“Ski what ya ride!” Break the addiction to grooming and free yourself on sustainable zero-impact singletrack skiing. Trail skiing is the mtbiking of XC ski. Groomers are for roadies. There’s a place for both, but the hitch/opportunity is that most “real” XC skiers today are stuck on “road.” But there are 10X as many trails out there as groomed areas. So if trails are close and groomed areas are far away, go trail! If you want low overhead, low carbon footprint, and big challenge: go trail! But use the right skis. Most times, mtbike-skis are tough mid-width allrounders. Don’t try stylin’ a tight twisty trail on carbon puffballs. Race gear works on skied-in mellow trails with good base. Just as with bikes, as terrain gets bigger use gear that can handle it.
…Oneathesedays the Next Big Thing in XC skiing is gonna bust loose!
Maybe it needs a good, special name like how “mountain biking” did the trick for, well, mt-biking. Even though only a tiny percent of it is done in the mountains. Maybe call it “mountain skiing”?
I kinda like “trail skiing.” But “mountain” sounds cooler. “Singletrack skiing” might work a bit. Mtbikers love singletrack but it’s hard for them to find. Once the snow flies singletrack can be made/found anywhere there’s snow. What about “adventure skiing”?
The cost, labor and enviro impact of fancy groomed skiing, especially skating, has to start to become a factor. Of course, there are plenty of suitable occasions for grooming. But the overhead IS a factor in several respects. If it’s a long drive away and you have good singletrack trails nearby it’s worth giving them a try.
Truly, to get great skiing you do not need to go following around behind no steenking machinery. Of course, it is nice to have had somebody, somehow use the trail ahead of you. It just doesn’t need to be fancy. And if a ski is wide, it doesn’t even have to be that.
If you get into the performance side of groomed skiing, whew! You need a quiver of $400 skis and a bucket of $100 waxes and HOURS of WAXING plus hours of special fitness training to be a playa. Not to mention entry fees and travel. And whattaya get? Pack filler status! Of course, a race can be a dandy time, just like any. The courses tend to be in a great shape and speeds are high while the skiin’ is easy.
But what about Adventure Skiing? No fee there. And since you might be out’n’about most of the day, waxless is a good way to go, unless you want to stop and rewax 3 times. And what if you want to just dash out for some ski fun during lunch hour? Who has time to wax then? In general, trail waxing — or nowaxing — tends cheap’n’simple.
The same goes with Base Prep! Whew, in racing skis you can spend hours and lots of money getting your bases “just so.” It’s as important as waxing! But with Trail Skiing, the surface is uneven to begin with so base prep just isn’t as much of a factor.
Then there’s trail hilliness to consider. Groomers require a mellow trail. Hiking and mtbiking trails can be VERY hilly and intensely challenging. In such cases, a powerful nowax grip is great on uphills and extra friction on the descents is not a bad thing at all!
(Of course, in the peak of the heart of winter, when it’s 15degF on nice deep snow for weeks on end, then all you need is to make sure you have a bit o’ Blue on your skis and life can’t get any better! In Blue wax conditions, wax is better by far than any nowax pattern for grip, glide…and it’s long-lasting, too. It’ll be there for quite a few grab’n’dash outings. And when it wears off, it takes a minute to reapply. This is when the stars are well-aligned. Thank heavens, in snow country this period lasts a good month at least. — Around here in mid-Michigan, anyway.)
Given a generic groomed course, waxing tends to make a big difference, on a singletrack trail there are other more important factors. Even refined fitness isn’t such a big deal. Handling tricky trail and keeping your flow is a bit like skateboarding. If ya can, ya can. Practice makes perfect a bit more so than intense fitness focus and cash outlay.
Some of this, of course, is the difference between racing and adventuring, touring or just cruising along. Adventure racing is a nifty thing. There might be record times between interesting points. But even in racing, when on real trails, the technology is still nowhere as elite as in groomed racing. Packing your rucksack with the right stuff and bringing your favorite snacks and fuels is far more important than the flex profile or weight of your ski gear.
With Adventure Skiing, in short, there’s no mediator, nothing between you and the skiing.
Self-supported is a popular new mode for bike sport. Of course, it’s what most bikers have always done. But supported and sagged events have gotten a lot of press of late. It’s time for them to share the stage. Skiing on your own is a wonderful thing, too. We’re not babies, are we? Is coddling the value we want to hone? Sure, a day at the spa is a nice thing, but there are many other values under the sun! Groomed area and event skiers often complain about how well the course was buffed, or not, especially in light of the expenses laid out. Remember, it’s easy to skip all that when you head out on your own, with what you need in your pack, to see what there is to see, and to ski with true abandon.
