Fitness Challenge: Cross Country Skiing

There are hardy souls who run year round, and fair weather outdoor enthusiasts, like me, who only want to ride a bicycle when it's between 60 and 70 degrees. But cross country skiing is a whole different animal. For one thing, you warm up really quickly, particularly in southern Vermont in January. For another, you get that runner's high, a blissful, peaceful feeling when you schuss along a mountain stream or through a forest. We enjoyed just such a scenario at the Okemo Valley Nordic Center at Okemo Mountain Resort. The cross country skiing takes place at the Golf Club, with 22 km of tracked and skate-groomed terrain. My children, dedicated down hill skiers, scoff at cross country skiing, finding amusement in the intermediate and expert terrain. But the hills are real, and the level of fitness required no joke. And like biking, you end up skiing, constantly using your legs, for hours on end. No standing around on lift lines or just engaging your core while you slalom down the mountain.

Fitness Challenge: Okemo Mountain Resort

A gym at a ski resort may seem superfluous, but it actually comes in quite handy.

When we arrived at Okemo Mountain Resort, after a 5 hour drive, it was too late to ski, but just in time to use the spacious fitness center. We stayed at the Jackson Gore Inn, which requires an outdoor sprint of 20 yards to the Spring House. There, we found a fitness studio, (Zumba and yoga classes are $10) a racquetball court, and a gym with cardio machines, free weights, stability balls and a bosu ball. The cardio machines don't have their own screens; there are 2 large TVS, and music playing. But there are a variety of treadmills, stationary bikes and ellipticals to get your heart pumping. There are also mats, perfect for stretching sore muscles after a day on the slopes.