We travel to Alps to find out that cross country skiing has truly become elite sport

Cross country skiing has  become an elite sport. 

Nothing illustrates it more in 2023 than this object of desire: 

 

After two years of Covid-related travel restrictions the snowy tracks of Europe are supposed to be full. Are they?

Let’s start with the ” snowy” part on and around Christmas and New Year’s eve , the time lots of folks traditionally take to skis. But where would they do it?

The whole Alpine region looks decidedly springy this January: green fields and rain. 

 

At the Garmisch-Partenkirchen measuring station, the German Weather Service recently recorded not a single day with snow cover in January. To refresh your memory: that’s where The König Ludwig  is taking place, Germany’s most popular ” people’s race”  with thousands of participants on a good year. This winter? Nothing short of some sort of weather miracle would have to occur  for it to happen. 

Seefeld and Davos keep some semblance of xcski paradise they once were, man-made  snow tracks are skiable…kind of.  But skiing on icy tracks in drizzling rain is a pleasure only for diehard fans, honestly… 

There are still some picture-perfect ski tracks with a backdrop of snow- capped mountains as a background. Precisely what  xcskiers worldwide associate with ideal Alpine conditions. Up on the altitude e.g. Livigno.

But here we move to another subject.

Snow and the Alps in one sentence increasingly come at a price.  Can you afford that? 

 

A combination of higher post-Сovid demand, lower supply and high inflation brought prices for accommodations / dining to levels unseen before. We are not privy to any statistics , but it feels that Livigno is double, perhaps triple in prices & costs to what it used to be a decade ago. Has your holiday budget grown accordingly? 

Let’s be clear:  if your skiing heart absolutely demands the said  Alpine landscapes,  you are willing & able to share a dorm room with 3-4 other die- hards and cook pasta at home  every night, you still can afford altitude resorts. But if your holiday requirements are higher – you might as well forget about it. You are in competition with never ending convoys of Porsche Cayennes from all over Europe, from Romania to Britain, ferrying legions of Alpine skiers. Remember,they also need snow – slopes of Europe are as empty as xcski tracks.

The trend towards ” xcski luxury”  is obvious on the tracks too.

Don’t get us wrong: there are still cohorts of people using SNS boots about five years after Salomon stopped producing them ( SNS for whatever reason was always more popular in the region than anywhere else in the world) 

But they are offset by the legions that wouldn’t be seen on  anything but Heliums and matching newest offerings from Rossignol/ Salomon/ Atomic  this season. Cudos to Fischer marketologists, once again – they not only managed to  create  bright, highly visible symbol of status, but also came up with a new distinct name. Now you know what to slowly pull from your Audi RS6 or to bring to be waxed at Lapponia, Bünda Sport or Norz without losing face! 

Why are we pushing the Alps in this narrative?  Well, because the region is a true heart of international cross country skiing. Two out of every three  world championships were held in the region in this century. 4 out of 5 top ski makers are also in the Alps. 

Most importantly, there are some 15 million people living in the region. Probably five times that number – within a relatively easy car ride. Other countries might dominate medal tables but have nothing on the Alps when it comes to appeal. Try telling your buddies and family you plan on travel to ski in Lillehammer or Syktyvkar this winter – they will rightly call you a nerd. ” I go ski in Engadin or Seiser ” quite simply carries  different connotations. It’s a bit like French champagne,  Italian fashion or German car : you can sing praises to alternatives but at the end you still want to ski in the Alps. 

 

So, the snow is to be found in pockets on altitude of some 2000 meters and you need to set aside at least some 5000 euros for your xcskiing  holiday unless you want to feel like you are back to your ( long gone) Eurail days. 

What are we to derive from it? Several things.

There would be a further split in xcskiing tribe. Lucky few who could afford a quiver of Heliums ( sorry repeating it), will share the tracks  with Klaebo and Frida Karlsson in Livigno. Others would probably have to seriously think of switching to rollerskiing as their main form of physical entertainment, all year around. It has the same health benefits as skiing without breaking your bank. Snow capped mountains still would be there for us as we roll by.