It's Christmas in November at the Mont-Sainte-Anne Cross-Country Ski Center in Beaupre, Quebec open with 10 km of trails starting Nov. 17. Thanks to the abundant snowfall received in November, it is the earliest in the last seven years.
 

Will the United States Women’s Cross Country Ski Olympic gold medal be an incentive for more people to consider trying cross country (XC) skiing in the USA? With the extensive publicity about the XC ski gold medalists Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall following their Olympic gold medal victory, how can the number of people who try XC skiing this winter not increase substantially?

The arrival of ski swaps each fall reminds winter enthusiasts that snow is on the way and that the ski season is right around the corner. Now is the time to get the best deals on ski and snowboard equipment, and ski swaps are a great way to purchase gently used or even new gear for short money. Swaps are not just for buying gear; you can also turn in your used gear that still has life left in it and earn back some of your investment. 

Rottefella has created the binding solution for waxless and skin cross country skis. The MOVE Switch is a dial on the front of the binding that will allow skiers to slide the binding forward or backwards without releasing the ski from the boots. That’s right - while you are on the ski trail, you can just bend over and turn the switch for the binding to slide and adjust to the desired weight distribution on each of the skis.

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.