Although we are on the verge of May, patches of snow still dot the alpine mountains across Vermont. But just as snow melts from the slopes, mud and dirt begin to clear from the roadways. Do you dust off your rollerskis and pound the pavement? Or do you wax up your skis and make one last go at the patches of snow?
Rollerskiing isn’t a perfect match of snow skiing. Of course the skis are a different length, but there’s subtle other factors at play. How fast do your wheels go? Do they match the snow? How heavy are your snow skis compared to your rollerskis? How quickly can you navigate a turn on each type of ski?
Knowing how to “feel skiing” when you aren’t on snow is a coveted ability. That’s part of the reason APU trains on a glacier in July, or why the US Ski Team travels to wintry New Zealand in August. You may have also heard of ski tunnels like the one in Torsby, Sweden. Getting access to snow whenever you want is certainly a treat. But when that’s not possible you can look for ways to both keep the feeling of snow alive while also learning about how it differs from rollerskiing. In the end, this should make you a more adept and aware rollerskier!
It takes a certain set of conditions to create what we got to experience on Saturday, which was BOTH rollerskiing and snow skiing. No glaciers or ski tunnels required.
A week prior during our Stowe NorPine adventure we realized there was a big parking lot adjacent to a nearby patch of pretty level snow. We packed both skis and wheels into the cars and made our way there yesterday where we found the perfect situation: a street-swept empty parking lot with a 50-foot walk to some corn snow. We set up a little loop and rollerskied for a while, doing some of our favorite drills. Then we switched right to skis for a few laps. Then back to rollerskis. We took video of each method and discussed how they were similar and different.
Finally, we ended with partner relays: Partner A did the rollerski course, and as they crossed the line Partner B took off on the ski course. After 2 laps each, Partner A and Partner B swapped roles and changed to either skis or rollerskis. Pretty cool to have both types of skiing happening at once.
Ali and Sammy roll, while Adam Glueck glides on skis in the background
Of course when snow is involved, we knew we had to call up Adam Glueck to join in the fun. We got lots of technique footage which is on the MNC Youtube Channel, and I also put together a quick little clip combining the wheels and the snow:
So, what did we learn?
Rollerskis give lots of power. The snow was soft, admittedly, but it was very evident hot much power return the rollerskis gave (even composite rollerskis that flex). With snow, you were rewarded for keeping movements smooth and extra wasted energy was compounded. On rollerskis, you could still move pretty well and get plenty of glide even with somewhat inefficient body position.
Snow skis are long and force you to shift weight in V1. On rollerskis, your feet can wander in, up, back, and all around. It’s much harder to get this effect with skis on, and so there is extra need for good weight shift and a dynamic lower body that applies power to help the body move from side to side.
Rollerskis can turn on a dime. Not only are they shorter, rollerskis edge almost perfectly thanks to sticky rubber wheels. Navigating cones and slaloms on skis places a greater emphasis on “reading” the line into each turn, as you need to account for the angle of the hill, the snow type, the radius of the turn, and more. This is still crucial in rollerski agility courses, but you can get away with much more just by hopping, stopping, and changing direction quickly. On snow, if you try to turn to fast you wash-out, skid off the ideal path, and have to completely re-adjust. There’s a metaphor in there somewhere…
Below are some more clips showing different techniques on both snow and pavement…see what YOU can notice about what is different and what is similar…
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