The snow wins: back to skis!

My enthusiasm about running with spikes on snow and ice has been challenged. During the past few weeks we have received in Bergen much more snow than usual, and my favorite running and hiking arenas, up in the mountains, have been covered with deep snow. Running with spikes works perfectly on hard snow and ice, but it is challenging and tiring on soft and deep snow. Last Sunday I had a great hike with Benedicte up to Ulriken, which went perfectly up the steep path to the top, but we were very much slowed down on our way down via the longer path, which was covered with deep and soft snow. We were up to our knees in the snow; we could take some steps without sinking and then had to take quite a few deep steps, which made it really difficult to get a good "rythm". (In addition, I almost disappered in a small river hidden under the snow and had to be rescued by passing by skiers!) Tuesday evening Frank and I had a really nice hike up to Rundemanen, in perfect winter weather with the full moon appearing above Vidden just as we arrived on top of Rundemanen. This time the snow was hard and nice all the way, but still difficult to run on, because the hard part was a thin and uneven stripe in the middle of soft deep snow, and it was again difficult to find a running "rythm" as we had to place our feet exactly where other feet had been placed.

Hence it seemed time to start thinking about skiing. As one of my favorite Norwegian songs by De Lillos expresses it so nicely:

"En fisk kan puste under vann  
En fugl kan fly høyt over sky  
Men det finnes en ting som bare mennesker kan  
Nemlig å gå fort på ski  
Vår Herre ga oss denne mulighet til å gli"

A fish can breathe under water
A bird can fly high above clouds
But there is one thing only humans know how to do
Namely to ski fast
Our lord gave us this opportunity to glide 

So why not take this opportunity? Around Bergen there are many nice cross country skiing arenas with groomed trails. With the amount of snow we have had recently, they are just perfect for fast skiing as an alternative training instead of running. However, I had only touring skis, since I usually do my skiing in the high mountains far away from Bergen. Touring skis are broader than trail skis, and they have steel edges which makes them much easier to navigate off piste and on loose snow. The drawback is that they are quite heavy and not really appropriate for groomed trails, as they slow you down substantially on the narrow trails. Still I loved my touring skis, and all these years I have been unwilling to let go of my steel edges. I learned to ski when I was 17, and struggled a lot, especially with up and downhills,  until I got skis with steel edges. Only then I got the real taste of cross country skiing, as the steel edges make it so much easier to break downhill. Since I was not born with skis, as many native Norwegians are, I am still uncomfortable when the speed gets high, and I need to be sure that I can break and stop on my way down, regardless on how hard and icy the snow is.

Last week, though, with the confidence that all my running and competing experience has given me, and taking into consideration that I have, after all, been skiing in all sorts of conditions for many years now, I felt bold enough to purchase a pair of racing skis. They are so much lighter than my old skis, and I was pleasantly surprised to experience that they have quite sharp edges, too, though not steel. (I still think racing skis with steel edges are an excellent idea! Do they exist?) This weekend I had the opportunity to test them in Voss, about 90 km east of Bergen. I managed to break nicely on quite steep downhills, so I might finally be over my addiction to steel edges. And of course I had to also try skate skiing! This for me always looked like magic I would never be able to perform (trying it on touring skis always ended up in disaster). Even during my first attempts this weekend I ended up with my nose buried in the snow, but slowly I started to get the hold of it. Fortunately I was surrounded with family who are all experts, so I had several teachers with helpful instructions and tips. However, the tip above all, which really made the difference in the end, came from my youngest son Aksel: with the poles you have to push yourselft towards the left as you glide on your right foot! My moves are still very uneven and I am quite slow, but skate skiing turned out to be so much more fun than I could expect that I think I will practice at every opportunity in the future!

It's never too late to learn and try out new things!