Cross-Country Skiing

by Julie West

OK, so maybe we consider ourselves a special breed of humans. Some think we’re crazy. We love going downhill on skis — the excitement, the challenge and the adrenaline rush. And every bit as much as that, we love going uphill on skis — the excitement, the challenge and the endorphin rush. We don’t rely on fossil fuels to get us back up a hill. We rely on our breakfast, our muscle and aerobic capacity, and, you guessed it — technique. Does this sound like you? If so, read on, and get to the top faster and easier.

For both classic and skate skiing, there are some fundamental rules that go across the board. Your hips need to stay over your feet. You’ll hear this no matter what type of skiing you do, uphill or downhill. When you’re going uphill, this is absolutely crucial to maintain momentum, glide and good kick. Another rule for both skating and striding is that the kick should be quick and powerful. So let’s break it down:

Classic Skiing

It’s well known that jogging up a hill gives you better grip. Why? Because the jogging motion sets your wax pocket down firmly and right on time, with your weight over your foot. The jog is a solid way to go up hills, but there’s one thing lacking — glide! It’d be nice to get that rock solid kick and also some glide. Here are some drills to help you with both. Don’t think about them all at once. Try them one at a time, and later you can start incorporating them together.

• First of all, look up! This gets your hips forward, so you will push off of a fully weighted ski.
  
  
• Increase the tempo of the stride as the incline increases: shorter strides, faster turnover.
  
  
• When you stride up the hill, practice driving your foot forward and setting your heel. Rather than focusing on the push off, think about driving that gliding foot right up the hill.
  
  
• Now, try to start your push off (I’m using the terms “push off” and “kick” interchangeably) with your heel. Feel the whole foot involved in the push off, not just the ball of the foot.
  
  
• While doing the above, allow your hip to follow the foot that is driving forward. In other words, don’t let “blocked hips” limit your stride length.
  
  
• Focus on a powerful, quick and snappy leg compression when you kick off. Your knee should snap downward as you flex your ankle — the movement is intense and quick to set your wax. Picture the crack of a whip — that’s how snappy it should feel.

The goal of these drills is a perfectly timed kick. Most “slip” on the hills has to do with “late kick,” or a sluggish kick that is happening off the ball of the foot, when the weight has already started shifting to the next gliding ski. The kick ends up going back rather than straight down as it should.

I should mention that you won’t even feel the need for these subtle techniques if you aren’t using waxable skis, unless you are slipping on your no-wax skis. Waxable skis allow more glide, and they require good technique. If you intend to do some racing, or just want to take your technique — and fun — to a whole new level, get some waxable skis and learn how to use them.

To learn more, see “Classic Technique: Getting Beyond the Advanced Beginner Stage” in the January 2004 issue of Adirondack Sports & Fitness.

Skate Skiing

Once again, keeping the hips forward is crucial. If the hips fall back, the skis will stall out, and every skate step will be like starting over and require enormous quadriceps and triceps work. Here are some drills for uphill skating.

• As the hill increases, so does your tempo and the glides become shorter — sound familiar?
  
  
• Using no poles at first, flex the ankles. Allow your whole body to fall forward in this way, from the ankles. In order to keep from falling on your face, you will need to step forward. If you keep falling forward, you need to keep stepping forward, and skating up the hill. Note that you are stepping forward to keep up with your hips. At no point do your hips fall behind your feet with this drill. The physics of this, along with quick feet, get you up the hill — it’s like magic!
  
  
• Another way to feel this efficient position is to slide down the hill in a backwards snowplow, then stop quickly. To do that you’ll be flexing the knees and ankles and sinking lower. Freeze in that stopped position and take note of where your hips, knees and ankles are placed. Continue skating up the hill in this flexed position. Note: This is also a good drill for the herringbone technique in classical skiing.
  
  
• As you skate uphill, focus on quick, dynamic feet. Keep the feet moving fast — there should be a continuous flowing movement. Think “quick feet!”
  
  
• Practice different tempos. Skate uphill, counting your tempo: “1-2, 1-2…” Now try to increase that tempo with quick feet and the above exercises.
  
  
• When you add poles, let the poles match the tempo of the feet. The poles will grab quickly, there will be little or no follow-through, and they will recover quickly.
  
  
• Minimize side to side upper body movement. Look ahead and try to keep the head centered and your torso facing up the trail. Fewer extraneous body movements mean more efficient skiing and more of your energy going up the trail.
  
  
• Start your poling with a focus on an abdominal crunch. However, at no point should you bend forward at the hips — this causes them to fall back. Keep the crunches high and short, which matches the tempo of your feet.

One of the easiest and most fun ways to get up hills is to use transitions — using the momentum from the previous downhill to carry you up the next. For classic skiing, as you reach the bottom of the hill and start to climb, throw in some double poles, and then some kick and double poling, before you go into your diagonal stride. What you do and how many are determined by the terrain, but practice reading the terrain and flowing smoothly from one technique to another. You lose a lot of momentum if you go right from a tuck to a diagonal stride.

For skating, the natural transition flow as you bottom out and start to climb would be from a free skate to V2 alternate, to V2 and then to V1. If you practice this, and practice uphill V2 — with quick feet and arms — you might find you’ll be able to pop up and over smaller hills without even needing the V1. This is an incredible feeling whether you’re racing or not! If you aren’t familiar with these different poling rhythms, it’s well worth learning about them.

The concept of keeping the hips over the feet can also be applied to backcountry skiing. Picture going up a narrow trail (without skins), and needing to herringbone. You need to carefully place your feet, and then quickly shift your weight so your hips are over the new ski. From that centered position you can plan your next foot placement — and around obstacles — in the powder, etc. Be conscious of your body position. This will result in fewer tiring slips, which leave you elbow deep in powder or against a tree, with your skis stuck at some bizarre angle. Know the feeling?

The beauty of cross-country skiing is that all the terrain, both up and down, challenges you, and you have endless opportunities to refine your technique. You’ll never get bored!

Stay tuned for the sequel “What Goes Up, Must Go Down” in a future issue!

Julie West lives in North River and is the ski school director at Garnet Hill Cross-Country Ski Center. She is a whitewater guide and kayak instructor, and enjoys kayaking, mountain biking and sharing the outdoors with her three children.

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