Cross Country Skiing – An Introduction
By Jack Smith
Considered to be one of the best aerobic exercises, cross country is also called Nordic or XC skiing. It involves the simultaneous use of ones arms and legs and making use of equipment like boots, skis and poles.

Cross country skiing, finds its origins in Scandinavia and is over 4000 years old. It used to be the sole method of transportation for these snow and ice-bound regions. Today, cross country has come a long way from being a mode of transportation to a major competitive sport, played at the Olympic level.

Did you know that a third of all medals are awarded for Cross Country and other Nordic sports? Nordic sports include the biathlon, which combines cross country with rifle marksmanship and ski jumping; Nordic combined, which is a combined scoring of jumping and cross country events; ski orienting, which is a marker search on skis with aid of compass and map; and telemark, a recent technique which involves using a free heel like cross country skiing.

Beginners are often confused about the difference between cross country and alpine or downhill skiing. Of course one can surmise that downhill involves coming down slopes - we’ve all seen that in the movies! But the technical difference in the skis is that in XC Skiing, the skier’s heel is free, that is, only the toe is attached to the boot. This allows the skier to climb, slide down, and navigate the terrain making it a truly cross country sport. In alpine and even snowboarding, the skier’s entire boot is attached to the ski, and thus one can only come down on the skis or snow board. Although cross country today is not as popular as downhill skiing, it is an ancient

sport and mode of travel, and the ancestor from which downhill and snowboarding have been derived in the recent times.

Also called Langlauf in German and Ski de Fond in French, cross country mostly takes place on prepared and signed trails called ‘Lopie’. These are graded in order of difficulty, form blue to black, or from easiest to the toughest, the latter having more climbs and descents. Overall, most cross country trails are on relatively flat terrain and therefore found at the bottom of a valley or on a high mountain plateau. You could also ski ‘off-track’, where you find your own trail. Off-track ski conditions, on the other hand, are up to the weather and any previous skiers. For instance, one can have a great experience with previously "skied-in" tracks. Did you know that in places like Finland, in the smaller towns, you will often find children making their way to school in the morning on their skis!

Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com

Jack Smith writes about winter gear, winter sports, winter clothing, and winter accessories. This article is free to re-print as long as nothing is changed, all links remained intact, the bio remains in full and the rel="nofollow" tag is not added to any of the links. Thank-you - Please visit this shopping directory for more resources on winter shopping, winter clothing and winter sports.