Ski Touring Winter's Wonderland

Woosh! The sound of the man's skis gliding across the crust of freshly fallen snow broke the early morning stillness. The cold, crisp, pine-scented air tingling his face was a pleasant contrast to the warmth of the fireplace he had just left behind, and the problems of the city were so far away now it was as if they never existed.

At the top of the hill he rested momentarily, then, as the sun rose above the horizon, he watched as the misty, winter wonderland stretching in every direction became a crystalline fairyland of sparkling beauty. A light wind whispered through the tall pines as he began his first carefree descent of the day..

Sounds like a modern-day adventurer somewhere in the romantic Swiss Alps? It's not. The setting is anywhere in northern Arizona where there is snow on the ground, and the person could be almost anyone adventuresome enough to put on a pair of cross-country skis and go out wandering.

Cross-country (it's also called ski touring or Nordic skiing) is exactly what the name implies, touring the countryside on skis. Unlike the fast, flashy world of downhill (alpine) skiing, with its manicured slopes and color-coordinated outfits, cross-country skiing is an easy, mellow experience, bound only by your own imagination and desire to explore the winter country.

Cross-country skis are designed for long, smooth strides across the snow and almost any type of clothing is appropriate, preferably a favorite pair of jeans and a sweater. Also, as the ski bottoms are made to "bite" as well as glide across the snow, skiing - even up steep hills - is as easy as walking, making almost any terrain a possibility.

There are no rules in cross-country skiing, once the fundamentals are mastered (which takes about a half day), it's anything that appeals to you. If it's speed you like, there are the hills and canyons with long, vertical free-falls, where adrenalin-sharpened senses seem to put everything in slow motion as you whiz down, testing skill and ability to the absolute limit. Or if you're just out to enjoy winter's frozen festivities, there's the casual pace of the flat meadows, where you can stop and watch a golden snowflake pirouette backlit by a late afternoon sun or smell the sweet aroma of ponderosa pine drifting lazily from a nearby chimney.

Ski Touring continued

It all began quite by accident, so the story goes, one cold winter morning in the year 2022 в.с., or thereabouts, when two boys went out searching for wood in an area just north of what we today call Sweden. It had been an unusually cold winter and the family's supply was very low, so they worked slowly and carefully so as not to miss a single twig.

Suddenly they saw a large oak tree which had fallen during a recent storm and been split by lightning in several places. There were many long, flat pieces that could be broken off so they gathered as much as they could handle. Later, heading home Indian file along a particularly steep ridge the first boy tripped and tumbled head first over the edge, landing with a jolt on a large piece of the wood he had been carrying and then sliding to the bottom of the ridge. Intrigued his brother soon followed after in the same fashion. They spent the rest of the day with their new toys, and on arriving home insisted their father come out and see the new discovery. "Fantastic!" the old man thought, as he watched them careen down the slopes.

That night, as everyone lay sleeping, the father couldn't get the day's event off his mind. Then he got up and got out his tools. By morning he had reshaped each boy's piece of wood so they were almost identical, and had lashed one to each of his boots.

Cross-country skiing was born! And today it is a favorite recreational sport with hard-core ski buffs in the United States, and it recently has come into its own as a fun activity to be enjoyed by all. The two major reasons responsible for this change are the introduction of the waxless ski, and the type of freedom afforded by cross-country as opposed to downhill skiing.

Until fairly recently cross-country skis were made mostly of wood. In order to get a proper "bite" on the snow a wax had to be applied to the bottom of the ski. This would not be so difficult except for the fact that only certain types of wax work with certain types of snow. And in northern Arizona, where snow conditions change several times throughout the day, several changes of wax would be necessary.

A few years ago a solution to this problem appeared on the market in theform of a waxless ski. Made of fiber-glass rather than wood, it had a fish-scale design on the bottom and performed in any and all snow conditions. At first, wax ski buffs were skeptical but, in 1976, when Vermont's Billy Koch took a pair of the new skis and proceeded to win a Silver Medal in the Olympic 30 kilometer race at Seefeld, Austria, the skis also won international acceptance.

Ski Touring

The other reason for cross-country skiing's new found popularity is good old freedom. Most people turn to skiing as a recreational activity to escape the hassles and pressures they must contend with Monday through Friday. They want to get out in the country, breath the fresh air, and relax the week-end away. But with downhill skiing, by the time you get done taking care of things like equipment rental, lift tickets, and lift lines, you've already spent a good part of the weekend standing and waiting in crowded places. In comparison, cross-country skiing isn't tied to any set of hills or slopes, but can be done any-where there is snow. There are no

tickets to buy, and no long lines. You just get out and go. Good news, too, is that you can participate in this rapidly growing sport at almost bargain-basement prices. About $100 will completely outfit an adult with skis, bindings, boots and poles. And it's half that for children.

In northern Arizona there are two areas where cross-country skiing is an organized activity, Mormon Lake and the Arizona Snow Bowl. The Snow Bowl, located just north of Flagstaff on U.S. Highway 180, has a three kilometer cross-country course with many fast sections of trail that wind around the San Francisco Peaks right above Hart Prairie. The Snow Bowl also is the site of the two organized cross-country competitions each year: the Arizona Cup in February and the March Cup during the third month of the year. Lessons and ski rentals are available from the lodge. There is no trail charge. Mormon Lake, about 30 miles south-east of Flagstaff, on Lake Mary Road, has 50 miles of designated ski trail loops with names like Mad Man's Mountain and Maniac's Delight which also gives

you somewhat of a hint as to what kind of terrain to expect. Lessons, rentals, and guided tours are available from the Mormon Lake Ski Center. Cabin rentals are also offered, with ski trails beginning right at their front doors!

Other cross-country ski locations in Arizona are Sunrise, on the White Mountain Apache Reservation in the White Mountains, and Jacob Lake, on State Highway 67, north of the Grand Canyon. Both have good trails but nothing definitely organized for cross-country ski enthusiasts. There also is the North Rim area of the Grand Canyon. However, this is rough, primitive country and used mostly by expert skiers.

But whether you are a qualified expert or just a wet-behind-the-ears novice really matters very little in this sport. What counts is a basic desire on your part to be one with the great outdoors especially the snow-locked beauty of Arizona's winter playground, where, during the season which stretches from October to March, your only ski-touring restrictions will be the limits of your imagination.