6 tips that will help you plan your next cross-country skiing trip

Against the majestic backdrop of the Mont Blanc massif, I took a brief break in my workout, leaned on my ski poles and inhaled the solitary silence. Just a few miles away, the rest of my family was having fun on snowboards and downhill skis among the crowds, lifts and cable cars. It was Christmas vacation 10 years ago, and we were near Chamonix, France -- the site, in 1924, of the first Winter Olympics. There were two cross-country skiing events.