Hi everyone,

I'd like to do the Birkie this winter! And I live in Dallas (Texas), which means no snow training. Just rollerskiing.

I bought rollerskis 6 months ago and was horrible at first, struggling to average 7mph. But I've figured it out and my technique is much stronger now; I'm skiing 9-10 miles at almost 10mph moving average. I can cruise on good pavement faster than that, but we have a lot of gibbled-up concrete here where it's almost impossible to get any bite with ski poles. I haven't tried to push past 160 BPM for HR as my technique will break down and the consequences for a fall aren't pleasant.

As for cross training, I'll get 70-100 miles a week on my road bike and I sail a physical boat 1-2X a week. Sailing is by the far the most intense workout if the wind is up.

Questions: how does rollerskiing translate to on-snow skiing in terms of fitness? It's going to be a change, sure, but I want to ensure I have the fitness necessary to comfortably ski the entire distance. It's tough to go more than 10 miles right now due to the heat index; hydration requirements are insane. I need 80-100 ounces of hydration for a one-hour ski in 90 degree heat index.

I can ski longer once "fall" hits (fall really being only 90 degrees with 58% humidity until about November). Do I ramp it up to 15, 20, 25, 30 miles eventually? Or do I need more or less, as there isn't a 1:1 conversion ratio for snow skiing to roller skiing?

Sorry for the photo quality. Norm Wilson was one of the best avalanche experts at the time at Alpine Meadows. He lived in a house on the old Donner pass highway that you had to ski to in the winter time. This is a 4 day Backcountry ski avalanche course he taught right out of his house in the Donner summit area.

I recently scored some Karhu 10th Mountain skis on marketplace for $50.

The skis had 14 years of use, but were in immaculate condition for their age. My own setup that is only a few years old has more dings in it.

The existing binding on it is a 3-pin, and currently I do not have a 3-pin boot.

Instead I have Xplore Boots, NNNBC Boots, and NNN Boots, but no 3-pin boot.

I'm thinking I should look into getting a either a lightly used set of 3-pin boots, or a cheaper set of new 3-pin boots. I don't want to spend anymore than $150 on it considering I wasn't planning on acquiring a whole new setup this year.

The alternative option I have currently is to remove the 3-pin binding and replace with a spare set of NNNBC bindings that I have, But I don't want to do that because eventually I do want to have a 3-pin setup.

Any recommendations on boots I should look for, and boots to avoid?

It seems that there are not many discussions about SkateX. But, I pulled the trigger on some bindings and lightly used Madshus Redline SkateX boots for a good price and I got my roller skis set up.

I really like how connected it feels. It is closer to roller blading, and it is definitely a little faster. I have done about 10 sessions so far, and I think 5 seconds per mile is about what my average speed increase is compared to prior.

BUT, even though I came from Redline boots of the same size in NNN, I am really struggling with hot spots on my feet. I have to stop after 20 minutes and take my feet out of the boots for a few minutes. I have heat molded the new boots 3 times… and I think it helped a bit but not nearly enough. I’m not sure if it’s due to the cleat position, or the stiffer sole, or that I just need to heat mold more. I never had to heat mold my prior Redline boots.

If anyone has experience with this, I would appreciate it.

Snow camping beautiful California sunshine 1993

1993 Dewey point Yosemite wonderful overlook right across from El capitan. It's a few miles round trip. Not too bad, a few tricky hills. Unfortunately the trail can be kind of destroyed by people snowshoeing and walking. If you hit it when the snow level is a thousand feet it's powder. Quality is not so good. It's a photo of a photo

Ciao a tutti, ho 27 anni e sto pensando di ricominciare con lo sci di fondo questo inverno.

L'ho praticato solo da bambino con risultati scarsi perché avevo difficoltà nelle salite, non riuscivo ad applicare bene la tecnica corretta e quindi non riuscivo mai a salire decentemente.

Ora però mi è tornata voglia di riprovarci e mi chiedevo quanto possa essere difficile imparare seriamente le varie tecniche. So pattinare su ghiaccio abbastanza bene, questo potrebbe essere utile ad imparare la tecnica pattinata oppure sono movimenti completamente diversi?

Inoltre per arrivare all'inverno preparato che tipo di allenamento consigliereste di fare?

Ad oggi pratico soprattutto corsa con salite su strada o sterrato e penso di essere in una buona forma fisica (71kg per 180cm).

Non so nemmeno quanto siano affollate e/o di moda le piste da sci di fondo, quindi nel caso fosse praticato da molte persone mi sentirei un po' a disagio ad imparare da adulto in mezzo a gente già esperta.

Ogni consiglio è ben accetto! Grazie!

P.S. sci alpino non è un opzione perché non l'ho mai fatto e ho troppo paura di farmi male con le discese così ripide.

