A sport that will be Olympic in the next Winter Games in South Korea
AN OLD KNOWLEDGE IN THE SUMMITS
Mountain skiing or "skimo" is also called cross-country skiing. .It is as old as traditional skiing in the resorts, but it had always been relegated to the background because it was considered a strenuous sport.
Indeed, it is a purely sporting specialty since the skier puts on the boards . And it is because the "skimo" does not need mechanical means to ascend. It is the skier's own strength and endurance that will carry him to the ridges and peaks of the mountains.
The skier is alone before the slopes, alone before the descents always off the slopes and alone and without shelter when the weather changes... that will always change.
Who said it costs?
A SPECIFIC TECHNIQUE FOR A DANGEROUS ENVIRONMENT
Mountain skiing bases its philosophy mainly on climbing, in ascending slopes with very strong unevenness . It is said that for every descent, seven ascents have been necessary. This is the equation that drives this specialty: maximum caloric expenditure as it is a long-distance sport and brief descents to the limit.
The equipment of the "skimo" is specific and also expensive, but no specialty of the white world is cheap. And much less in Spain. A conservative budget places us with an expense that exceeds 800 euros , but that can skyrocket to quadruple that price.
Lighter boards than track boards are used. The boots are special and allow ankle mobility in the ascent phase. The fixings are removable to be able to take the stride and that the table is dragged . Finally the most important thing: the skins.
Take the plunge: take the first step
They are adhesive strips that attached to the sole of the ski allow you to have traction on the snow and keep us from sliding downhill . Usually made of synthetic fabric, they are reminiscent of Velcro due to the large number of little hairs that stick to the white element. After they will be removed to start the descent, the boots will be readjusted to lock them.
And now yes, we can descend and also with the technique that we have learned in the mountain stations. Namely, off-piste skiing but with alpine skiing technique.
Mountain skiing in Vallter 2000 (Girona)
PROPOSALS TO GET STARTED IN MOUNTAIN SKIING
A sport like mountain skiing involves a whole series of dangers that we must try to reduce. The main one is the high mountain environment in which it takes place. That is why a pair of crampons and an ice ax should always go in our backpack..
But above all this, it is best to hire the services of an experienced guide who does not teach how to progress with the boards in absolute safety. Several peninsular stations already offer this type of service.
Rediscover the most wintery and sporty Girona with Vallter 2000
This is the case of Vallter 2000 , in Girona, which through its “sino” center has traced seven mountain ski itineraries that begin at the 1,959 level and end at the summit at 2,525 meters of altitude. Also in this area the ascents to cross the mountains in the direction of the sister station of Vall de Núria .
Further to the east of the mountain range we reach the Andorran Pyrenees where the stations of Vallnord Y Grandvalira . Both have numerous mountain ski routes, signposted and marked routes.
Vallnord offers nine itineraries of different difficulty, highlighting the ascent to Pereguils, a march on skis five kilometers long that saves a drop of 700 meters.
In Grandvalira "skimo" is centralized in the Ski and mountain academy that organizes ascents always directed by mountain guides specialized in this sport, a sport that will be Olympic in the next Winter Games in South Korea.
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Grandvalira awaits you
* The journalist Alfonso Ojea is the Director of the program of Chain BE specializing in snow, white tracks , which has been on the air for 20 years.
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