This group is moderated by Stuart Montgomery (that's me in the picture, on one ski) on behalf of XCuk Limited, a tour operator specialising in cross-country skiing, and aims to act as a resource for cross-country skiers in the UK. There are a lot of us around, but we are a scattered bunch and we don’t have many chances to share knowledge and information.

The group grew out of a “hints & tips” page on our company website at www.xcuk.com. Our original idea was to produce – for people thinking about booking one of our holidays - a listing of “Frequently Asked Questions” about cross-country skiing, in which we would talk about techniques, training, fitness, kit, clothing, personal care, clubs, facilities, etcetera. The problem – and it was a nice problem – was that the list just grew and very soon reached the point where the FAQ section risked swamping the company website. So we hived it off, and gave it a life of its own.

For now it takes the form of a weekly newsletter – each posting focuses on a particular topic. (As well as being a keen skier and an SSE instructor, I'm a personal trainer and a nordic walking instructor and I teach navigation for walkers, so I will keep the remit broad.) But as time goes on we would like to develop a more interactive facility.

The site, in its content, is not commercial. From time to time we mention brand names of kit or clothing but if we recommend something it is because we use it and like it, not because someone is paying us to recommend it.

OUR BOOK - Stuart Montgomery and Paddy Field have written a book about cross-country skiing and Nordic walking. For more details and to see a copy of a review please paste the following link into your web browser: http://www.xcuk.com/Pages/crosscountryskiing.html