Cross Country Skiing
General
Favorite Regions + Places
see also:
reports on skiing in USA |
Europe
-
Cross-Country
Skiing in the Hudson Valley -- New York
-
Mohonk + Minnewaska
-- When a cross-country skier visits metro New York or northern New
Jersey, the first question should be "What are the snow
conditions at Mohonk and Minnewaska?". see
website.
-
France -- for a holiday that combines
cross-country with downhill skiing or backcountry ski mountaineering,
the French Alps deliver. Of course everybody already knows about the
incredible beauty and range of the downhill resorts and ski
mountaineering. And the food. And ancient city walking areas in
Annecy and Briancon, and worthwhile big-city walking in Grenoble, Lyon,
Geneva. But the French have also applied their joy in living to
their cross-country skiing. In the northern Alps, we like: La Féclaz for wonderfully fun trails;
Les Saisies for hillier fun trail design, views of big mountains,
late-season snow; Bessans for gentle
trails amidst dramatic mountains with late-season snow. In the Jura
mountains near Geneva, we've found fun skating at Chapelle des Bois.
See also: reports on skiing in
France.
-
Sovereign Lake --
British Columbia, Canada (near Vernon and the Kelowna airport) --
notably technically interesting cross country ski trails.
-
Norway -- where it all
started. I've had fun XC skiing in
Oslo
Nordmarka (great skiing just a trolley ride from downtown Oslo),
Sjusjoen
(cabins), Geilo.
Lots of skiers you meet on the trails speak English, though you
might not guess that from the websites. See ski
info - Discussion
- Story1
-
more . . . Lake Placid |
Mt Van Hoevenberg
November training site for
serious North American racers, and for serious skiers looking for fun
skiing.
In addition to race camps, they've been holding actual
elite races here before the end of November. Silver Star
also has lift-served downhill skiing and snowboarding. Key
organizational point: If you cannot get a good flight to the
Kelowna airport, it's a long drive from anywhere else, difficult in bad
weather.
see
Silver Star
- Sovereign
Lake
Famous place for summer and fall
skiing --
Story1
-
Story2
- Story3.
On the main Dachstein Glacier page,
select "Sommer", then "Gletscherbahn", and "Trainingszentrum").
Also has lift-served downhill skiing and snowboarding. Nearest
airport is Salzburg, but could also drive there from Munich. Note:
the glacier is at a much higher altitude than most folks normally do
their XC skiing, so it's worth considering how your body is going to
handle acclimatization.
- Bend, Oregon -- fun for spring skiing.
Some elite American
racers can often be found here. Mt Bachelor also has lift-served downhill skiing and snowboarding.
see
Mt Bachelor Cross
Country
- Tumalo Langlauf Club -
race camp schedule.
A place some American
racers have tried is Sognefjellet, near the Sognefjord. Note
that this place is near a very large body of water, which influences
its weather. Organizational point: Sognefjellet is a long
way from Oslo, and Oslo gets little direct air service from North
America.
see ski info
- Val Senales / Schnalstal -- near Kurzras in
the Südtirol (Trentino Alto Adige) region of northeastern Italy, just
south of the Austrian border.
Autumn training site
for some famous national race teams. Likely airport is Milano,
but perhaps could also be reached by train and bus (or rental car in
good conditions) from Zurich. see website1
- website2 -
story1
Some elite American racers train around
Fairbanks or
Hatcher Pass in autumn -- but it's dark a lot then.
Some say
it's better to wait until there's skiing in
Anchorage
--
Story1
-- some elite racers have trained on the Eagle Glacier in spring and
summer.
See XC
ski Alaska
Traditional place for USA race camps in
November --
Rendezvous
Ski Trails - -
Free
Heel & Wheel. Nearest airport is Bozeman, Montana -- but
could also consider flying to Salt Lake City with the hope of doing some
XC skiing around there between
the airline flight and a long drive in darkness to or from West
Yellowstone.
Gavin Watt wrote (on the rec.skiing.nordic
group): The main Nordic skiing sites in Australia are the Victorian High Country
Resorts of Falls Creek (where the
Kangaroo Hoppet
race is held in late August), Mount Hotham (they also have a biathlon range), Lake Mountain and in New
South Wales, Perisher Blue.
see Discussion
- Australia
XC skiing -
Gavin
Watt's website
Gavin Watt wrote (on the rec.skiing.nordic
group): New Zealand has a good resort called
Waiorau Ski
Farm near Queenstown on the South Island.
see Discussion
-
Gavin
Watt's website
So far, the only XC skiing I've heard of is in
Ushuaia
in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, near the southern tip of the
continent. (My question: Is it true that Tierra del Fuego is
surrounded by oceans known for furious weather?)
For more ideas, see
XCskiworld
|
