Cross Country Skier Fall 2018

Available now is Cross Country Skier’s 2019 Gear Guide—the sport’s most comprehensive review of Nordic skis, boots and poles. Last March, a team of 12 testers spent a weekend at Rikert Nordic Center sampling all of this season’s new gear. From racing to touring, we had a tester representing every interest—our annual gear guide sums up what they liked best. Plus, in this issue, Adam Howard tells his PyeongChang Olympic story and reflects on what Jessie Diggins’ and Kikkan Randall’s gold medal means for the future of U.S. cross country skiing. FEATURES 2019 GEAR GUIDE After a weekend of testing skis under beautiful March skies on soft snow at Rikert Nordic Center in Ripton, Vermont, skins were on our minds. Each manufacturer now has a race-oriented version of their skin-skis—and we liked them all. Aside from skin-skis, we saw technical growth in lighter-than-ever skate skis, boots and poles. TIME OUT OF MIND When Jessie and Kikkan won their gold medals, the torch was passed, so to speak—