Cross-Country Skiing: Need Pølser
Last Saturday, I went very spontaneously cross-country skiing with some friends. We were four in total and our destination was Ullevålseter, a small cottage just outside of Oslo. Since we were all beginners (except for the Norwegian guy), we did not know whether we would actually make it there.
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Just outside of Oslo
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The weather was really beautiful and the sun was shining. The entire forest was lit up and since the snow was new, it felt like being in a totally different world. When there are no other people around, it is also totally silent, because the snow dampens down all sounds.
Compared to down-hill skiing, I must say that cross-country skiing is a bit more challenging with regard to the condition. You basically need all your muscles to ski (especially when it goes uphill). Besides, the waxing of the skis is a science of its own. First, I could not get up the hills, but then I just applied the red wax instead of the blue on and finally it worked perfectly. There is a wax for every kind of weather, we were joking whether there is also a wax that has to be used on Mondays with temperatures between -3 and -1.5, with a mild breeze blowing from south west.
But basically, cross-country skiing is quite simple. You just step into the skis and start marching. The braking works similar to down-hill skiing, but the skis feel a bit "more unstable" because they are also much lighter.
We finally made it to Ullevålseter, where for the first time in my life, I actually wanted to have a Pølse, which is nothing more than a simple hot dog and Norwegians are crazy about these Pølser. The way down was of course much more fun than going up and also much quicker.
I took just a few pictures, which you can see here.