Cross Country Connection

My family — in this case, a party of 6, 3 of whom were children — went to learn cross country from these great people.
Let me just add: I DON’T ski. I’m one of those weirdos from Seattle who doesn’t do winter sports.
I loved cross country! Cross Country Connection took care of us. We were thoughtfully sized for our equipment and patiently helped — even though we were rather inept newbies. The teacher was very laid back, friendly and helpful with all sorts of tips. He handled the size and age range of our group well. The trail was beautiful and well maintained.
The price was very, very reasonable. Given, they were running a promo for kids. For all of us, with equipment rental and lesson, was just around $ 90. Wow!

My friend was obsessed with trying cross country skiing. She’s an awesome skier and likes to try new things so it made sense. I, on the other hand, am much more of a snowboarder than a skier and the thought of cross country skiing just didn’t sound too appealing. Yet, after much prodding on my friends part, I agreed to go. She also shamed other into going and so there was a group of ten in all. About half downhill ski instructors so we decided to just rent the skis and figure it out on our own.
The guy working the rental trailer was really nice and helpful. He fitted us for the boots (way different than regular ski boots), the skis (way different than regular skis) and gave us some pointers. Next thing we knew we were at the base of the Lost Lake Trail trying to get our toes in the bindings.
I knew from the beginning that I had made an awful mistake. The beginning of the hill is this giant hill. OK, not really, but it seemed to be at the time. How the hell was I going to go UP hill in skis? Luckily, some experienced people were starting the same time we were and we watched them intently for their technique. Tips out… and. away…we…go. It was hard work, but so ridiculous it was fun. Once we finally crested the hill we saw the deep tracks already made by countless cross country skiers before us, settled into them, got a pace and away we went. OK, there was a lot of falling and goofing around. Once we got to the end of the loop, we decided to go for it again. I couldn’t believe I actually wanted to go around again.
I was so sore the next day I couldn’t move. My bum hurt from falling. My cheeks hurt from laughing. It was a fun time and I wish I had done it again before I left. Unfortunately, the track closes much earlier than the rest of the mountain and the season had come to a close.
Next time I’m in Whistler I’ll be going back!