About the K-Counter

Becoming a better skier requires putting in the kilometers, so TCGIS Nordic Ski Team members track their progress on the team’s “K-Counter.”  The “K” stands for kilometers, which is the unit of measurement used in the Nordic ski world, even in the United States. You’ll notice that many cross-country ski trails in Minnesota list trail distances in kilometers instead of miles.

K-Counter Instructions

The K-Counter Google Sheet has a sheet for each skier on the team. Anytime you ski, whether at practice, at a race or on your own, log the distance, location and date (plus any other information – the K-Counter also serves as your ski journal) on your sheet. I trust skiers to be honest with their entries and to not alter another skier’s sheet. 

K-Counter

Tracking Kilometers

• Map: You can track your kilometers the old-fashioned way by keeping track of the trails you ski and then add up the distances listed on the trail map. 

• GPS watch: If you or a ski partner has a watch that accurately tracks distance, you can enter the distance listed on your watch. Note: A FitBit or step-counter will not work as they calculate "distance" based on the number of steps you take.

• Phone + Strava app: If you or a ski partner has a cell phone, you can track distance with the Strava app. 

Kilometer Goals

All skiers pick a goal for the number of kilometers they want to ski in a season, with 25 kilometers being the expected minimum for everyone on the team. For beginners to reach this goal, they may need to ski once or twice outside of practice and races. For a goal of 100 kilometers or more, skiers need to commit to skiing 1-2 times a week outside of practice and races. 

Recognition

To recognize their achievement, skiers who ski at least 25 kilometers receive a kilometer pin at the end of the season to add to their stoles. Recognition levels are in 25-kilometer increments and students receive one pin to reflect the highest number of kilometers skied that season. For example, a skier who skied 80 kilometers in the season receives a 75 km pin (and not the 25 km and 50 km pins). 

• 25 km pin (25 - 49 km)

• 50 km pin (50 - 74 km)

• 75 km pin (75 - 99 km)

• 100 km pin (100 - 124 km)

• pins continue in 25 km increments