If you live in the northern hemisphere, the extended dark days of winter provide an excellent opportunity to explore the backcountry via Nordic skis. We are blessed here with plenty of long winter nights. Blanketed under a muffled shroud of snow, it’s like the world has gone to sleep. The stillness is perfect for exploring the beauty of the landscape and venturing onto the less-beaten paths.
Nordic skiing provides the opportunity to get away from the busy alpine slopes. It’s a slower, more leisurely, but less thrilling sport than alpine. Unlike alpine skiing, only the heel is attached to the ski, allowing one’s heel to rise off the ski. If you have a pair of nordic skis handy, you can use Nordic skis virtually anywhere where there is a decent layer of snow covering the ground.
Traditionally Nordic skiing was developed by the nomads of Scandinavia as primarily a form of transport in remote regions where roads were few. It was a means of keeping up with the reindeer herds, which could cover anywhere from 40-100km a day.
In winter, the crisp, cold air provides a crystal-clear panoramic view of the heavens above, twinkling with glittering stars from horizon to horizon. If you are fortunate enough, the dancing waves of the Northern Lights in their dazzling colours can make this experience one your friends would envy.
This design is unlike many of my other designs. Both the foreground and background are painted in shadowy blues and greens, so dark they’re almost black, to outline the serene stillness of the winter night. The warm light illuminates the skiers, who are the central focus of this image, and is just a hint of the Northern Lights in the sky.