How to dress badly for cross-country skiing?

After 2 years of selling cross-country skiing clothing at the Sportive Plus store in Laval, I finally took the courage to try this famous sport for which specialized clothing really doesn't seem to be very suitable.

Now I understand much better why these clothes are so thin! It's hot and we sweat like there's no tomorrow, even at the slow-moving-go-far speed.

My partner has been cross-country skiing since he was 6 years old, he is a regular and has reminded me several times not to overdress. "You'll see, you'll be hot!" he told me. He even advised me to bring a second change of clothes for the return. During this time I replied to him: "You, dress more warmly because you'll see that I'm not going to go fast. You really should lower your expectations because I'm not a great athlete like you."

A first cross-country skiing outing

The famous morning finally arrives. A beautiful day, the temperature is -5°C and I, who am used to hiking, dress as if I were going for a walk.

For the top, I cover myself (and what a mistake) with:

a merino 250 base layer;
a jacket;
then a quilted one;
and all under my OR Carbide shell

For the bottom I put on:

my base layer in merino wool 250;
with Touring Ull softshell pants

And I also brought extra:

a sleeveless quilted jacket , a fleece , a Totem C base layer , 2 hats , a 250 merino wool neck warmer and so on.

Overdressed!!!

I was really afraid of freezing! I was OVERdressed and so after a few minutes I would realize how overdressed I was. The expression "cobbler's shoes are badly shod" would apply much more quickly than I thought to my situation. Barely 5 minutes after we left, I was hot!

My sidekick wisely told me: "You always tell your clients. It's normal to be cold for the first 10 minutes. After that, if you're still cold, then you'll be able to put a jacket back on and at least it will be dry!"
Well, with my hard head, I kept my extra jacket and regretted my choice. With the effort it took less than 15 minutes and she was all soaked. AND then that's when I started to get cold.

End of story, dry clothes were waiting for me in the car and I changed. I opted for my Sportive Plus Totem C wool underwear and just my shell over it. For the bottoms, with my little freezing thighs, I was surprisingly fine with my warmer layers.

Once nice and dry, dressed as if it was 10-15 degrees warmer than on the thermometer, we set off again to complete our second loop and I had fun!!!

As the Scandinavians, inventors of cross-country skiing, say, there are no bad temperatures, just bad clothes!

NB: I would like to extend a thank you to the very kind staff of the SÉPAQ at Oka Park and to the person who recommended that I arrive early to pick up my rental equipment.

By Florence Brière