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“Hey, are you going skiing this weekend?” inquires winter sports fan #1.
“Of course,” replies #2.
“Big Mountain or Blacktail?” asks #1.
“Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of the field in my back yard,” answers #2, leaving #1 bewildered.
Yes, it’s true. Not every extreme skier is the downhill type. Many FHS students have found the alternative winter sports of cross-country skiing and snowshoeing viable options to expensive tickets and long lift lines.
“I usually go cross-country skiing for fun. I’ve done it forever, mostly on family excursions,” said junior Josie Parsons. “And the workout doesn’t detract from the experience, either.”
Glacier Park is the area recommended most by students to cross-country ski. According to Glacier National Park’s Jerry Nelson, weekends are the busiest time at the Park.
“There are usually three or four cars up here on weekdays, but some weekends there will be 30 or 40 cars,” said Nelson. “McDonald Lake is one of the most accessible areas. It’s at the end of the plowed road after the hotel that seems to attract a lot of skiers.”
Kalispell Parks and Recreation recommends groomed trails around Blacktail Mountain and Herron Park. Local golf courses and lake shores, like the banks of Lake Five, are also popular sites.
Veterans warn that cross-country skiing is not an easy sport to master.
“It takes a lot more coordination than downhill skiing,” said junior Lindsey Bennett. “Even the little hills are kind of scary when you’re on cross-country skis. That’s what makes telemarking so hard — every little bump has you going ‘whoah’.”
For die-hard outdoorsmen, showshoes become the preferred mode of transportation on winter camping treks. Preferred hiking sites include Jewel Basin and Glacier Park.
According to senior Alyssa Peterman, hiking and snowshoeing are at two different ends of the spectrum.
“Snowshoeing is more difficult than hiking,” said Peterman. “Sometimes you hit deep snow and get stuck. If you want to get a better workout, it’s a lot harder if you go at a jogging pace.”
Senior Chris Burtch enjoys snowshoeing for its solitude and individuality.
“I’ve been on a couple backpacking trips when I went winter camping,” said Burtch. “I like it because it’s secluded, back in the wilderness without any people.”
So before you veg out on Saturday due to lack of funding, be resourceful and dig out your parents’ cross-country skis from the ’70s. And location shouldn’t be much of a problem either.
Parson’s exuberance for cross-country skiing, “is always leading me up some mountain or another.”
And in the Flathead Valley, a lack of mountain space is no excuse for not trying a new sport.
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