Mumsnet Talk

We are going to Finnish Lapland in half term, back to a hotel we really enjoyed 5 years ago, partly because DS2, now 8, was too young to remember the trip then and I would like him to have the experience also. The hotel is right on the edge of a frozen lake in the forest and surrounded by cross country ski tracks.

The problem is DS1 is going on a school (downhill) ski trip at the end of the year and I promised him he could get some experience in Finland as we are all ski novices. The travel rep told me that would be no problem as there is a small downhill resort 15 mins drive away. However I have just been told that resort is closed so we would have to go to a larger resort at least 45 min drive away which I guess is still feasible for at least 1 day but maybe not more. We had planned to do 3 days skiing (and the rest of the time husky dog sledging snowmobiling etc) but I am now wondering whether we can get him some ski experience by doing cross country skiing on site and just do 1 day downhill.

I know the boots etc are different but if you are a novice will the initial techniques of staying upright etc be the same, or will doing some cross country interfere with learning downhill? Surely there must be some similarity between going down a slope on cross country skis and downhill skiing? What do you actually learn in your very first downhill ski lessons?

If you have done both or even if you can remember what you did in your first ski lesson I would be very grateful for your thoughts as I have to decide what to book very soon.

Thanks!

Completely different.

But he'll have fun anyway, so go and have a lovely time Nordic skiing, and book him a one day lesson at the downhill resort as planned. He'll be getting beginner lessons on his school trip, so anything before that is a bonus.

I may revise this later though, as I've been downhill skiing for twenty years and am just off for my first ever Nordic lesson. And am terrified. It would have been much easier at eight rather than forty. My friend who is a downhill instructor tried Nordic over Christmas for the first time and hasn't yet recovered lol. He had the worst wipeout he's ever had in any form of winter sport!

Thanks for the feedback outofbody ; I had naively thought Nordic skiing would be gentler because you can go along the flat, is it more dangerous because the boots aren't as fixed? After reading your post I have just checked my winter sports cover and luckily both types of skiing are included!

I think we will go for some Nordic skiing even if it doesn't help at all with downhill because it is on site and would be a shame not to. I just need to convince DS1 that 1 day of downhill is enough. All of his friends going on the school trip have been downhill skiing before and he doesn't want to be the only one with no experience, but they probably won't have tried Nordic so he will have that to talk about.

If anyone else has tried both types especially as a recent beginner I would really love to hear your experiences!

well, i'm back.
i suspect nordic might be easier if you have never done downhill. the skis are soooooo different i've spent most of the morning petrified. i was learning skate skiing though rather than classic, and i'm guessing that classic is probably slightly easier? (no idea, i've got another 4 skate lessons before my classic ones start!)

because i'm used to downhill, the nordic skis are soooo much narrower and lighter. i can skate easily in my downhill skis, but the ones this morning made me feel very off balance! (i can confirm i fell about 7 times, which <ahem> is more than i have fallen in probably the last ten years of downhill. )

as a total beginner though, i bet it will be fine either way. as long as you look on it all as having fun rather than one preparing for the other, you'll all have a great time.

Can I ask a naive question, what is the difference between skate and classic skiing? I have no idea which type our lesson would be.

Also, do you think there is any value in trying dry slope skiing before we go, apparently there is one close to us, I am just thinking it might reduce the amount of muscle ache we experience on the holiday if nothing else.

skate, is, erm, like ice skating but on skis, with poles, no track. (like you see on biathlon?) and classic is the one you see where the track (a double track) is cut into the snow and the skis are in each track (i think in europe the track is called a loipe or something? excuse spelling!!!) that's about as technical as my explanation will get, i think. i'm sure someone who is an expert will pop along and explain it far more technically!! i think and this is total guessowrk, that in skate you lift the skis and erm, skate, whereas in classic it's more of an elegant elongated slide along the ground, with no lifting. but i could be very very wrong.

i'm told that dry slope 'feels' different, and most people say not to bother, but if you fancy a trip, i don't see why not. in terms of muscle benefits, there are tons of exercises that are supposed to be good for skiing - i bet if you google you'll have a whole workout!

OK then we would be doing skate skiing I would guess because the tracks that I saw on our last holiday were just snow covered paths through the forest, and some people were skiing across the frozen lake. Although I suppose there might have been another area with tracks cut into the snow we didn't see. But maybe not because the hotel is way out in the middle of nowhere.

So another naive question, if you can ice skate would that help at all with balance in skate skiing as my boys are both good at that.

I really had no idea Nordic skiing was so different to downhill, I am quite excited about trying it now.

I started Nordic skiing when I was 3 and didn't start downhill until I was 8, they are very different beasts! Also, you don't have to have tracks to do the straight Nordic skiing, but they do make it easier! For downhill skiing muscle prep do lots of lunges!

Fab! An expert!
Any tips on how to stay upright, zim?

Well, remember that your toes are bolted onto five foots sticks and you'll do fine! Nordic skiis feel really weird when on, you must lift your foot to pull the ski forward but it's all wobbly and such.

My advice is start slow! See if you can find some tracks as that will prevent side to side motion, then it's sort of an exaggerated walk until you get the hang of gliding on your momentum.

track nordic sking is easy and fun. Can be picked up by pretty much any one with minimal tutition. I was "taught" by my 11 yr old SiL and balance less FiL ( who mastered nordic track skiing as an adult despite not being able to walk along a straight line). Hope you have a good holiday.

DH and I combined down hill and nordic in a holiday in Norway, beginners down hill classes in am and doing our own thing on teh local nordic tracks most afternoons, covered LOTS of miles on tracks.