Our cross country ski holidays are rated moderate.

The trip is perfect for beginners, with no previous ski or winter sport experience, however you’ll need a good level of fitness to get the most from this experience.

Fitness Requirements

You take part in medium to high-intensity cardio exercise 3 times a week, for around 45 minutes each time.

What That Might Look Like

Your weekly routine regularly includes activities like running, HIIT sessions, crossfit, cycling, or spin classes. While you don’t need to be a world-class athlete or breaking records, you're accustomed to workouts that raise your heart rate and leave you breathing heavily for about 45 minutes each time.

Engaging in low-intensity activities, like walking, yoga, and pilates will be beneficial, but these alone won't be enough to meet the cardio demands of this trip.

What to Expect

Duration: Each day You’ll be active for 6-7 hours, some days will consist of two sessions, each lasting 2-3 hours. Some days may have longer full-day tours.

Distance: We'll cover between 8km to 25km daily. Consider if you can comfortably walk these distances and on consecutive days.

Intensity: Cross country skiing often feels like "running with skis on" long flat sections uphill climbs can be physically demanding, so you do need a good level of fitness!

Downhill: The trails are not overly steep, but you will need to be comfortable gaining speed on a slope.

Sliding Motion: Being comfortable with a gliding sensation is essential.

Falling: Expect a few tumbles while learning cross country skiing. Though these falls are generally softer than in alpine skiing, you’ll need to be comfortable with the idea of falling!

Cold Exposure: While activity generates warmth, January and February often see temperatures dip below freezing. We'll advise you on effective layering to stay warm.

Consecutive Activity: This trip involves several days of consecutive skiing, which can be tiring.

If you have any questions about this, please do get in touch before booking, we're happy to help!

We’re here to support you out of your comfort zone as you learn something new, by creating fun and supportive environments. We recognise everyone’s journey in trying new sports is different, so we’ve developed different level weeks to help you get the most out of the experience! We believe cross-country skiing is a fantastic sport for beginners with no previous skiing experience, but it may not be the sport for everyone.

Ther movement and terrain

Cross country skiing is a gliding and sliding motion. If you do not like the sensation of sliding or are nervous about falling, this winter sport might not be for you.

Cross country skiing does have downhill sections, they aren’t super steep, but you will learn to go down them and control your speed. If you do not like the sensation of going downhill, maybe from previous skiing experiences, then you may not enjoy cross country skiing.

You need to be prepared to fall over a bit while learning! Usually, the soft snow makes these falls relatively painless.

Fitness

Cross country skiing is a physically demanding sport at times! It does get described as ‘running with skis on’. In as far as cardio fitness goes, this is true - it can be hard work! We do recommend you have a good base fitness level to get the most out of the experience. Each day we will have 2 x 2-3 hour lessons and tours and on some occasions full day tours.

If you do physical activity that gets your heart rate up a minimum of 3 times a week for at least 45 minutes, you’ll have a great time on skis!

We encourage you to be kind to yourself when deciding if this is the sport for you.

No! This trip is designed for complete beginners. We can’t wait to share the joys of nordic and cross country skiing with you! Working with fantastic ski instructors and guides, you’ll receive excellent tuition progressing your skills throughout the week, learning new techniques and building your mileage to explore incredible remote and snowy landscapes.

Have a read of our blog post here for  why we have chosen cross country skiing!

For cross country skiing we use light-weight skis and boots. There are no ski lifts and instead we glide across the snow, powered by our own effort. Cross country ski areas have prepared tracks where the snow has been pressed to create a smooth gliding surface. The terrain is gently rolling, for the most part. We will teach you the techniques you need to travel across the snow, and up and down gentle gradients.

You can also go further afield - away from the prepared tracks, exploring more of the wilderness, still in gentle rolling terrain. This is done at a gentle and appropriate pace, to suit the group.

Cross country skiing is an activity enjoyed by a variety of people and for different reasons: it can be a way to explore and take in the winter landscape away from the crowds and it is also an exciting sport which combines learning ski technique with great exercise.

Most people find learning to cross country ski much easier than alpine skiing. If you are active in daily life and have a good fitness level, then you'll be well on your way to exploring a good portion of the ski area surrounding our hotel after a few days.

The great thing is that skiers of different abilities can ski the same tracks - the only difference is that they may be travelling at a different pace. This means you feel like you're making rapid progress and gives you a great sense of achievement!

You do need to be prepared to fall over a bit while you’re learning! Usually the soft snow makes these falls fairly painless.

Very quickly, skiers of different abilities can ski the same tracks (although they may be travelling at a different pace), so you won't be stuck on the baby tracks!  

Cross country and alpine skiing are distinct and very different from one another. Any prior ski knowledge is certainly a help, but the techniques and equipment used in cross country skiing is not the same, and foundational training for cross country is essential. Even experienced alpine skiers should start as beginners!

Working on your cardiovascular fitness will help you with endurance and stamina. Walking at a good pace (where you feel slightly out of breath) is really useful, or of course, running or cycling or performing other higher intensity exercise.

Improving your strength, core stability and balance really helps with cross country skiing too. Good balance is essential for weight transfer from one ski to the next. We will be balancing on one ski as it glides – so if standing one one leg is a challenge then practising will help!  You could stand on one leg every time you clean your teeth! Activities and sports that challenge our balance can help us develop our balance in a progressive way, including Pilates, yoga and dancing.

Please see our blog about cross country ski clothing here.

In a nutshell, when we are cross country skiing we are very active and generating heat while out in the cold. While moving we get hot (and sweaty!) but then when we stop in the cold, we cool down quickly. The mistake people often make is overdressing, getting too hot and sweaty whilst moving and then cooling off quickly and then feeling cold and damp at every stop. In addition, when we’re skiing with a group we may stop more frequently or for longer than you would if you were alone. Cross country skiing does NOT require the same sort of clothing as downhill skiing because the warm, padded clothing for downhill skiing takes into account long stretches sitting still on chairlifts at the mercy of the weather - not needed whilst cross country skiing! 

We recommend a variety of wool or synthetic base layers, topped by a windproof, breathable waterproof hiking jacket (shell) with a hood, with a warm, insulated jacket in a backpack to put on at rest stops. On your legs, we recommend windproof, water repellent, breathable soft shell type fitted trousers or leggings.

We recommend avoiding cotton clothing as it gets wet and cold and doesn't dry fast.

Other vital items are warm socks, sunglasses, sunscreen, waterproof and insulated gloves, a buff and hat.

Yes! Ensure you bring a daypack with you that has plenty of space for layers that you need to peel off and put away. We recommend a backpack of about 25 litres. 

It is a good idea to carry a warm, insulated jacket in your bag that you can put on at rest stops to stop you from getting cold, and a spare pair of gloves because wet gloves are the worst! Make sure there is some space in your bag before you begin as you are likely to need to put layers away as you warm up.

It is a really good idea to carry a couple of smaller, lightweight dry bags to keep the clothes in your backpack from getting wet.

The yoga sessions are slow and restorative to help you recover from a day of skiing! Wear a jumper as you won't get hot in these sessions.

Yes! You can find it here.