Cross Country Skiing
Cross country skiing is considered a hard and challenging sport. It is basically past of the winter sports Nordic skiing set of activities.
Cross country skiing is thus somehow related and similar in some ways to other Nordic winter sports like ski jumping.
Cross country skiing was not originally a sport. It traces it roots to earlier practices in Fennoscandian countries in the ancient Europe. In the 19th century, when skiing was starting to get really popular, cross country skiing also emerged as a popular and harder alternative to skiing.
Originally, the activity was a means of mobility that facilitates the transport of one person from one place to another using ski equipment gliding over the snow.
In the ancient times, people were really challenged by the immobility and adverse effect of transportation brought about by snow. Thus, cross country skiing became popular because mobility was accelerated, without further investment on oil and electricity.
For hunting
The primary and first usage of cross country skiing when it was devised and started out in Fennoscandian region in the 19th century was for hunting activities. Winter and snow then prevented people from finding ample and sufficient food.
Thus, through cross country skiing, the people were made able to hunt for deer and other animals even if there is snow around.
The use for hunting has become widely practiced to almost all the countries plagued by excessive winter and snowing. Nowadays, people in Norway and Finland, where there is always snow most time of the year, are almost all familiar with cross country skiing.
The native Americans are also believed to have used cross country skiing for hunting purposes especially in those areas in the ancient United States that are almost always covered by snow throughout the year.
Other uses of cross country skiing
Cross country skiing has also been used as a useful skill by explorers during winter season. Those explorers make use of skiing as a means of transportation especially on geographic locations characterized by slopes and down hills capped with inches and inches of snow.
Army troops had also learned cross country skiing. They had carried with them ski poles and crossbows, and sometimes guns and other weapons while cross country skiing.
The skill is really hard and the practice is really challenging.
The cross country ski equipment
The equipment used for cross country skiing is traditionally and conventionally made up of wooden skis, or with bamboo poles. Leather hand straps also are used at the same time.
The cross country skier is first made to wear leather boots that are with very thick and firm soles. These are where the straps for the ski equipment would be tied to.
Equipment for cross country skiing is widely distributed and marketed in countries where there is excessive snowing every winter. The prices can be really high and expensive, that is why getting into the sport or recreational hobby of cross country skiing can be considered really as a significant investment.
But just like other activities, where efforts, money and interest are poured into, cross country skiing would really match the investments. To make the long point short, the activity is worth all the costs, the ardent preparations and all the troubles.
Not all people can cross country ski so be among the small number of those who can.