You feel anger rising within you. ‘It can't be that difficult,’ you mutter, brushing the powder snow dust off your backside. How many times have you fallen today? Fourteen, fifteen times? It looks so easy and elegant when the others do it. You take a deep breath and defiantly stick your nose into the cold winter air. Push off and then parallel, right arm, left leg, left arm, right leg. It works! You're gliding. And you get into the ‘flow’, you become one: with the narrow skis under your feet, with your heartbeat, with the deep white nature all around you. Congratulations: you've just discovered the magic of cross-country skiing!
cross-country skiing
On narrow boards through the silence of the Rodenecker-Lüsner Alm
We will now reveal why we at Runa love this winter sport so much and why our nature hotel on the Rodenecker-Lüsner Alm is a real insider tip for cross-country skiing enthusiasts:
Cross-country skiing: a sport with history and a future
Cross-country skiing was there at the beginning, and now it is becoming fashionable again. As early as 5,000 years ago, people in Scandinavia strapped narrow skis to their feet. To get from A to B and to hunt. Cross-country skiing only became a sport in the modern sense in the 19th century. In 1924, cross-country skiing became an Olympic discipline – even before alpine skiing.
‘Normal’ skiing had been ahead in terms of popularity in recent decades. But cross-country skiing is catching up again. Because it is quiet yet intense. It conserves resources and is easy on the wallet. And it is good for you: 95 per cent of your muscles work during cross-country skiing, and the gliding motion is easy on your joints. Your cardiovascular system is strengthened. And so is your connection to nature.
The Rodenecker-Lüsner Alm: your cross-country skiing paradise
At over 1,800 metres, just a few steps away from the Naturhotel Runa, your cross-country skiing bliss begins: a 25-kilometre-long trail, groomed for classic style and skating. Snow is guaranteed well into spring. With an altitude difference of around 300 metres, it is technically easy to moderately difficult.
The circuit takes you past the Zumis car park and the Starkenfeldhütte hut and back to the Runa. This makes it perfect for people who are just discovering cross-country skiing and for anyone who wants to hone their technique in one of South Tyrol's most beautiful high alpine pastures.
The Runa: your base camp for unforgettable cross-country skiing days
After your laps on the cross-country ski trail, the Naturhotel Runa offers the perfect regeneration: the best alpine soul food from Naturhotel chef Alex himself provides you with healthy energy. Our 13 dreamy alpine rooms offer you a natural space for relaxation – the ideal way to end a day on narrow skis.
Runa's tips for your first laps:
#1 Start with the classic technique: The classic technique is similar to walking, and the groomed trail gives you stability. Once you get the hang of it, it's child's play!
#2 Choose flat routes to start with: The Rodenecker-Lüsner Alm offers gentle sections for learning to glide. And when it's downhill? Get out of the track and into the snowplough: toes together, heels apart, light pressure on the inner edges.
#3 Have someone show you the technique: A beginner's course is worthwhile. The correct use of poles, explosive push-offs and proper weight transfer are the basis for fun!
#4 Patience! The first few times you'll spend a lot of time on the ground; falling down is completely normal and nothing to be ashamed of. Staying down, however, is. So: straighten your crown and off you go!
