We had a magnificent day today. We ventured into the Clashindarroch Forest with our newly bought, second-hand, cross-country skis. Last year the Huntly Nordic Ski centre had a sale of second-hand skis and we decided to get some for just this purpose. I love the snow and I love being outside in it and what better way than with a pair of cross-country skis. The Clashindarroch Forest is 5 miles west of Rhynie which is about an hour by car from Aberdeen. It holds snow for a long time, long after it has melted elsewhere and is renowned for its cross-country ski trails. The British cross-country ski team train there.
This was our very first attempt at this. We have been on the practice area at Huntly but it’s very different when you’re out in the forest and on real snow. It was glorious and a magnificent day. We ended up parking away from the main carpark area which someone else told us was full. We found a different trail which was completely empty and we didn’t see another soul which I was quite glad of because it meant no one saw how uncoordinated we all were. That would never happen at a commercial ski field.
When we first arrived there was some cloud cover which brought some light flakes of snow before the sun eventually revealed itself.
I stupidly forgot my hat but I was so rugged up with layers that I got hot and had to take my coat off.
We built a snowman and named him Igbert.
Snack time.
There were some tears from Elizabeth on the way back to the car because it was slightly downhill and she struggled a bit but overall the kids did very well as did the husband.
The views from the car were lovely too.
Cross-country skiing suits us because none of us are speedsters or daredevils. I’m the person who once had a jogger overtake me on my cargo bike. But we all like walking and you get more exercise with cross-country skiing than downhill skiing, or so I suspect. Cross-country skiing is also free since you don’t have to pay for a lift pass.
We drove there in a Co-wheels car club car – a Toyota Yaris Hybrid. Our usual one was unavailable so I booked one a bit further away and I think we were one of the first to drive it. It looked brand new and only had about 700 miles on the odometer.
rachel.blog 
I love Igbert’s hair!
Thank you! He just had it done 🙂
I have a friend in Norway that skiis her kids to school in their winter months – it’s always been interesting to me that for them, skiing is perfectly normal – and as you say, a cheap way to get from A to B.
That’s sounds so great. I’d love to have enough snow here to ski the kids to school.
I used to instruct skiing, both alpine and cross country. May be worth getting a couple of lessons – it can make a huge difference! No snow down here yet so skis still in warm storage!!
I didn’t know you taught skiing. Where? In Scotland? The kids and I have had one lesson before at the Huntly Nordic Ski Centre. But Ben has never had a lesson and I think he’d benefit from it.
Taught both in Scotland and abroad, downhill and cross country. Still ski locally when the snow arrives with occasional forays elsewhere.
A couple of videos: https://youtu.be/9opYyv1riUc https://youtu.be/HJe6O41tsHY
Those are great. Thanks!
Igbert is completely awesome!
This is so fantastic. What a glorious, wonderful day! “I’m the person who once had a jogger overtake me on my cargo bike.” This made me laugh out loud 😀
It was such a great day. I want to do it again!
I’ve always fancied cross country skiing but not the downhill kind. I’m not surprised Elizabeth wasn’t keen on that part, I’d have been freaking out too. You made a good choice of where to live
[…] We haven’t used our skis very much because snow is a rare resource here. We went once to Clashindarroch Forest which is north west of Aberdeen near the village of Rhynie. It’s supposed to be the best […]