Five things to remember when cross country skiing

So last weekend I went to a real cross country ski place. When I say real I mean that an actual groomer goes by, not just random snowmobiles in the wrong place, snowshoers messing up your ski track, deer using the trail, or, the more likely scenario, that you yourself are the groomer, plodding at one mile an hour through knee-deep snow. This was a place you had to actually pay for, that marks trails with ratings. Where people wore Lycra.  I felt a little out of place, but here is what I learned:

1. When trails are marked as being "Most Difficult" they really, really mean it. When your husband says, "are you sure about this?" might be a good time to turn around. If you decide to keep going, be aware that there will be a moment when you will fall in the snow and declare that you are never skiing ever again. Then you will walk down the last hill and go back the the "Easier" and "More Difficult" trails and be happy again.

2. False eyelashes are not a good look at the ski place. (Just an observation).

3.  When sliding down a hill at high speed, you will have to do fancy maneuvers to avoid taking other skiers out who are coming the other way. Because you are not used to seeing any other cross country skiers at all, this will come as a surprise.

4. Skiing ten miles at high speed versus skiing ten miles at a slog are two very different things.

5. If someone skis onto a frozen (you hope) lake and stomps out a heart with his skis, this guy is a keeper.