Nordic skaters Lorenz Rutz and his daughter Charlotte glide around the Lake Morey oval, which the Montshire Skating Club keeps clear and smooth.

In a Day: Skating the New Way

“Wow! Skating down the middle of Lake Champlain! Now that was a thrill,” says Jamie Hess of Norwich, recounting the five-hour, 40-mile skating odyssey he and five friends made last winter on Nordic skates, a combination of cross-country ski boots and bindings that clip onto long steel blades.

Hess, 50, is an athlete who has had a love affair with the outdoors since he was a child. Hockey, downhill and cross-country skiing, hiking, mountain biking, rollerblading and ice skating — Hess has done it all. Especially ice skating.

After a trip to Sweden on which he first tried Nordic skating, he decided to introduce the sport to the U.S. Nordic skates — unlike hockey and figure skates — are comfortable, warm and well-suited to long-distance skating, says Hess. Although Nordic skating has been popular in Europe for years, it’s just starting to catch on in North America.

Learn more about Nordic skating and Jamie Hess’s efforts to introduce the “ultimate skating experience” to this part of the world in the Winter issue of Vermont Life magazine, now available at bookstores, on newsstands or by calling (800) 284-3243. Or try our Free Issue Offer.

Adapted from an article by Robert Kiener in the Winter issue of Vermont Life.

Photography © Jon Gilbert Fox

For a video look at Nordic skating, choose a clip below.

• Skate 1
• Skate 2

Video Clip Cinematography by Jeff Tolbert / SK8FILMS
Copyright © 2004 Nordic Skater Productions