Discussion: well done :)

See - it's not so bad!

It’s like paddling in a canoe with a kayak paddle. It doesn’t feel right from a tradition perspective but it is faster and all the cool kids are doing it. ;-)

The main reason we didn’t pursue it years ago is that we seldom went to XC ski centres, which we saw as being like hamster wheels. We’d rather just ski through the woods on or off trail. Climate change has made groomed ski networks a lot more appealing in southern Ontario so we can thank climate skeptics for getting us into skate skiing three decades late!

SUCH a fun hard sport, skate skiing! glad you are enjoying it - fun to switch things up a bit!

When I first started to ski it was mostly ungroomed trails and forest. I missed doing that until I started to snowshoe. I really enjoy snowshoeing through the woods and in a variety of terrain. Snowshoeing on groomed trails? not so much.

Agreed. At ski centres, they often make you snowshoe on trail but at least there are options elsewhere for off-trail snowshoeing - like this Saturday! :) (I hope we'll be using snowshoes at the Raid but it's not certain.)

I really miss slapping the skis on at the door, harnessing the dog and heading out for a few hours of ungroomed classic in fresh snow. Maybe my favourite sport of all.
If we are going to ski groomed trails with a bit of icy base, skate is definitely becoming more fun and less work. Mind you, Scenic caves has less steep hills than Highlands, and I do better on more gentle terrain. I struggle a bit on steep offset climbs on skate skis.

totally agree. that’s why the flatlands of Georgian Nordic are so manageable for me. I miss the days when I used to race SOD and the classic races with the long climbs and downhills of Horseshoe Valley