Gift Ideas

Check out more info about the varity of gifts for the holidays here on XCSkiResorts.com:

Rossignol Evo Cross Country Ski Package

McCabe Outdoor Ilustration prints for cross country skiing, climbing, or landscapes.

Nordic Walking poles and instruction book

Telemark Skiing DVD

Ski History Book

Cross Country Ski Tips

Avalanche Safety Tips

Happy Holidays!

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Evo Tour Package - Versatility, Control, & Stability

The Evo Tour Package is Rossignol’s most popular and offers recreational skiers an easy-to-use and stable platform to get out and enjoy winter touring on.

The Evo Tour NIS Positrack uses smaller sizing to increase maneuverability and skier’s ease-of-use. This results in easier uphills, safer downhills and increased predictability in the flats. The waxless Positrack base offers maximum grip and the best compromise between kick and glide. Built with a Wood Air Core, skiers are provided a lightweight but sturdy, durable platform. The NIS (Nordic Integrated System) plate offers easy assembly and allows the skier to personalize the on-snow behavior. Intended for 60% on-trail and 40% off-trail, the Evo Tour NIS Positrack gives recreational skiers the ease-of-use, stability and instant comfort they need to get out and enjoy the winter landscape.

The X5 offers a perfect blend of comfort, warmth and control. The free-hinge cuff with powerstrap provides fuller mobility, stability and control while a thermo-moldable inner-boot, lace-cover and higher cuff offer superior warmth and comfort. A reinforced toe-box and nylon midsole bring increased durability, further ensuring the X5 to be the most versatile, comfortable and warm touring boot available.  

The T4 NIS Auto is a touring binding with an easy-to-use design that makes operating simple: fasten your boot by stepping into it with an audible click and release by pressing the push-button mechanism with your ski pole. The binding has an automatic centering system and features a wider heel-piece for more stability. NIS compatible only. This is the ideal lightweight auto touring binding for recreational skiers. Click here for Rossignol.

 

FAST FACTS: Evo Tour NIS Positrack Ski

• Sizes: 166, 176, 186, 196cm
• Sidecut: 60/50/55

FAST FACTS: X5 Boot

• Sizes: 35 – 49        

FAST FACTS: Oneway 600

• Available sizes :   135 – 165 (5cm)

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Zymax Skating Package - All New Recreational Skate Package

The Zymax Skating Package is a brand new performance package for high school racers and fitness oriented, entry-level skiers at an excellent price point.

Rossignol's exclusive Low Density (LDC) Core keeps the Zymax NIS Skating ski super lightweight while the Racing Cobra sidecut widens at the tip, keeping the ski in the snow for superior stability at pushoff. The Double Groove Guide gives the skier effortless tracking and directional control as Catapult camber provides excellent rebound. The Zymax racing base is the best running base at this price point on the market. With the NIS (Nordic Integrated System) skiers are allowed easy assembly and can personalize the ski’s on-snow behavior. The Zymax Skating NIS offers competitive high school skiers and fitness buffs an accessible and manueverable top-shelf skate ski.

The X8 Pursuit's all new design employs a zippered lace cover with asymmetrical lacing system and Active Control heel support to provide a more precise and enveloped fit. The pre-molded upper cuff maximizes power transfer and lateral stability. Rossignol's RC3 Classic sole provides stability and grip for maximum kick while still allowing for flexing freedom and more natural foot roll.  A thermo-moldable inner boot further ensures that the X8 Pursuit provides maximum comfort, warmth and performance for nordic enthusiasts in need of a dual discipline boot. Click here for Rossignol.

The F4 NIS Skate is a light, high performance manual binding.  The open/close mechanism has a large hand grip making it user-friendly even while wearing gloves. The F4 features a wider heel-piece for more stability. NIS compatible only. This is an ideal lightweight binding for recreational skate skiers. 

