Cross-Country Ski Techniques

Cross-country skiing is, in many ways, where the roots of skiing lie. Skiing, before it became a big-bucks adrenaline sport, was about winter travel over snow. Modern cross-country ski equipment has become more specialized, as different techniques have evolved in the sport. However, the sport is still about moving over varied terrain.

  1. The Basics

    • Classic technique is what most people think of when they picture cross-country skiing; it is called striding, or kick-and-glide. In kick-and-glide, one leg slides forward. It is necessary to keep the hip slightly forward and in line with the forward-moving ski. This presses the ski down and engages the wax that is applied, or waxless pattern, underneath the foot, enabling the ski to grip the snow. As this ski slows, the other leg is moved forward. Racers use a pole plant, or sometimes a double plant, to assist with this motion. The technique is relatively easy to learn and can be assisted by going to a Nordic center that has groomed tracks for this type of skiing.

      Diagonal technique is a slight variation on this.

    Skating Technique

    • The skating technique evolved in the '80s and is essentially ice skating with skis. For experienced ice or in-line skaters, it is easy to pick up. The skis used are a little shorter than those used in the classic technique, and the bases are waxed with a glide wax to assist with the motion. In skating technique, the skier rotates one ski to its inside edge and kicks out diagonally, then brings the ski back to neutral and kicks out the other ski diagonally.

    Uphill and Downhill Technique

    • Since cross-country skiing is about travel, skiers often have to negotiate small slopes. The technique for going uphill is called herringbone and resembles a skating motion. To learn it, the skier puts her skis in a V pattern and walks up the hill while maintaining the V. Better skiers can use this technique to skate uphill.

      When moving downhill, alpine techniques such as the snowplow, an A pattern formed with the skis, are used to slow momentum. The snowplow can also be used to turn by weighting the downhill (outside) ski a little more while flattening the uphill ski. In a track, a skier can use a modified snowplow to slow down, keeping one ski in the track while placing the other ski at an angle to the ski in the track.