I'm watching the winter olympics Biathlon...Cross country skiing and shooting...

[mitch96]

Them ain't your grandfathers .22 rifles.. High tech for sure...
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[Ocelot II]

1. Watching the skiing part - used to do some x-country skiing in my youth,

and skiing uphill is really, really hard! Those guys have a lot of stamina.

[mitch96]

2. I like the anology one of the competitors said.. It's like running up 10 flights of stairs

and then try to thread a needle... Uff!
I did some cross country when I was a kid.. Loads of fun!! A bit disconcerting coming from a down hill back round.. That loose heel thru me for a loop!!
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[2naSalit]

4. "FreeHeel"...

It is actually an improvement to bindings. I love that style of skiing, you can breeze through the woods in near silence and see all kinds of wildlife.

[mitch96]

5. One of the most memorable winter experiences was X-country skiing into a box canyon

It was in colorado on a "regular" down hill vacation. The hotel offered us a free dinner, but it was in a box canyon and we had to x-country in.. It was magic.. Cold clear night, quiet as only a fresh snow fall can be and a great meal. I think we were the only people in the restaurant.
The four of us had a wonderful laugh filled night and yes, us newbs's fell A lot!
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[2naSalit]

6. Everybody falls...

Even the pros, seen it a lot.

It is magical. I took to tracking things like wolves and bears only to see where they went but when the tracks were getting fresh, it was time to go the other way. I was spoiled, I had all of that right outside my door and the best ski trail system a two minute walk from my cabin. I took up skiing because all of that was available and it didn't seem appropriate to not ski. A waste of a proper use and access to such a resource, I also had skis for trailblazing, which could be dicey in deep snow, you can fall and have a hard time getting up if any significant portion of your body winds up below the surface plane of the snow. You can't put your hand down on the "ground" to get up without using poles and skis to keep you from sinking in a good three feet or more. I always had a ski buddy if I wasn't on the trails.

It was some of the most adventurous outdoor winter fun I had all those years.

[2naSalit]

3. That style of skiing..

Nordic freestyle, is great exercise if you just do it for pleasure. Full body workout, go at your comfort level. Remember, these folks are racing. I took up that style of skiing at fifty and still do it.

I used to volunteer for biathlon races in my town, I've since relocated, and knew the local gun maker, he specializes in biathlon rifles, I learned that it takes a lot to do well in those races. I saw many on their way to the World Cup and Olympics while working the races, it was fun.