Early snow locations are plentiful at this time of year. But how to get the most out of the first days or the first training camp on snow?

Norwegian, Swedish, national and private cross-country teams and Pro Teams are making the final preparations on early snow for the season premiere.

It’s easy to get carried away when the national team skiers and long-distance professionals post about their first snow kilometers. Alfred Buskqvist, Team Ramudden, for example, skied over 130 kilometers on his first day of early snow in Vålådalen, Sweden. But is it reasonable? 

Erik Bråten from Topptrent.com, the successful coach behind Ragnhild Gløersen Haga’s comeback to the national team this year, is skeptical of copying the elite’s early snow sessions completely. He also warns against going straight to the same sessions you did before last spring.

“The sessions you ran last year will demand more now at the start of the season. Since you’re not that used to skiing yet, all skiing will be unfamiliar to your muscles, in addition to the fact that the conditions with a lot of saved and artificial snow combined with tough tracks add extra strain,” says Bråten, and continues: 

“The sessions from last year are still good sessions, but they demand more at the start. So make sure you consider that when setting up your training schedule for the start of the season.” 

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Three Typical Mistakes On Early Snow

Briefly summarized, the three typical mistakes are too much, too fast or too slowly, and too abrupt transition. Instead, it’s about getting into the season, rather than getting slowed down in the first time on snow,” Bråten points out. 

Read more: The Mistakes When Transitioning From Dryland To Skiing On Snow 

So with these three mistakes in mind, how do you plan your first weekend or first training on snow? Bråten shares his tips. 

Make The Most Of The First Time On Snow 

Whether it’s early snow or the first snowfall you’re going to ski on, the experienced cross-country coach recommends a clear goal with the sessions: technique. 

“The first suggestion to get the most out of the first sessions and the first time on snow is to concentrate on the technique,” says Bråten. 

“It’s only the national team and elite skiers who can keep the heart rate down at A1 level (easy distance training) and maintain the technique on the tough tracks, at least now early in the season when it comes to the transition between dryland and snow,” he says, and explains further:

“Prioritize skiing with a good technique, meaning you have to go fast enough to get technical progress. If you have to go a little faster than easy long-distance skiing, then do it. Rather, cut down the session’s length if needed.”

Back To Basic 

When it comes to technique, it’s all about starting with the basics. It is important to get back the good snow feeling and to have a solid base on snow when you start doing harder and more specific sessions. 

“Prioritize basic technique exercises and ski a lot without poles. If you do exercises of 10-20 minutes per ski session at the start, you will quickly get the feeling of snow again,” says Bråten. 

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Make Sure You Have Good Skis

“Bad skis don’t just make you feel bad; it also reduces the training benefit both technically and physically. So, start with good habits right from the first snow session,” says Bråten. 

He sees far too many people who are careless about waxing and thus waste many training benefits and the pleasure of skiing. 

“Prioritize good ski preparation. Correct wax for the day’s conditions is critical in classic, where a good kick wax is important to have a good technique. So, applying new kick wax or klister, cleaning the gliding zones, and adding some glide wax between almost every session means a lot for the training benefit,” says Bråten.

He points out that good skis are also important for skating sessions. In that case, good gliding is, of course, meaningful, and the prerequisites for that are clean glide zones and regular waxing, either liquid or hard wax. 

“Be sure to clean your skis regularly, regardless of the technique you are going for. There is often a lot of debris in the track, which makes the glide worse, so you should clean up the glide zones and add some new glide wax between almost every session,” says Erik Bråten, and continues: 

“This can quickly become a bit of work, especially early in the season where the conditions on the track are not always optimal, but it is worth the effort when the conditions quickly deteriorate the skiing.” 

Erik Bråten, the successful coach behind Ragnhild Gløersen Haga’s comeback to the national team, was head coach of the Canadian national team for four years until after the Olympics in 2022. Bråten is still a coach for Haga but also offers training guidance through Topptrent.com together with former national team coach for Norway Geir Endre Rogn.