FAST FACTS: Zymax NIS Skating Ski

• Sizes: 160, 170, 180, 190
• Sidecut: 44/43/43

FAST FACTS: X8 Pursuit Boot

• Sizes: 36 – 49        

FAST FACTS: Oneway 630 Pole

• Sizes: 130 – 165 (5cm)

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McCabe's Outdoor Illustrations

Sean McCabe of Sean McCabe Studio was an award-winning art teacher, climber, and avid cross country skier, who lived in the Methow Valley in Mazama, WA. He combined his career in art with his outdoor interests to establish himself as a unique artist portraying these active sports with his colorful and sometimes whimsical style.

McCabe designs can be seen on The North Face, Patagonia, and Black Diamond clothing labels. His illustrations have been featured in American Alpine Journal, Climbing Magazine, the Alpinest, and Cross Country Skier Magazine.

McCabe’s high quality prints are available on canvas or paper in various sizes framed or unframed ranging from 6 x 4 to 36 x 24 at different price points.

Click to view galleries of cross country ski illustrations, landscape illustrations, or climbing illustrations and order from SeanMcCabeStudio.com

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THORLO Socks Made of Recycled Materials

THOR-LO has revamped the majority of its snow collection featuring its new  THOR-WICK- yarn made with 100% recycled material. THOR-LO socks use protective engineered padding to protect the shin area of the leg and the ball and heel of the foot, and THOR-WICK has excellent wicking properties to keep the foot dry.

The socks are available in a Thick Cushion or Thin Cushion Ski sock and there are different sock styles (including kids’ socks) in different colors ranging from $18.99-$21.99 per pair.

THOR-WICK yarn is produced from 100% post-consumer recycled Polyethylene Terephtalate material commonly referred to at “PET” or “PETE” bottles. Using the recycled raw material in the manufacturing process reduces the amount of waste materials from going to the landfill (one metric ton of recycled material prevents 872 kg of bottle waste); produces 60% fewer CO2 emissions that would be created to use virgin polyester; and the process requires 65% less energy per unit of weight than that which would be used to make virgin staple (one metric ton requires 825 less barrels of oil).

According to the US EPA 2/3 less energy is required to manufacture products made out of recyclable plastic and studies show that production with recycled plastic emits 2/3 less sulphur dioxide, 50% less nitrous oxide, and uses almost 90% less water. The recycling process causes the yarn to cost more, but the company is committed to (and believes that consumers will) support the long-term environmental benefits.

For more info www.thorlo.com

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New Concept Shop at Jackson Ski Touring

Swix, a Norwegian manufacturer of ski wax, poles, and ski wear is joining ski company Fischer to create an educational retail environment with Gorham Bike and Ski Shop where skiers visiting Jackson Ski Touring Center in NH can experience for themselves the latest skiing innovations from skis to ski wax and tuning techniques.

Skiers can view and compare an extensive range of product lines to feel confident in their purchase decisions, share feedback with the manufacturers and maximize the performance of all their gear both new and what they already own. Almost the complete line of Fischer skis, boots, and poles will be showcased in the shop that attracts thousands of cross country ski aficionados all winter long.

The two companies will provide additional training to the Gorham Bike and Ski Shop staff and there are demo days for skis and roller skis, plus ski waxing and race tuning sessions. The retailer also features machine flex testing, which mean that each ski is individually evaluated and marked with its particular flex pattern to match to a heavier or more powerful skier to perform with a more subtle touch.

Jackson Ski Touring is a community based nonprofit corporation chartered to maintain cross country and snowshoe trails in and around Jackson village that has been in operation for 39 years. Situated in the White Mountains, it is a wonderful match of a quintessential New England with the white steeple church and wood covered bridge married to cross country skiing.

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Nordic Walking for Total Fitness - New Book Provides Details

Nordic walking (or ski walking) is taking off and the Human Kinetics book entitled Nordic Walking for Total Fitness by Suzanne Nottingham and Alexandra Jurasin has got it covered. For those who are unfamiliar, Nordic walking is a fitness activity that combines walking with specially designed poles to engage the upper body muscles.

