Every autumn, cross-country skiing coaches witness hundreds of ambitious skiers making the same mistakes as soon as early snow destinations start up the grooming machines and open the tracks.

Coaches are warning against the early snow:

“Almost no one in Norway is well-trained enough in cross-country skiing to handle challenging tracks in relatively poor conditions.”

There’s also no need to rush to get on snow in November at any cost.

“Take it easy and focus on solid training. There are many advantages to systematic and targeted dry-land training instead of queuing up in a short, steep track with poor snow conditions,” says elite coach Erik Bråten Guidon.

Every fall, this experienced cross-country skiing coach sees hundreds of ambitious skiers lining up to make the same mistakes as soon as early snow destinations open. Bråten Guidon, who has worked with many elite Norwegian skiers, including Ragnhild Gløersen Haga, and is now a national team coach for Switzerland, is among several coaches warning against being too enchanted by last year’s snow.

Common Mistakes on Early Snow

These are three of the most typical mistakes skiers make on early snow, in no particular order:

• Skiing for hours at a very low intensity, which causes the technique to break down.
• Skiing for hours at too high of an intensity just to maintain a minimum level of technical flow.
• Transitioning abruptly from 100% dry-land training to 100% skiing as soon as early snow tracks open.

“Points one and two might seem contradictory, but they actually represent two extremes. It’s rare to see someone make all three mistakes at once,” says Bråten Guidon. He explains that first two points generally stem from the same issue.

“The problem with most early snow offerings is that they’re almost always on very tough competition courses. You also don’t get the best snow conditions—usually it’s a base of stored snow, often with a layer of artificial snow on top, making it slushy and sugary, which is difficult to get a good grip on. And with so many people on the short loops, conditions get even more challenging,” he says.

This combination is too tough for most, regardless of their level and training background.

“Almost no one in Norway is trained well enough in cross-country skiing to handle tough competition tracks with poor conditions while keeping their heart rate in zone 1. Only national team skiers and a few athletes in private elite teams are really capable of this, especially during the transition from dry land to snow,” says Bråten Guidon.

As a result, many fall into one of the first two common mistakes on early snow.

“With such challenging conditions, many end up skiing with poor technique because they can’t maintain a minimum level of technical flow while keeping intensity low in zone 1. They then miss out on both the technical and physical benefits they’re hoping to gain from early snow,” Bråten Guidon explains.

Those who make mistake two are generally on the right track but are held back by their own eagerness.

“Many tend to ski a bit too fast on early snow, just to maintain a decent technical flow. The danger, however, is that everything becomes a bit too intense, or semi-hard. If you add slightly too long sessions of this type, you risk arriving at race season more fatigued than fit,” he says.

Bråten Guidon’s advice for those making one of these common mistakes is the same: When you ski, make sure you’re skiing properly. That means going fast enough to maintain a minimum of technical flow. If that means going into zone 2 or even zone 3, so be it—but shorten your session accordingly.

“Put away the watch and go at the pace you need to maintain good technique. For instance, ski for an hour instead of an hour and a half. Also remember that easy training is still important. When you’re doing slightly harder sessions on snow than you planned, it’s wise to add some easy sessions with roller skiing or running outside of the early snow tracks.”

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Avoid Sudden Transitions

The last of the three typical mistakes on early snow is abruptly switching from 100% dry-land training to 100% skiing as soon as early snow tracks open. This is rarely a good idea.

“Switching almost all your sessions to skiing overnight if you’re attending a four-day camp is one thing. But if it snows half a meter overnight, and you suddenly abandon all dry-land training for snow, that’s not ideal either. A gradual transition is important,” says Bråten Guidon.

“It’s much better to train well on dry land than poorly on snow. That’s why it’s smart to keep doing some intense sessions on dry land even if you have access to snow. In general, you can use both roller skis and skis until Christmas. It’s also good to keep up one to two short running sessions throughout the winter, which will help you with the transition back to dry-land training in the spring.”

No Rush to Get on Snow in November

Bråten Guidon also reminds skiers that there’s no reason to rush to get on snow as soon as the first early snow tracks open.

“For most people, except elite skiers and juniors aiming for specific selections, there aren’t many important races before Christmas. The Junior National Cup starts after New Year, and the same goes for most long-distance races,” says Bråten Guidon.

“Take it easy and focus on good training. There are many advantages to systematic, targeted dry-land training instead of queuing in a short, steep trail with poor snow conditions.”

Updated November 8, 2024: A version of this article was published on ProXCskiing.com in autumn 2023.