Cross-country skiing is definitely no longer an old man’s sport

“Flexion, extension.” Don’t wait for him to stick it, he came as late as possible. The instructors present this Thursday in La Vue-des-Alpes (NE) for an introductory course saw around fifty people arrive motivated to discover skating, one of the disciplines of cross-country skiing.

“Cross-country skiing: the less we do, the better off we are,” explains Julien, the instructor, to the fifteen motivated people under his responsibility. He talks to them about the need to be a little lazy. Because he teaches a particular style of sliding, very close to skating. The movement is not necessarily intuitive. “We have to accept the fact that it takes a little time,” advises the expert.

Budding cross-country skiers watch the experts slide naturally on the snow. “We don’t expect this level of difficulty when we observe them,” notes Laurence, not discouraged by the difficulty of the exercise. It will take me about ten hours to be comfortable. I will persevere.” Like the little girl who fell dozens of times in the space of an hour and bravely got up each time.

The bowls continued on the Neuchâtel slopes. So much so that the four skating instructors began to explain how to successfully get up.

“It should have come sooner,” laughs one participant. The problem? There are too many elements to teach. Those who thought that their skiing skills would allow them to fly through the initiation course were disappointed. “We see them regularly,” confirms Jérémy Huguenin, another instructor. These beginners adorn themselves with inefficient gestures. They don’t know anything about the science of the “gliding duck step” and other cross-country skiing basics. If they don’t manage to start from scratch and agree to learn the basics, they generally have a bad time alongside the regulars, who slide effortlessly.

Have fun rather than suffer

First painful lesson: let go of the stick. “It’s only there to disrupt your coordination,” summarizes Julien. You have to find the group of relatively comfortable people, ready to slalom around poles, to see the arms really in use. Their level allows them to use steps other than the duck slide. They also know how to do the “one-stroke”, as well as the “two-stroke.”

An instructor decided to push his group by asking them to remove a ski. He also organized a small competition, asking everyone to go as far as possible with as few movements as possible. Sliding, in a fun form. “The goal is for them to have fun and for them to want to come back,” Jérémy Huguenin had warned an hour earlier, during the briefing.

Mission accomplished. Because the fifty people motivated to (re)discover skating seemed rather satisfied. “At first, I told myself that an hour was a bit short. But between concentration and physicality, it still took a lot of energy,” explains Mélodie.

The Vaudoise has chosen to become a cross-country skier to explore the slopes with her dogs. “I’m not at all interested in going alone,” she admits. I chose to have three dogs to accompany me in nature. My friends advised me to learn to cross-country ski before hanging on to my dog. I don’t regret having listened to them.”

Accessible and inexpensive

A new horizon opens up for neophytes. Access to the slopes is easy and often more direct than for a trip on wider skis. A mother who was warming herself with tea told us she came from Val-de-Ruz, a few minutes by car from there. She enjoys running and road cycling or gravel riding in the summer. Winter? Now she has the opportunity to practice cross-country skiing.

This Neuchâtel resident recognizes it, she would never have thought of it ten years ago. “For me, it was an old man’s sport,” she concedes. Now it’s an activity that he enjoys. “My 16-year-old son made fun of me, asking me what I was going to do with these little skis.” Her teenager likes snowboarding – less nerdy. A smile appears on her lips, precisely because she used the same speech as him in his youth.

Yet it was she who spent an hour braving the bitter cold to ensure she had the basics, accompanied by a friend. The duo couldn’t imagine putting on skis alone either. “It’s more fun to be in a group, the social aspect counts too,” argues one. The other adds: “Seeing others struggle and progressing also helps you feel better.”

Although jostled at the start, some participants managed to quickly find their balance. Jérémy Huguenin sees all types of profiles trying cross-country skiing, from locals to foreign visitors who want to discover local customs. Guillaume, who comes from the south of France, first discovered the sport through an introduction to the Vallée de Joux. “Today my girlfriend was working. I was all alone, so I thought I’d go see about a class.” Bingo, it fell this Thursday, January 2, the day when all the cross-country ski trails in French-speaking Switzerland were free. The initiative comes from Romandie Ski de Fond, which is taking advantage of the new lease of life launched by the pandemic.

People who put on these narrow skis appreciate the accessibility, the simplicity of putting on their skis a few kilometers from home. “Living in Neuchâtel, it is much more practical to do cross-country skiing than ski touring,” explains Guillaume. He practices trail running and mountain biking, and he likes to have a new endurance discipline to keep him busy in the winter. Complementary sport, he sees himself putting on skis regularly to maintain his cardio, his coordination and his balance. “I think it rounds out the race well. Then, for the head, it’s also good not to always do the same thing,” he smiles.

His other pairs of skis are likely to spend more time in the warm, because cross-country skiing is financially advantageous. The digital pass which gives access to the French-speaking slopes costs 80 francs for one season. The right of access to national routes costs 160 francs. “It’s still much less expensive than alpine skiing,” says Laurence, who already practiced the classic style before trying skating. Then the lightness and the equipment and the ease with which you can put it in the car, stop in a parking lot and do three quarters of an hour of cross-country skiing is something that I appreciate. There’s no waiting.”

A subscription, pairs of skis and poles and clothes that resist the cold are enough to set off on an adventure on the approximately 3,500 kilometers of Swiss cross-country ski trails. There is no doubt that some of those who braved the cold of La Vue-des-Alpes this Thursday will return. The progress was too great, the pleasure too exponential to leave the skis in the cellar.

Rebecca Garcia is a journalist in the sports section. Holder of a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Neuchâtel, she is particularly interested in alpine skiing and the economics of sport.More info

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