Cross-Country Skiing Lessons with Top Olympians at the Youth Olympics

What's up, guys? Young Hollywood is coming to you from Switzerland. Yes, we have gone international to cover the Winter Youth Olympic Games. Right now, we are in a very rainy Vallee de Joux, about to get an exclusive lesson in cross-country skiing. Joining me on the snow, and on skis, Kendall from Fairbanks, Alaska, Sydney from Idaho, Leslie from Los Angeles. I and Young Hollywood have traveled halfway around the world to learn these winter sports from some of the best of the best. And if you haven't heard, you two are amongst the best of the best at the Youth Olympic Games here in Switzerland.

We're here. Yeah, we're here. I'm so excited. Thank you for having us in Switzerland and on your mountain. Oh, yeah. I really wish that we had maybe some better conditions or some more abundant snow, but the joy and the beauty of ski racing, especially cross-country ski racing, is that the conditions vary so much, and you have to be so adaptable. Yeah. It's just amazing being here and seeing all the different athletes from different countries.

What an incredible experience. Now, you say the word here, describe where we are right now, this mountain in Switzerland, the Valley.

Valley de Joux. That is an hour away from the Olympic village in Lausanne, Switzerland, and we are about 10 minutes from the border of France. We drive from the vortex in the athlete village every day where pretty much all the athletes are staying up to here, and then we'll ski and race, and then head back down.

And the two most important words, ski and race, we're here for cross-country skiing. You guys are at the top level, you're 17 years old, you're the top level of this sport. I now am here to learn from the best of the best. What's the first thing we need to know about the sport that you guys are just pros at?

The first thing is that it takes a lot of both coordination, balance, strength, and endurance. I feel like downhill skiing, it's more balance. Cross-country, you have to think about long gradual hills, steep hills, while also maintaining your speed over the flat. So it's constant thinking, and even though it might be going for 15 kilometers, your mind's still constantly working about the next tactical move you have to do. First thing is, we'll start with putting, um, the skis on. So they click in. That's the catch. There's no clicking of the heel. No. Got it. Okay. So you can, uh, put your foot up and so your you're striding back. So with classic skiing, you're propelling yourself forward instead of down the hill. So, forward up the hill, you need to do a motion like this. Um, and that's why there's scales under your ski, and there's also that's also why the ankle is free. First thing, I think it's double pulling just to get her like momentum. So you're using both of your poles at the same time. In classic striding, if you're going up a hill, then you're using one pole at a time and you're like in this motion, kicking back like we just told you about. But if you're on a flat, then it's much faster to use both poles and just set them down like that. Exactly like that. And it's all about using the abs in this. Abs. All about the abs. So if you just think about activating them, then you go a lot faster.

Okay, so we have abs. What are the other, uh, tricks of the trade of cross-country skiing versus regular skiing?

Um, with cross-country skiing, it's a lot of core stability, so that you have like good balance. And so when you're double pulling, you're activating your core. Yeah. Definitely endurance. We're doing races from 1. 4 kilometers all the way to 50 kilometers. And so those take from three minutes to two hours. Yeah. So we have to be prepared for all styles. And there's not really sprinters and distance people, they all do it. Everybody does it all.

Now, why choose cross-country skiing versus downhill skiing or mountaineer skiing? What's what's so special about this type of skiing versus the other one?

It's definitely more simplistic, and I feel more connected with nature just being on the same level as the ground, and still being on snow. You're able to like go out in the wilderness just for like a couple of hours and not like see anybody. Every time after I ski, I feel like stronger, mentally and physically. If you're going too fast and you want to stop, it's, um, they teach us when we're kids learning that it's like pizza. Pizza. Yep. Pizza's the term to stop. Yes. Okay. So you have to gather up some speed. You're pushing out with your feet. Okay. So let's gather some speed. Okay. Let's gather speed. And then you scream pizza. Pizza. You stopped right away. Okay. We can stride, which is uh, different from double pulling. So it's called stride. Striding. Yeah. Striding. Striding. We use both your arms. Wow, we're going, we're going, we're going. Yep. Pizza. Pizza. If you really want to stop and be fancy, here wait. Yeah, I want to stop and be fancy. Okay. So good. You girls are an inspiration to millions of young girls and young boys who want to be athletes. Yeah. So, I'm out of breath and kick butt at these games. I'm going to take these off. Girls, thank you for the lesson. Awesome. Go for gold. Thank you.