Sterling Adventures

Here at Erna Low ski holidays, we, like the BBC, have been keeping a close eye on the latest craze to hit the snow sports industry: Ski Cross – an interesting hybrid of skiing mixed with motor cross which results in an adrenaline fuelled race between four competitors speeding down a track with a few jumps, rolls, banks and ridges thrown in. Usually used as a demo sport at the Olympics, Ski Cross, part of the FIS freestyle discipline, is celebrating its debut as a competing sport at the 2010 Olympic Games in Whistler. Snowsports GB is finalising its team as we speak!

Having only had an amateur attempt at ski cross myself (which merely consisted of me and three friends racing ungracefully down the boarder cross track during one of my ski holidays to France), I quizzed Max of HardKor Action Sports for some insight:

‘One of the fastest growing and most-watched winter sports in the world, ski cross is the future of competitive skiing. When four skiers go head-to-head and race down a hazardous course featuring huge jumps and banked turns, reaching speeds of 70mph, excitement is inevitable. Contact too, is unavoidable, which is why the newest addition to the Winter Olympic programme makes Formula 1 look like a lap around the go-kart track.’

Crikey! Of course, words alone don’t do it justice so I have been taking a look at some of the numerous videos on the web – look out for some spectacular crashes!

Ski Cross has become increasing popular thanks to its inclusion as part of the freestyle ski competition the Winter X games. Usually held in the USA, the Winter X Games will be held in Tignes in March 2010 and the Olympic athletes, including the ski cross teams, will be heading over in hope to secure further victories! Needless to say, Tignes ski holidays are booking up fast for the Winter X Games (10-12 March) as well as our Canada ski holidays with a huge number of brits wanting to go and support our teams in the highly anticipated Olympics. Good luck to them – we will be watching!