Virtual Skiing?

I’ve been searching for a cross-country ski video game, and I’ve had no luck.  Why is that?  I can find numerous games for downhill skiing, snowboarding, BMX, race cars, and all sorts of shoot’em’ups- but nothing for Nordic.

Part of the reason I find this so fascinating is one of the most famous and successful pieces of exercise equipment is a cross-country ski simulator- the Nordic Track.  For millions of people cross-country skiing is done in shorts and tennis @shoes while watching CNN.  I’ll bet they've never had a binding ice up or missed the wax.

So when will it jump to the video game world, especially now that we have the Wii or XBox Kinetic?  While this thought started out with a sarcastic tone, I’m now thinking I might be on to something.  When I look through the bicycling catalogs or check out my favorite cycling websites I find several bike trainers that hook into the video game system so that you can race or tour various places around the world while getting a workout.  You can ride the famed climbs of the Tour de France with your trainer providing ample resistance as pixels flash across the screen in an animated accent up Mont Ventoux.  We could accomplish that same thing with a simple hook up to a Nordic Track! 

Just think, instead of having to go outside, which in itself requires getting dressed in what some might call ridiculous clothing, we could go down to our living room and jump on the machine and plug in the White Mountain Classic 30KM or the course for the Great Glen 300.  If we wanted to feel more worldly we could plug in a tour of Norway or race around the trails near St. Anton.  This could be the best new way to explore the world, and you could even program in your chosen weather.

No more waxing skis, no more drying wet boots, no more looking for that lost glove.  It would cut down tremendously on the amount of laundry that would need to be done.  Just like the spinning bikes and their events and classes that have cropped up in health centers, we could even have mass start events where everyone skis like crazy- but nobody goes anywhere!

Ok, now I’m getting really excited- I could sell all my skis, poles, boots, wax, wax table, iron, car rack and box, a ton of lycra, and this would put cash in my pocket and free up a good amount of space in my basement.  But wait- before I go hog wild with my new indoor cross-country ski career maybe I should reflect on what I love about this sport.

The sensation of cold clean air being ingested deep into my lungs.  The sound of a ski gliding over fresh snow, the view of snow capped mountains, the look of fresh snow on evergreen bows, the smile on my daughters faces after they make it down a big downhill, the snow on my dogs noses as they sniff yet another tree well.  I just love the experience on moving across the Earth on skis, that and I think the outside world looks better in real life than it does in HD on a TV.

Ok time to go outside and go skiing.