Cross country skiing is the oldest type of skiing, thought to date back several thousand years. Originally it served as a method of transport from one place to another during the hard winters in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia and made travelling over snow easier for hunters.
Cross Country skiing developed as a sport at the end of the 19th century.
The sport was promoted in NZ by the Nordic Ski Club, Biathlon NZ and New Zealand Nordic Sport Development Association (NZNSDA).
In 2002 the Nordic Ski Club and Pisa Alpine Charitable Trust founded New Zealand's first dedicated cross country skiing resort in the Cardrona Valley near Wanaka. The Snow Farm is a world-class training facility with over 50km of groomed trails.