The beauty of cross-country skiing

Vol 27, Issue 19, 7th March 2025

One of the things that Finland taught me and let me explore is skiing. As I had been living in the Rovaniemi, Lapland, I realised that I have a perfect weather and chance to start my skiing journey. Many Finns and tourists went there on the holiday and paid a lot of money for the train ticket, accommodation and equipment, whereas I was living there just like that, so I took my chance and bought my first ever skis from the thrift shop.

I remember my very first attempt to ski. I was so miserable and could not even ski for 5 minutes. I was constantly falling down, and my arms were extremely weak, I was not able to push myself. We took a long route, which included a lot of ups and downs. Another challenge for me was the lack of my physical shape. At the time when I started, I did not have much stamina and was soon out of breath. My father was helping me at that time and teaching me, but honestly, I am one of those people who, if do not succeed at the first try, are not that motivated to continue forward. I was still trying my best to show up, but most of the time I was refusing and trying to seek excuses for not going together with my father. This is how I spent my two winters in Lapland, barely going out to do this wonderful activity, when I had the perfect opportunity.

Recently I tried to pick up this activity again, which is, a forgotten hobby of mine. As we moved to Kouvola, we were unable to bring the skis with us. However, my father decided to buy the new ones from the local seller on Tori. This is what brought my passion to skiing again. I started with no expectations about my performance, but it actually went very well after the long break and I was quite satisfied with the results.

Skiing is the perfect cardio exercise, that will help to strengthen the muscles, improve the balance and increase durability. I would recommend it from the bottom of my heart to everyone who enjoys outdoors activities on the fresh frosty air with the nice views. One of my favourite parts about skiing is that you get to see a lot of people on the way, and it kind of brings a feeling of belonging and sharing something together. They usually smile to me, and it makes me feel the warmth even in the cold days. Speaking of the weather, the perfect temperature for skiing ranges between -1 and -10, because the snow is dry. So, make sure to be careful and dress up when going out at the lower temperature. Wish all the international students to beat up the winters and use the benefits of it, instead of paying attention on the scary and revolting aspects.