are planning to visit a couple of new places in this season. I will update this blog with details when available.