Allie’s Answers

Winter can be a big energy drain. You drive when you might have walked or biked. You turn the heat up on icy days. You keep the coffee pot warm all day. But here are some human-powered ways to enjoy winter.

Downhill skiing and snowboarding are energy hogs. Think about all the power that goes into lodges, lifts, lights for night skiing, and making snow.

But cross-country skiing, while not as action packed, is a great and eco-friendly way to enjoy the snow. It’s also excellent exercise. At a moderate pace, a 155 pound person will burn almost 600 calories in an hour of cross-country skiing.

If strapping long boards to your feet seems like a recipe for disaster, try snowshoeing. It’s a little easier to get the hang of, but the calorie burn is about the same.

There are resort and commercial trails for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, but lots of parks have great trails that don’t cost anything to use. Plus, since lots of people stay in to avoid the cold you might just be lucky enough to be left alone with the sound of the crunching show.

Another nice thing about cross-country skiing and snowshoeing is that you work up crazy amounts of body heat, so even when the thermometer is pointing to temperatures that seem unbearable, it’s still possible to have a nice day outside.

For information on how to get started, check out XCSkiworld. If you don’t know where to go, look up local parks, or your state’s tourism website for guides, or check out Gorp’s guide.

Camping doesn’t have to be just a summer activity. Outdoor Action has a winter camping guide.

Or feed the birds, have a snowball fight, go sledding, make a snowman or some snow angels.

And if it’s cold but there’s no snow, bundle up and take a hike. It might not be as green, but the winter landscape is interesting in it’s own way.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 25th, 2008 at 4:24 pm and is filed under Tip of the Day. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.