Downhill vs. Cross Country Skiing

After skiing cross country for a week and hitting the slopes for one manic day, I've been pondering which I prefer.

First-of-all, I'm still a beginner at both, so I definitely do not feel comfortable doing either - you could say that I am totally out of my comfort zone when skiing. I actually quit downhill skiing for 12 years (!) after a scary experience. When leaving the anchor lift, my jacket got caught on the anchor and I was dragged along for what felt like ages (and yes, it most probably was a hilarious sight - LOL!). Thankfully I was physically ok but it put me off downhill skiing till a year ago, when our son started whizzing down the mountains at three years old! For 12 years I haven't had any practice and the lifts and steep slopes still manage to freak me out. I mean it would be so humiliating to fall down when the lift is halfway up the hill and then they'd have to stop the whole thing for me to scramble out of the way, which would of course take eons..
or what if I get stuck on a steep slope and can't get down in one piece!

Yesterday was an exceptionally intensive downhill skiing day, eight hours non-stop with only a break for lunch and another for a cup of cocoa in between. I can't say that it's that good excercise though, half the time is spent on the lifts going up and obviously with kids in tow, the pace is slow. It was a fun day with the family but in the end I wasn't feeling so 'fun' when my knees were killing me and I was freezing. The kids didn't complain though, even though our son was so tired in the end that his legs couldn't hold him up anymore.

Cross country skiing on the other hand is wonderful excercise - even though I'm so slow that there are people forever overtaking me, afterwards I feel like I've really worked all my muscles! And there seems to be more time to savor the landscapes around you, when you're not trying to speedily go by with the taste of blood in your mouth (although there are people who seem to enjoy that, even in my own family!).
Also, since you're on the move the entire time, you won't feel cold, not even in -20 C.

This week I was lucky enough to ski every day - in the daytime in glistening sunlight and in the evenings underneath clear starry midninght blue sky. This time I even enjoyed clambering up steep hills (maybe I'm progressing?) and the highlight of this week was that I managed to get our pre-teen daughter to join me for 5 km and then 12 km. That was fun, at least for me, LOL!

If you'd ask the kids, they'd say that downhill skiing is more their thing, but for me, cross country is my cup of tea. It's not as trendy or cool as downhill skiing but it's cheaper - you don't need any fancy clothes or accessories, there's no need to buy tickets and the skis are fairly cheap - and, like running, you can go anytime, of course keeping in mind that there has to be snow and readymade skiing tracks that you can follow.

So all you Finns out there, dig out your (cross country) skis from your basements today and enjoy the snow as long as it lasts, the winter might be over soon!