Skiing camp

Warning: this post is about cross-country skiing only, so skip it if you don't give a rat's ass about the sport :D

Skiing is a tough sport and requires practicing - if you're not doing it for fun only, like I used to. For me, cross-country skiing has always been a fun sport, but I was always more drawn to downhill skiing. I guess it was the speed and excitement that just took over me ;) The view from the top of a mountain is just breath-taking and there are also many other activities that you can do there. After-ski, for example ;) lol.

But to get back to cross-country skiing, I think it was in 2009 that something changed. We traveled to Lapland with my mom and her better half and skied there for a week. We went for long skiing trips, longer than I've ever been to and I think I kind of took those trips as a challenge and wanted to learn to ski well. Not just for fun, but learn how to do it for the joy of the sport itself and the exercise, of course. During that week, I went downhill skiing by myself too, but it was a bit boring since I had no company. I think it was there and then that I realized how much fun cross-country skiing can also be. Long trips on the mountains, beautiful views there too, and hot juice for breaks :P Since then, I have been been skiing more and the last couple of years have been great in terms of the sport.

This winter I have been practicing a lot more than ever before and actually feel like there has been some progress. So far I've been skiing along "easier routes" (no hills :D) in Helsinki and on challenging tracks at our cottage in Vierumäki - there are a lot of tracks in the forest that are taken really good care of! I have already noticed that with this practicing, 1-4 times a week, I can now ski for longer without feeling like I'm gonna faint soon :D Also, I have improved my technique quite a bit and understand more about the maintenance of skis and how the weather affects their functionality. There are a lot of things to improve still, but I'm eager to learn more :)

So here I am, at our cottage in Vierumäki again. I have practically spent the days on skis, practicing, which is smart considering our upcoming skiing trip in Lapland in March. I have to be ready for longer routes and challenging tracks ;)

Tuesday: 10km in the morning and 10km in the evening

My new Madshus skis

The 10 km in the morning were like having glue in the bottom of my skis. My brand new zero skis! Ugh. They're meant for a warmer weather, but the temperature had dropped too low and I should have had my regular skis with me. Anyway, it was tough and I was exhausted when we got back to the cottage.

The right skis for -5C weather

In the evening another pair of regular skis worked like magic. We literally flew on the skiing tracks, it was so much fun! Me and my mom were supposed to go only for a short trip, but ended up skiing for another 10km :)

Back at the cottage after our second round of the day

Wednesday: 15km + an awesome sunny weather

No need for titles, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves ^___^

On Wednesday we had such a luck with the weather! It was all bright and sunny and the skis that I had were perfect for that weather. No slipping, but the skis slided on the tracks like dream. We decided to take a different route than before, and skied 7,5km along it, turned and skied back the same way.

Thursday: 22km + slipping and falling down on my face a couple of times :D

On our way to Heinola

A hut for skiers and hikers to have a cup of coffee in

Never forget the hot juice ;)

View to a frozen lake

No horsepower on the skiing tracks :')

Half way of the "Lynx route"!

Today I was impressed, me and my mom skied 22km! Whoop whoop! We took the "Lynx route" from Vierumäki to Heinola, 11km there and back. I had to face a couple of minor accidents on the way (falling down on my face), but survived with just a few bruises and a tummy hurting out of laughter :)) Well, I'll learn some day.. :D

Tomorrow we're leaving, but are probably gonna go skiing one more time in the morning. Nothing too long, since our legs are still hurting from all the previous trips ;) So let's see if I can survive this "camp" and learn a little something again for the upcoming trip to Lapland.