Free Your Heel, Free Your Mind* - A Recap of Everett Nordic Ski Success

Everett Nordic Ski Recap

For the last four decades, the Everett Branch has offered a Nordic (cross-country) ski course in January and February. This year we carried on the tradition and introduced a new batch of adventurers to the joys of Nordic skiing.

The course began on a cold clear day at Kahler Glen on the east side of the mountains and ended in a snowstorm at Gold Creek near Snoqualmie Pass. Highlights included:

The Dying Cockroach: Students learned to mimic a dying cock roach by lying on their backs with their skis above them, in order to untangle their legs after a fall.

Tom Knees Know: A character named Tom Knees Know stopped by to remind students that the proper body alignment while skiing is an imaginary line from the top of their toes through their knees to their nose.

Throwing a Glass of Water: Students pretended to throw a glass of water forward to practice proper arm movement, while performing the diagonal stride.

Beach Balls and Tricycles: To travel downhill, students learned to wedge their skies. They worked on their form by imagined holding a beach ball between their knees. They also learned to keep their arms and hands ahead of them like steering a tricycle.

A good time was had by had all, and we encourage you all to join us next year. The course includes two lectures, three field trips, and a ski tour with a course instructor. As Rachel Sadri, the Nordic Committee Chair explains, "The goals are to ski safely, have fun, and focus on fundamentals."

*The cross-country skier's boot heels are not clenched down like a downhill skier's boot heels. This allows the skier to propel the ski forward on level snow.