Why this winter will be your cross-country winter!

This year, no one is really in the mood for long lines in front of the lifts, large crowds and closed gondolas. How good that you don't have all that with cross-country skiing. Here you can simply put your skis on the trail, start and only have to stop again when you want to take a break or have finished your round.

If you're looking for a Corona-friendly alternative to skiing this winter, you'll quickly land on ski touring. Also nice. But if you compare cross-country skiing with touring, you'll find that cross-country skiing has even more advantages. Because here you are not exposed to the alpine dangers and yet you are in the midst of the impressive alpine mountain world. Beginners in particular can do without avalanche seminars, avalanche transceiver equipment, etc., and can still enjoy the untouched, lonely snowy landscapes to the full. The entire equipment is significantly (!) Less expensive, and for endurance & calorie burning cross-country skiing is the best sport.

The best news for beginners: cross-country skiing is easy to learn. The first attempts on the thin skis are still a bit quite slippery – but the technique is quickly learned. You don't need any previous experience either. And once you get the hang of it and get into the "flow", you'll notice: This sport has quite addictive potential!

Another very good news for beginners: The equipment for cross-country skiing is much cheaper than that of many other winter sports. Especially in the beginning, you can rent skis on site and test what you can handle best. Especially when it comes to the question: skating or classic? If you finally decide to buy your own equipment, you don't have to dig too deep into your pocket for it. The same applies to the clothes: the right things for this actually everyone already has in the closet. Tickets for the trail are also affordable and easy on the wallet.

Cross-country skiing uses an incredible 90 percent of the muscles in the body. 90 percent! The fitness factor in cross-country skiing is extremely high and accordingly the sport is also a real fat burner. So if you're looking for a real full-body workout, you should take to the trails. Especially interesting, therefore, for cyclists, runners, triathletes, footballers and anyone who wants to improve their basic endurance over the winter.

Cross-country skiing not only trains almost every muscle in the body, it also protects the joints at the same time. The rhythmic, gliding movement over the snow makes it possible. Therefore, even people with existing health restrictions such as joint damage can go cross-country skiing. In addition, the risk of injury is very low. You don't have to fear bad falls – much more than a few harmless bruises in a fall rarely happens. And if you do need help: our trail rescue team will be with you in an average of 9 minutes, no matter where you are on the trail.

Cross-country skiing is quite exhausting – that's why you hardly spend a whole day on the trail. Those who have little time can get in a good workout in just 1 to 2 hours. Those who have more time, extend the rounds. Thanks to long opening hours and illuminated trails in the evening, you can train when it suits you. So you still have plenty of time to do other things. Comfortably crouching on the hut and enjoying the sun, a stroll through the village, a leisurely walk through the winter forest, tobogganing with the kids, ice skating or regenerating in the wellness area – everything is easily done before or after cross-country skiing.

Not only in the Corona winter a real advantage: on the trail you have distance to everyone. A lot of distance. Due to the long skis, poles and running movement, you have to keep this quite naturally and usually you are almost completely alone on wide trails in the lonely snowy landscape. This decelerates – in the movement you come to rest. You can relax without crowds or après-ski hustle and bustle.

Many of us used to go skiing with our parents or grandma and grandpa – but we don't always have great memories of it. It was kind of boring with mom and dad, and really uncool at school anyway. The dusty image that cross-country skiing is a retirement sport has also remained with many. But: cross-country skiing is just becoming a real trend sport among young athletes. More and more young people are taking to the trails, and the skating technique in particular is really popular. Cross-country skiing is no longer uncool, but even quite stylish.

Thanks to a special dog trail, your best friend can also train with you. Toddlers can make themselves warmly wrapped in the trailer and glide with mom & dad over the track. The trailers can be rented in numerous stores, so that the cross-country skiing vacation becomes a joint family fun. On the quality-tested sled trails, wheelchair users can also train perfectly and enjoy the landscape.

Enough talk – now it can go on the track! It's best to already choose a cross-country ski trail. Tip: The trails in Leutasch are particularly flat and therefore suitable for beginners, as is the iconic A1 at the Seekirchl in Seefeld. Things get really nice on the Kaiser-Max-Runde: it is the longest continuous cross-country ski trail in Austria. An overview of rental stores in the region can be found here. Especially at the beginning it is worthwhile to take a course and get tips from the instructor.