There are two main types of cross
country skiing. The first and oldest is called classic.
Classic skiing works really well as a method for traversing
long distances over snow. The movements of a cross country
classic skier are mostly comprised of a series of long
strides, generated by kicking and pushing off of the snow,
and gliding for a distance afterwards. All skis have a
slight bending arch in their shape, right under
the binding where the skier's boot connects to the ski. This
gives the ski a slight spring, and on classic
skis, this is where the kick zone is placed.
The
kick zone is an area on the bottom of the ski that is coated
with a stic
ky wax that is meant to produce friction with the
snow. When the skier shifts their weight onto the ski, it
presses the kick zone onto the snow, and the friction allows
them to kick backwards and push off the snow to move
forward.
