Most people don’t know that there are more than one type of skiing, but if you watched the recent Olympic games, you might realize that there are several. The main two are Alpine and Nordic, but they are better known as downhill and cross-country. Those two categories break up into even more subcategories.
Downhill and cross-country skiing are extremely different. The skis, boots, poles, terrain and style are all different. The most major differences would be the terrain and style.
In cross-country skiing, you go along long flat terrain with limited hills. With downhill skiing the name pretty much gives it away, but the type of hill varies greatly.
Throughout my years of skiing both styles, I find that a lot of people don’t know the differences in equipment. If someone uses the wrong equipment it could be dangerous. For example, when skiing downhill your boots detach from your skiing if enough pressure is applied; this is in case the skier falls. On the other hand, cross country boots do not detach because in cross country you do not reach the same speeds as in downhill skiing.
When you look at the style of the two types of skiing you are able to understand why the equipment is so different. In downhill skiing, poles are used for balance and rhythm, but if you do not ski without them nothing is affected greatly. In fact many people learn to downhill ski without them.
In contrast, poles are extremely important when cross-country skiing. They are used to push and turn a skier along the trail. Without poles skiing becomes a lot harder.
The best place to get the proper equipment is usually at the place where you are skiing. Most ski lodges and resorts offer all things needed for rent.

Places to Ski and Rent
There are multiple places to experience skiing this season in the area. Mount Pleasant in Edinboro, Pa., offers both types of skiing as well as lessons. Unfortunately, if you want to cross-country ski you will have to bring your own equipment because Mount Pleasant does not offer cross-country rentals, but they do offer rentals for downhill.

More places to cross-country ski are Wilderness Lodge in Wattsburg, Pa., and Asbury Woods in Erie, Pa. Both Wilderness Lodge and Asbury Woods offer rentals and have various trails available.

In my opinion, the most popular place to downhill ski in the area is just over the New York state border a Peek’n Peak Resort in Clymer, N.Y.. Peek’n Peak offers both rentals and lessons.

Each place has different times, rules and renting policies. If you want to learn more about their renting policies, rules and times, visit their websites or call for more information.