Having promised myself that I would embrace the Swiss winter a bit more this year, xc skiing (skating variety) has become the new thing to do. Coming from cycling where I am used to being one of the faster and more skilled of the people I’m out with, it’s a humbling experience to learn something new from the very beginning. Especially when you’re out with people from Alpine or Scandinavian countries who have snow sports in their blood, I can’t help but feel genetically disadvantaged. That said it’s great to have new challenge, to have to learn new things and to see progression in doing so.
Einsiedeln is in the pre-Alpine hills 30 minutes from Zurich with a fairly easy xc loop that is perfect for learning. There are a lot of similarities with mountain biking, it’s a technical skill based sport, so although I found it easy enough to get up and running there is a lot to learn and think about to get more efficient and faster. The snow conditions have a big effect on what you’re doing and change all the time – wet snow, icy snow, deep snow all require different skills (something like riding bikes in mud or dust). Xc isn’t quite as adrenaline fueled as downhill skiing but its really cool to get away from the crowded slopes into the more remote mountains and as fitness training its amazing. You have to work hard all the time, even getting up even a small hill takes a lot of power and a lot of core and arm strength is required which should compliment mountain biking well. On uncontrollable skinny skis the small descents get very sketchy so there is no getting bored.
After 2 days of easy local skiing it was time for a weekend Alpine expedition to Pontresina in Engadin. The adventure began with a spectacular train journey up to the real mountains at 2000m where there are hundreds of kilometers of xc ski trails that take you past frozen lakes, fast flowing rivers, through woodlands and up empty valleys with views of glaciers. The skiing itself is far steeper, longer, harder and more technical than what I had done previously so I had my work cut out, especially when 15cm of fresh powder appeared on Sunday morning making things twice as hard. I had a bit of a sense of humour failure halfway up a long climb when I got dropped by my genetically advantaged companions and found myself alone and exhausted in a blizzard a long way from home. A hot chocolate in a cosy Alpine hut sorted me out before we shot back down to get the train home. Awesome weekend but must get better, next year I want to try racing…
