Learn 1:2 skating in cross-country: one double-pole push on every second leg push, asymmetric. Steps, typical mistakes and when to choose 1:2 over 1:1.
Skating 1:2 – internationally V1, or “gear 2” – is the uphill technique in skating: you use both poles only on every second leg push, asymmetrically to one side [2]. The honest answer to “Which skating technique do I need uphill?”: exactly this one.
The German Ski Instructors Association lists 1-2 skating under the “simple running techniques” of Learning Level Blue in its Nordic curriculum [1]; 1:1 skating follows one level later in Learning Level Red [1]. In practice this means: if you can do the skating stride, 1:2 is your logical first step with poles. In a study with six elite skiers on a 60-metre uphill at 7–10° – roughly 12–18 % gradient, a proper mountain pass road – V1 and the double-push were faster than V2 (1:1) [3].
To place the names: in 1:2 one double-pole push comes on two leg pushes. In 1:1 a symmetric double-pole push comes with every leg push – that is V2 [2].
How hard is it? The coordination problem is real: two legs, two poles, a rhythm that is not symmetric. How many hours you need, no study tells.
Push off sideways and glide on one ski. Milestone: you glide calmly on one ski without tipping.
In 1:2 you have one side on which the poles are used – the pole side. On the other side the poles stay up. Science speaks of the dominant and non-dominant side [4][5]. Choose the one on which you find the plant more reliable.
Say it aloud: “pole – no pole – pole – no pole.” The leg stride stays even, the pole plant comes only every second time. Milestone: you hold the rhythm over 100 metres of flat without losing it. This value is experience, not a study value.
Plant both poles at the same time and link the plant with the push-off. Exactly when the plant comes within the leg step is best shown in a course or by video comparison; timing is hard to convey in text. The technique is meant for moderately steep to steep terrain [2].
The variant “1:2 with active arm swing” is the next level. The DSLV treats the difference from the simple 1:2 technique as a learning topic of its own [1]. How the arms work there exactly is best shown in a course.
Switch your pole side after a stretch. Whether both sides should be developed equally is a matter of debate among coaches [5]. For beginners: if you can only do one side, you tire one-sidedly (practice).
Use 1:2 only uphill. A review separates the gears by terrain: G2 (V1) for moderate to steep climbs, G3 (V2) for flat to moderate climbs [2]. Whoever hangs in 1:2 on the flat is slower than necessary – and tires one-sidedly sooner.
A second hint from the sprint literature: faster elite skiers entered the climbs with more speed, used V2 more often and changed technique less; slower ones stayed longer in V1 [2]. So carry speed into the climb and don’t switch constantly.
An asymmetric double-pole push on every second leg push; internationally the technique is called V1 or “gear 2”. It is mainly skied on moderately steep to steep climbs. The pole plant comes with every second push, so you have a pole side and a side without poles [2].
On moderately steep to steep climbs you ski 1:2 (G2), on flat to moderate climbs 1:1 (G3, V2). The DSLV curricula list 1:2 earlier than 1:1 because the technique counts as the simpler running technique. When the terrain gets flatter and you can build speed, you switch to 1:1 [1][2].
In a study with six elite skiers over 60 metres of uphill (7–10°), V1 and the double-push were faster than V2. This applies to top skiers over a short stretch; for recreational skiers it is a hint, not a guarantee. More important is that you keep the rhythm clean [3].
In cross-country skiing there is a dominant and a non-dominant side; which is better depends on you and the terrain. Choose first the side on which you find the pole plant more reliable. Whether both sides should be trained equally is discussed by coaches – for beginners switching sides pays off [4][5].
Most accidents are falls. In a Swedish analysis of cross-country accidents, 66 % of fractures involved the upper extremity, most often the wrist (22 %). That means: don’t fall onto an outstretched hand if you can steer it, and take breaks before technique falls apart [7].
Skating 1:1 (V2): The Drive for Flats and Gentle Climbs