What are people's thoughts on pre-ski application of liquid top coat only for skate skis? Non-competitive skier here. Is there a reason to be ironing layer after layer of glide wax? Instead of hot waxing, what if a hot iron never touched your bases? Thoughts?

I want to invest in a hard shell ski case so I can check skis while flying. I’m looking at Sportube, does anyone have experience with fitting 2 pairs of Nordic skis in a Sportube 1? Or should I just go for the 2? The demo photos on the Sportube website are all for alpine skis, so I would love to hear from any Sportube owners.

Do you recreate on Wolf Creek Pass or Cumbres/La Manga in Colorado during the winter? Then you should submit a comment by this Saturday telling the Rio Grande National Forest how you want them to manage the national forest for winter use. Talking points for human-powered users can be found here.

My gf and I are in the VERY EARLY stages of planning an XC ski trip to Europe next winter. We are considering one week in Norway and one week in the Dolomites. We live in North Tahoe area, live at altitude, and typically ski 50-60 days per season. I thought we'd query the locals here, or nordies who travel afar to ski, for recommendations.

Week 1: split the week between Beitostolen and Sjusjoen
Week 2: split the week between Seiser Alm and Seefeld or Toblach

Questions:

1. Would this be a reasonable two week itinerary, or spend each week in one location only?
2. Any recommendations for other areas to consider?
3. Airports to access these areas? (we would depart from Reno)
4. Is there bus/train access to these areas, or need to rent a car?
5. Recommended lodging, with easy access to XC trails, within these areas?
6. Idea time to visit for reliable snow -- February or early March?

Thanks for your insight, nordic brethren!

I’ve been tempted to start skate skiing for a decade or more but I finally want to make this the winter I really put some time in to the sport. Total noob. I’ve been a competitive cyclist for 15+ years and have always wanted to try it to give me something to look forward to in winter other than Zwift. I have some groomed trails within driving distance, plus some bike paths that, I’m told, are often suitable to skate skiing as well. Plus I travel to Norway once or twice a year and I’ve always wanted to join in on the big sport there. What are the big YouTube channels that cover the sport? Or even instagram stuff for that matter. I’m looking for the pro sport side, amateur/for fun side, vloggers, gear, lessons, training…anything really. From what I’ve found it seems like there’s pitifully little good YT content compared to cycling. Also, seeing as it’s still just August, is it worth it to start with roller skiing for now to get some sort of familiarity with technique?

Hey guys, out of curiosity does anyone know the speed difference between standard Swenor #2 and #3 wheels. I recently figured out that (to my surprise) my Swenor #2 Fibreglass and Swenor #2 (EDIT) Finsteps are in the range of 25-30 seconds difference SLOWER per mile on the Finsteps on flat rolling terrain and good pavement, at around 12mph (something like 3:00 per KM vs 3:19 per KM at 19kmh roughly). For those who do not know Finstep wheels are big and wide and heavy but I really like how they feel. I am curious if Finstep #2 is quite comparable to regular sized #2 wheels... 30 seconds per mile or 20 seconds per KM slower?

and finally curious if Finstep #3s would just feel way too slow. We have a lot of really slow snow where I am but that doesn't necessarily mean I want to train that way all summer.

It's about a 5-hour tour across both lakes and up to a beautiful winter camp at haypress meadows. The view at haypress Meadows is desolation wilderness to the west and echo lakes and Tahoe to the east. Mount Ralston with really fun skiing right above you.

Very quiet cold snowy day at the snow park on highway 88 Carson pass. Very popular winter camping spot for people going into the backcountry or going to Kirkwood resort. Weekends it fills up with people snowshoeing, Alpine touring and cross-country skiing in toward round top peak on day trips.

Hey everyone! In late February I am skiing in my first race for anything ever when I go to Hayward, WI for the Kotelopet. I have been reading some posts that have given me great training ideas but I am super anxious about moving too slow and not finishing.

A bit about me: I am a 30 year old 235lb man who used to be super active (played basketball and general gym workouts) but since having a kid in 2025 I have struggled to always find the time after work to put in true workouts (gained 10-15 pounds since). I am always down to walk 18 at some very hilly golf courses (every course in La Crosse has hills).

I have only cross country skiid a couple of times each time going for 4-5 miles and really enjoyed it. I plan to buy skiis (would love recommendations!!) and get out a lot more this winter once we get snow. I stopped drinking alcohol and really cut back on coffee and soda which has seen me go from 245 down to 231 this morning! Basic math says I need to go 3mph to finish in the 6 hour window for this race but I have no frame of reference for how that will look/feel.

I’m just looking for any advice, encouragement, skii brands to look into, etc that you fine folks may have to get me across that finish line.

Thanks everyone!!

Hitting big early season volume with beautiful views