X-Country Skiing Lesson - Hills

Right away I announced to Instructor Martina that I would like help with hill climbing this time. I wasn't even sure whether you're supposed to stay in the tracks and fight or get out and herring bone. I suck so bad at herring bone that I tend to keep running, but I wasn't sure if that was a waste of energy. To my great surprise, she told me that if I don't have much trouble climbing in the tracks on most hills, that is quite impressive, and that I should stay in the tracks as long as I can.

Running uphill in tracks:
- short, quick steps
- full transfer of weight from foot to foot
- kicking foot forward and attacking
- using the shoulders to help with the weight transfer.
Turns out I was already doing most of these things just by instinct, but the more aggressive "stair climbing" technique really helped.

Then she wanted to introduce some alternative techniques for when I would have to get out of the tracks.
1. Skating diagonal climb: like herring bone, but with a skating sideways glide for more propulsion
- could not get the glide into it, at least not uphill. On flats it was okay, but no way going up
2. Skating parallel pole climb: similar, but both poles touch down together
- same difference, there's just no glide in these little fishscale skis (although Martina had the same equipment!)
3. ("Plan D") Fast herring bone: herring bone with the straight running technique of kicking forward
- by far the best and easiest, fastest and most fun: she told me to just stick to what I know

I also asked her about downhilling and cornering. So the last technique was a kind of half-turn, also based on skating technique:
- the inner foot guides, while the outer foot glides sideways for propulsion. You can go round and around like this. At least Martina can. I have no talent for this sideways gliding thing. She made me try it along a slope, which was a disaster. But for the record, you're supposed to go downhill, slow down a bit, and then do these quick turning steps to corner. Uh-huh.

When I went out to practise, I did actually manage to corner a bit better than before, but I'm just so unsteady out of the tracks. Maybe need to try skating next year to see if I can improve my balance.

--Duration: 45mins