Roller skiing with Ezme

Kalli Hawkins | July 17, 2024

Story By WTIP youth volunteer Ezme Mundell

Do you enjoy Nordic skiing in the winter? Guess what there is a way to ski in the summer, get stronger and more comfortable on skis, and improve your technique. Skiers are made in the summer. Getting to train on roller skis is really fun!

Roller skis are shorter than normal and have a wheel on either end of the ski. Roller skis can simply clip into your snow ski boots to create the feel of skiing on snow.

Classic skis have fatter wheels that are lower to the ground and a ratchet to stop the ski from rolling backward and to imitate the feel of kicking your wax as you would with skis on snow.

Skate roller skis are higher up to the ground, with a bigger wheel. As you would expect they have no ratchet making them harder to stop! Roller skiing has lots of benefits it does not put too much pressure on your joints making it a relaxing while still intense workout! It gives your entire body a healthy way to train for the winter season ahead.

I am not the only one using them either world class top skiers use them in the summer too!!!!

There are a few roller ski places you should check out if you are interested! In Grand Marais, I love going back and forth on the cut-face creek trail. ( over 5 miles ride one way) It has some nice hills and flats, making it great for technique and hill training!

The other one I find good is the Lutsen to Schroder ride. (12 miles) This beautiful trail goes through Temperance River State Park if you want to dip your feet in the water on a hot summer day.

I hope to see you out there!

Photos of roller skiing below. Audio of an interview with Olya Wright and Paavo Rova is below.