Each year ESPN Magazine publishes its Body issue that features athletes posing nude as athletic and taseful human bodies and this year one of the models will be Jessie Diggins, the Olympic gold medal cross country skier at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Summertime favorites can be enjoyed on your bike all winter long. (Kingdom Trails/Facebook)

Fat bikes, dubbed the "Hummers of the two-wheelers' world" are proliferating with more than 150 cross country (XC) ski areas in North America that welcome fat bikes on their snow-covered trails.

Jessie Diggins and Sadie Bjornsen leap onto the podium after finishing third in the team sprint at the 2017 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. (Andrew Shinn)

Scandinavian countries, Germany, Italy, and Russia dominated women’s cross-country competitions for 60 years, but that began to change in 2012 with the breakout of the U.S. Women’s Cross-Country Team.

The rewards are great for taking the time to get out onto the trails. (Fisher Touring)

One of the greatest challenges for many people who love to cross country (XC)  ski regardless of the snow conditions is making time to get out there. Skiers struggle with this, but there are easy ways make time and to be more prepared to enjoy skiing.

Ski lesson with Canadian Association of Nordic Ski Instructors certified ski instructor. (CANSI)

The vast majority of cross country (XC) skiers do not take XC ski lessons, but rather they start with friends or family, who are usually ill equipped to teach XC skiing. So, who needs XC ski lessons? Most of us do!

Snowshoeing at Trapp Family Lodge. (Trapp Family Lodge)

The Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2018. The family that inspired “The Sound of Music” will host a week of special events scheduled at the lodge January 19-26 on the trails and in the Bierhall to commemorate the occasion.

Create family memories on a cross country ski weekend. (Fischer)

Resorts run by families are great for family winter vacations packed with something for every family member from fresh home cooked food to the atmosphere and fond memories.

Canmore Nordic Center hosts race on machine made snow. (Canmore Nordic)

As the days become colder and winter approaches the ski season beckons, but about 40 cross country (XC) ski areas are no longer waiting for the snow to fly to begin their ski season because they’ve invested in snowmaking, just like their alpine ski area cousins.

A girldfriend ski and bike. (Methow Trails)

As the cross country (XC) ski season winds down, most XC ski areas close because of lack of skiers rather than lack of snow on the trails. The sun comes out, the temperature rises, but where are the XC skiers?

Big snows at Tahoe Adventure Center. (Tahoe Donner)

Cross country ski areas are very susceptible to the weather. This winter ski areas and skiers “endured” a few huge snowstorms, days of nearly 70 degrees, meltdowns, freeze ups, rain deluges and floods, and more, with what has been dubbed the “Whiplash Winter.” The whiplash effect refers to the weather changing in short periods from unseasonably warm to freezing cold with major snowstorms followed by unseasonably warm weather, and repeat from late November through early April.