Those more familiar with skiing being a downhill sport might be forgiven for wondering why anyone might ever want to ski up the hill as well. And from that particular point of view, cross country skiing might seem a little silly and pointless. However, if that is the case, why then doesn’t a cyclist look at a runner with the thought of how much easier the task would be if only the runner had a bike? But since when has sport been about doing something easy? Sport is about challenge and competition and pushing the limits of human endeavour is it not? That’s not to say that cross-country skiing need be difficult and arduous; like so many other skills it may be learned in stages and progressed through levels each of which has its own unique sense of achievement. Dare I mention it's actually a lot of fun too?

At its extremes there are few sports that can compete in terms of cardio vascular fitness, calorie burn and range of muscles exercised for all-round body condition. In addition, it's kinder on the joints than running based sports. In that respect, cross country skiing is much more akin to cycling or swimming. With regards the later, there are many more similarities in terms of technique, power, efficiency, and elegance. There’s little better feeling than when all these elements click in to place and you find yourself gliding gracefully across the snow.

Cross-country skiing is often used as a blanket term for several separate skiing disciplines including classic "Langlauf", skating/freestyle, ski touring, telemarking and backcountry skiing. It is also referred to as Nordic skiing although to be more precise, cross-country skiing is itself a sub-discipline of the Nordic skiing family of sports. The term "Nordic" refers to several skiing disciplines where the heel of the ski boot is free of the ski binding and covers the likes of ski jumping.

With regards Blue Vixen, only the classic and skating styles are explored to any depth although some telemarking techniques may be introduced at the discretion of the instructor. Ski touring may also be an option for the more experienced participants. Both techniques are practised on prepared trails; the classic technique using parallel tracks (although it can be without tracks), and the skating technique being used on any flattened pisted area. Both techniques require different skills and to a point, different equipment. Classic skis can be used for skating but skating skis lack the grip for classic technique. Ideally, the poles for skating should be longer than for classic but at novice and intermediate levels this makes little difference. On the exped you will be issued with classic skis and poles suitable for training in both styles of skiing

As well as learning a new skills and improving your fitness, cross-country skiing almost always involves travelling through some of the most breathtaking scenery over crisp white snow with cool clean refreshing air filling your lungs. It beats running or cycling down the road in the rain next to lorries spewing out diesel fumes.