It was in my sister's bucket list to do Nordic ice skating. She wanted to skate on a frozen lake. I am lousy in skating and I have tried it before but I still suck. However, I booked two spots for us because she 1) she is here on holidays and I should try to fulfil her request 2) she has joined me for my hikes when no one else wanted to join - because you know, who wants to suffer multiple days hike and high altitude - she followed me to Kinabalu, Everest Base Camp and Kilimanjaro. I have followed her on a birdwatching activity in Nepal and now this. So, she has one favour left to obtain from me. One of the benefits of having a sister - you make her do the activity together with you regardless if she enjoys it or not.
I booked two spots for SEK1650 each in the beginner course with Green Trails, as found by my sister. She emailed the company to confirm that it is a beginner course as it was described in the website - no experience required. They replied - No experience in skating is required. However, when we got there, out of 15 participants, only 3 could not skate. I did not have a good time because the two guides followed the others. My sister followed me the whole time and one of the guides check on me occasionally but I could not catch up with them. The other 2 who could not skate had more confidence than me and did not mind falling. So, I was the slow one. I was not very good in learning how to skate and for the guides, it was very easy for them, obviously and tried to give me some lessons like stand on one foot and push, and mentioned that my sister was giving good instructions. We were provided with skates, poles, helmet, knee pads, a bag with dry clothes and a floating device in case we fall into the ice and also ice picks. My sister lent me her butt-pad and yet, I still manage to fall on the part where the butt-pad does not cover.
The day started by us meeting at the Green Trails office at 9am and was given a brief introduction on safety and how the day will be like. Here, we were given our skate boots (mine were size 39), bags, and our thermos filled with lentil and tomato soup.
Yeah, I was still happy walking on the ice until I put on the skates. I was not very good with the balance and could not skate much.
I was very happy when it was lunch break. The guides made a fire. We drank our soup. There were gingersnaps and mulled wine. There was tea too but no coffee. I was surprised but I think it is not a big deal for the participants because they are not from Sweden. Only Swedes drink coffee.
After lunch, we were splitted up into 2 groups. The advanced group and us, 4. The advanced group skated on another lake while we skated freely on the current lake. On our way back to the land, we saw a frozen fish. Its tail was frozen under water and the other half of the body was above the ice.
My ankles were very tired in the beginning and it got more tired after lunch and began to fall inwards the whole time. I retired early at 2pm. My sister and the other 2 skaters ended half an hour later. The advanced group finished at 3pm. We were back at the office slightly before 4pm. As a beginner course, I have definitely lost my interest in pursuing this activity. We were very long on our feet and I was not enjoying it. I think the Green Trail should amend the description in the activity - some form of experience is required.
To me, this activity was torture and I think it was not worth the monies. There were many other skaters on the frozen lake. So, one can actually skate without going with any group. You may even try renting Nordic ice skates and it is definitely cheaper. Also, the scenery was similar after 30 minutes of skating. If you are here for a short stay and have limited budget, I would say rent the Nordic ice skates and bring your own hot drink.
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