The Crabtowne Cross-Country Skiing program is led by Craig Holberger under the oversight of the Crabtowne Ski Committee.

You can contact him at craig.holberger@SNIPcrabtowne-skiers.org.

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Cross country skiing is not just the marathon races you see in the Olympics! Cross country skiing can be everything from a gentle glide on flat groomed tracks, to slightly more challenging ups and downs over gentle hills , to heart pumping racing marathons or steep and deep jump turns in the trees. In other words, there is something for everyone, young or old, and always something more to learn or another level to achieve.

X-C skiing is an ancient sport, invented by Norwegians. Many of the downhill skiing techniques used today: the parallel turn, and the stem christie turn were invented by Sondra Norheim in a town called Telemark in Norway. He created these techniques while skiing on "free-heel" cross country skis. He also invented the Telemark turn which is that graceful sweeping turn you might have seen done by people wearing funny hats at the downhill resorts.

Traditional cross country skis are long and narrow, known as "skinny" skis. Modern cross country skis are short and wide, a lot like the new parabolic downhill skis. There are several types: Light Touring, Racing (skating) , Backcountry, Telemark, and Ski-Mountaineering. Beginners should rent a pair of light touring skis and give it a try. Rentals and Lessons are very inexpensive and worth their weight in gold for the beginner.

Where to go: School yards, county and state parks, Greenbrier State Park (west of Frederick, MD- 301-791-4767),   Gifford Pinchot State Park ( near York PA 717-432-5011), X-C ski areas: White Grass Ski Touring Center, Hidden Valley Resort in PA, Canaan Valley State Park in West Virginia, Garret County western Maryland. Pennsylvania, New England , Michegan-Wisconsin, Rocky Mountain states, California. Some of my favorite eye-popping places are Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Yosemite National Park, the White Mountains in New Hampshire, and Sugarbush Valley in Vermont.

Equipment Rental: Local shops include Ski Haus on Rt 50 in Cape St Claire, and Trail House in Frederick, MD. There may also be some rental places in the Washington area: Look for the Ski Chalet and other ski shops.

Looking farther afield: REI in College Park, MD has new equipment and rentals. River and Trail Outfitters in Knoxville, MD , and White Grass Ski Touring Center in Canaan Valley, West Virginia, have rentals, demos and used equipment for sale.

Technique Illustrations:

Clothing: Dress in layers and avoid cotton. Silk, polyester, wool and fleece are preferred, with Nylon or Gortex shell jackets on top (with hood). Extra gloves. Extra smiles.