Northern Michigan Winter Style. . .

Yours truly showing off some recently acquired skin skis near the trailhead at Cross-Country Ski HQ near Higgins Lake, MI.

 

My favorite picture of the bunch.

The Young Master and I always do "Dead Bugs" when we ski.  It's actually a key part of untangling oneself after a spill and preparing to stand up again.

And finally, another of the Young Master and Bad Dad (on a different pair of waxable classic skis) moving toward a more challenging series of climbs with the inevitable descents early on Saturday afternoon along one of the less traveled trails at Forbush Corner just outside of Frederic, MI.

 

A few pictures from our recent skiing trip "Up North" during the weekend of January 17th-20th.  Don't be fooled for a minute by the flat terrain shown into thinking that cross-country skiing is a boring, slow sport.  Plenty of winding hills to climb and hair raising descents to make through the woods and open meadows of Northern Michigan where some areas are surprisingly rugged once you get beyond Roscommon.  It's just that one cannot easily pull out his/her/their iPhone to take family photographs when screaming down a hill with a corner coming up at the bottom. 

Quite a bit of challenging technique to work on and perfect each winter as one works toward just the right weight transfer and balance to achieve that forward propulsion and near silent glide on the snow.  The Grand Duchess and I are serious recreational skiers at this point, but the Young Master handles all but the toughest trails with aplomb.  

Best of all, the wonderful sense of relaxed well-being after a day on skis followed by a shower and a hearty evening meal is hard to describe.  Something like a runner's high, I imagine, but different.  Yoga brings me close to that inner calm, as does a 30-mile bike ride, but skiing is the absolute best in my book for reaching that warm, unflappable state.  Add a glass or two of wine by the fireside following dinner, with conversation over maybe a board- or card game of some kind, and it's near impossible to get worked up about anything.  

The Grand Duchess and I ski both classic and skating style (she does downhill skiing too) while the Young Master, for now, sticks to classic striding.  But the three of us have a lot of fun together exploring and experiencing nature during the winters here.  And before you ask, I tallied five or six minor spills during the three days (no face plants though), but that simply means you're pushing yourself.  Or that's what I tell myself.  Wife and child had no such spills however.  In my defense, I participated in a couple of group clinics with a PSIA-AASI certified coach at Forbush Corner.  Good fun in the company of like-minded snow sport enthusiasts and some new skills to cultivate further groomed snow conditions permitting.

-- Heinz-Ulrich