Skate Skis
If you watch nordic skiing in the
Olympics, this is probably what you see. (Although they also have
classical skiing). This is where people 'skate' on their skis.
It's wonderful! It's fast! It's also tiring - as a skier of a
certain age, I love skate skiing, but I get tired out fast. With
classical skiing, I can just slow my pace down a bit and keep going,
but it's hard to slow down with skate skiing. You're either going
fast or not going at all. I have to stop and pant. Coming
up from the bottom of White Salmon is an ordeal for me! (But also
a great workout if you are in good shape.)
Ideally you have
fresh corduroy to skate on - but some of my most fun trips have been
'crust skiing'. In the spring if you catch it just right, the snow
melts during the day, then freezes during the night, and you can ski
anywhere on the crust in the morning. Just finish your trip
before it melts again and you break through the crust! I've skied to
the far end of the SE White Salmon Extension on the crust, as well as
skiing Anderson in mid April (with old skis that I don't mind a few
scratches on...)
Experienced classical skiers sometimes say that
skating is 'hard' - but beginning high school racers think that skating
is easier than classical.
The high, stiff boots give you lots of
support and can help with control on the downhills. Coming down
the Near Cougar Loop on fresh grooming is a blast!
You can get
'combi' boots for both classical and skating, but skate boots are
preferable. And you'll need longer poles than you use with
classical skis. See the sizing page for recommendations.
The three numbers: something like 41 . 45 . 44 - no sidecut. Going
downhill, you're supposed to let them 'run flat'. If you ride the
inside edges, they can pull out and leave you face-planted between the
skis. If you need to snowplow, be definitive!
