Skiing around the Great Sacandaga Lake.............
Photo Courtesy of Lapland Lake Nordic Vacation Center
	139 Lapland Lake Road  Northville 518-863-4974 Just 9 miles from the Village of Northville Pristine 70-acre lake, sandy beach Swim, fish, canoe (no motors) 50km of private trails for hiking, mountain biking, x-c skiing & snowshoeing Authentic Finnish wood burning sauna Immaculate tupas (housekeeping cottages) each with fully equipped kitchen, living-dining area, 1-4 bedrooms, bath with shower, screened porch, electric heat and woodstove (wood and linens provided) Recipient of the Private Sector Tourism Partnership Award - Adirondack Regional Tourism Council      web site
Photo Courtesy of Lapland Lake Nordic Vacation Center
Photo Courtesy of Lapland Lake Nordic Vacation Center

Trails Around The Great Sacandaga Lake

Lapland Lake
Nordic Vacation Center
139 Lapland Lake Road
Northville, NY ~ 12134 
518-863-4974

There are a few basic ideas that will help almost everybody ski better, whether you are skating or striding.

Skiing is a one ski at a time sport. The single hardest thing in skiing is to shift your weight and balance fully on the gliding ski. If you find yourself waddling along while skating, unable to generate momentum and getting very tired, you are not effectively shifting your bodyweight completely from ski to ski. Do your skis "slap" the snow when striding? Guess what, you are not shifting from ski to ski fully. This is particularly subtle when striding because you can still move along OK but by not fully committing to each ski, you are working harder than necessary. How do you correct this? Throw those poles away! Find a flat section of the trail, like the start / finish area or the back side of the West Overlook loop and ski without poles. This will teach you balance and proper technique, as it is very difficult to go anywhere without poles unless you shift your weight. Another method is to try and exaggerate the glide phase while skiing. Take careful note of what position your body must be in to successfully balance for an extended period of time and then try to achieve that position when you ski. Just a few minutes with these two drills every time you ski and you will notice improvement in a short period of time.

In both skating and striding, you need to have good forward lean. Having your body leaning strongly forward generates momentum down the trail, resulting in free glide. To get the feeling of proper forward lean, stand on both feet, flex your knees comfortably and lean forward by flexing at your ankles (keep your heels down!) until your knees block sight of your toes when you look down. When you feel like you are going to tip over, you have reached the proper forward leaning position. Very important: do not achieve forward lean by bending at the waist and sticking your rear backwards or by squatting like you are sitting in a chair. Since your hips and buttocks contain much of your bodyweight, it is critical to make sure you do not move your rear end back while trying to lean forward. Always remember: "don't leave your behind, behind". Lean forward from the ankles!

Skiing is mostly a flat footed sport. In both classic and skate skiing you want to "kick" with your whole foot, keeping your heel down as long as possible. This gives you the greatest possible force onto the snow. When kicking in classic technique, kick down enough to set the wax but make sure you are propelling yourself mostly forward, after all that is the direction you want to go - not up. For skating, the kick is going to be mostly to the side, not back.

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