How to Look Cool (Or Not) on Cross-Country Skis
Tales from the ski trail, new podcast episodes, Substack suggestions, and a show you don’t want to miss.
I lingered just a second too long. The salesperson caught my eye. Before I knew it, we were handing over a credit card for gear we didn’t even know we wanted. You’ve all been there—that intoxicating mix of “New Hobby Energy” and a looming sense of buyer’s remorse. When exactly were we going to use these?
To be fair, I’d been romanticizing cross-country skis since 2021. While snowshoeing through Pictured Rocks during the Michigan Ice Fest, I watched skiers glide by us effortlessly. They looked athletic. They looked graceful. They looked, frankly, much cooler than us. Deep down, I wanted to be them.
We got our first opportunity to use our new skis in 2022 during the Great Beer State Conference in Traverse City at the Grand Traverse Resort. You know the place—the shiny tower at the junction of M-72 and M-31 with the famous “Bear” golf course.
The Bear was buried under a thick, pristine blanket of snow, and we were told we could ski it. It was still pitch black when we ventured out for our maiden voyage on skis we had meticulously waxed so they’d be “Fast.”
Spoiler alert: We were anything but fast.
After a debate and watching YouTube Videos on how to actually “clip in,” we finally stood perched on a hill. We thought the incline was a great idea—it would give us momentum! It did. We both immediately toppled over like toddlers in snowsuits. The next twenty minutes were spent re-enacting a “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” commercial while trying to figure out how to stand up with skis attached to our feet.
“My God,” I panted, “at least no one saw that.”
Naturally, at the conference later that morning, the first question I got was: “Were you guys skiing this morning?” Turns out, our “private” misadventure had a front-row audience from the tower windows.
After a few “stealth” practice runs at Pickerel Lake and Hudson Mills, we looked sort of how I imagined. Skiing in a snow-covered landscape, having fun, looking cool.
Then our skis gathered dust for a while.
Fast forward to last week in Marquette for the UP200 Dog Sled race. Four years after the initial purchase, we finally pulled the skis out of their hiding place in the basement.
As we pulled into the parking lot at Blueberry Ridge in Marquette, Michigan, we saw other people getting out their gear. Terrified of a repeat performance of The Bear, we hovered by our trusty Subaru, Harold (yes, we named the car), and stalled until the lot cleared.
Chuck said over the top of Harold’s roof rather conspiratorially, “I figured out how to clip in and how to release the skis from the binding.” I must say this lowered my blood pressure considerably.
We set off for the “Lighted Loop” because we missed the turn to the trail parking lot our friend recommended. It was a triumph! Mostly. Chuck did take one minor tumble into a snowbank, but compared to 2022 at The Bear, we were basically Olympians.
Feeling like pros, we headed to Grand Marais to ski with our friends Robin and Bill. She immediately tried to push us out of our comfort zone onto a “More Difficult” trail.
“The easy trail is boring,” she insisted. “Come on.”
Succumbing to the peer pressure, I agreed. We started on Trail A, crossed H-58, and skied out to Sable Falls and back. And you know what? She was right. The challenge was half the fun. No one “biffed” (Robin’s term for taking a tumble into the snow), and I managed not to careen into the creek Bill pointed out. Mission accomplished.
This weekend brought our cross-country journey back to where it began in Picture Rocks. We still don’t look quite as “cool” as those skiers we spied back in 2021, but at least we’ve mastered the art of standing up.
I suspect if we broke out those skis more than once every four years, we might actually get the hang of it. But for now? I’m just happy with the memories we made.
Life In Michigan Updates
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You’ll find things like this on the calendar!
Authentic, soulful folk from two dynamic songwriters
Joy Clark’s songwriting is the kind that stops you in your tracks—sophisticated, soulful, and deeply rooted in themes of self-acceptance. She burst onto the national folk and Americana scenes just a few years ago at Americanafest, and she didn’t just get “noticed”—she got recruited. Grammy-winner Allison Russell was so floored that she gave Joy a permanent spot in her backing band, The Rainbow Coalition, which led to Joy jamming with heavyweights like Brandi Carlile and the Indigo Girls. Russell calls her “brilliant,” but Joy describes her own sound more humanness-first: “raspy, emo acoustic soul-folk with a touch of optimism.”
Then we have our homegrown Michigan favorite, Kate Peterson. Since 2005, Kate has been traveling the US and Europe, winning over anyone who appreciates a little vulnerability. For a decade, she poured her heart out on hundreds of stages as half of the folk duo Nervous but Excited, sparking plenty of laughs (and, let’s be honest, a fair share of tears). These days, Kate is mostly a “home-makin’ hobbyist” who spends her time on adventure travel or woodworking. She only swaps her power tools for a microphone for truly special occasions. Her “Pleasantly Aggressive Folk” roots are still there, but there’s a new depth to her music—the kind of soulfulness that only comes with time, patience, and a life well-lived.
Tickets for the Ten Pound Fiddle Show on March 27th.
Tickets for The Ark Show on March 28th.
Since this week’s Sunday Sip has a bit of a “snow” theme, here are two Subtacks also with a “snow” theme.
Keith Meyers has a “Mid-February Thaw” update in his Remote Workforce in the Keweenaw Newsltter.
Bryan Hansel talks about “The Democracy of Snow” in his “More or Less About the Photo” newsletter.
Love to see another parallel x-country skier. I do better going uphill on skiis than downhill too.