Trekking (hiking with poles) and Nordic walking are two different activities that use very different poles and techniques. It may sound silly, but perhaps "walking is not just walking." The pole angle, weight, grip, and straps are different between the aforementioned modes of walking. The Nordic walking pole is designed to allow your hands to relax in order to target the larger wrapping muscles of the back. But using poles of any kind automatically stimulates your spine and all of the muscles around it, even with inefficient technique. When walking, the key postural muscles of the core and upper body are engaged.

Nordic Walking for Total Fitness outlines the health and fitness benefits and the enhancement of body posture that result from the activity. Equipment including poles, shoes, apparel, pedometers, and heart rate monitors are covered.

There are photos for every segment of the book showing technique progressions, fitness exercises, power training, and variations for balance, agility, and flexibility. Common technique errors are also reviewed as well as uphill and downhill techniques, advanced cardio training, and drills for strength training and calorie burning.

The book also includes fitness assessments, sample workouts for varying levels of interests from first timer to cross training triathletes. There are also suggestions about customizing your program. Training program recommendations are offered for building distance, fluctuating daily intensity, and rest days. If this all sounds a bit like overkill, that's because it is, particularly if you are a recreational fitness enthusiast…but you need read only as much of the book as you feel is relevant to your personal situation.

I've been a Nordic Walker for a few years and found many of the claimed attributes in the book regarding posture and exercise to be true. I've always been in search of a way to decrease the amount of time spent exercising, so I was sold when I heard that using the poles increases caloric burning by 40 percent. Being a cross country skier, it is easy to quickly master Nordic walking. After a summer of Nordic walking, I noticed a marked improvement in my cross country ski poling in terms of strength and timing. It seemed that I increased the amount of forward momentum that was attributable to poling and I was able to pole stronger and longer when skiing.

Nordic Walking for Total Fitness provides a foundation for anyone, ranging from those just looking for an activity to lose weight to health aficionados interested in taking it to higher levels of fitness.

Nordic Walking for Total Fitness is available for $19.95 plus shipping from Human Kinetics at www.humankinetics.com or call 217-351-5076.

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Now You Can Use the Eco Index to Measure Products and Brands

New software has been created by a group of companies representing about 100 apparel brands to measure environmental impact of products from "cradle to grave" or more explicitly, from raw material to garbage dump.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, this so-called Eco Index will perform similar to the Energy Star rating of appliances. The Eco Index concept will be officially announced in August 2010 at the Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City. It will provide comparative perspectives of brands with relation to environmental and human rights issues. Another way of looking at it is as a sustainability barometer for operations or a litmus test for product greenness.

This project has been underway for three years and the coalition of brands involved include Nike, Levi Strauss, Target, Adidas, Timberland, Columbia, and Patagonia. Most consumers are not aware of factors involved with the apparel business such as the toxic chemicals used for leather tanning, crude oil used in the manufacture of synthetic fabrics, incredibly low wages and no benefits for foreign workers, and excessive shipping distances for manufacturing various aspects of apparel. In 2008, Americans discarded 12.4 million tons of textiles, up from 1.8 million tons in 1960.

The Eco Index software provides a self-reported score of points on various questions regarding raw material, production, shipping, and disposal. A brand can score points with for example, a wastewater purifying system, a recycling program, good labor standards, less bulky packaging, and even washing in cold instead of hot water. There are estimations involved in the scoring system and proof is not required, but this could be the infancy in the development of international standards.

The Eco Index is a beginning but we do not know how much of a motivational factor that it may become in the eyes of consumers. It is admirable that competitors have come together to work on this concept and most of the participating companies have previously undergone an internal analysis of these issues. Environmental issues are driving some product design these days such as printed info on garments instead of separate tags and using less or recycled packaging. And not surprisingly, many of the applicable design ideas save processing costs, too. If the Eco Index succeeds and companies vie for a higher score, we all will win.

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