Who Needs Snow?

By Anita Hamilton

I hate the gym. For years I was a member of the physical-fitness mafia, but after a while I just got bored. So I quit, cold turkey, and vowed to lift nothing heavier than a pint of Ben & Jerry's and jog only as far as the corner Blockbuster. After two years of blissful lethargy, however, the guilt finally sank in. I refused to hit the treadmill or pump iron. Instead I found a way to get fit that is a lot more fun and could even grow into a hot new sport in the coming era of global warming: snowboarding and skiing--without the snow.

I started with surrogate skis called Crosskates. Unlike inline skates, which are mounted directly above four hard, rubbery wheels, each Crosskate ($700 a pair) is attached to a hollow, 2-ft.-long aluminum bar, with a rugged, air-filled tire on each end. The metal frame gives the skates extra stability, and the front wheels pivot to the side to make turning easier. You use ski poles to help push yourself along. "I wanted people to experience the sensation of skiing without having to drive three hours to get to the snow," says inventor Jamie Page, 30, a mechanical engineer and outdoor enthusiast.

The idea sounded workable. But learning to maneuver the 8-lb. clunkers wasn't. I feebly pushed myself along bike paths in Central Park, attracting plenty of gawkers--no small feat among seen-it-all-before Manhattanites. But I could barely move. When I tried to push off as I would with a normal pair of skates, the thick rubber wheels dragged across the ground. So I switched to a cross-country stride, methodically rolling one foot straight ahead, then following with the other. After a few tries, I managed to whiz past the walkers but was still in a dead heat with the joggers. As for swooping down dirt hills, as riders do in the videos on Crosskate.com let's just say that's a few months off.

Next up was the $200 Freebord (available at freebord.com) which looks like a regular skateboard from the top but has an extra set of wheels on the bottom that are supposed to let you "slide" across the pavement the way snowboarders slide across snow. Besides rolling forward and backward, you can slide side to side and spin around in circles. If you're really good, you might even master the half-pipe like gold medalist Russ Powers.

I'm no Olympic champ, however. I figured out how to "carve" the board to make regular skateboard-style turns, but every time I started sliding, I promptly fell on my behind. It was fun for the two or three seconds before I came crashing down. "There's a pretty steep learning curve," admits Steen Strand, 35, the investment banker turned entrepreneur who invented Freebord. Will I ever catch big air on that curve? Probably not. But that's O.K. I may break my neck trying, but at least I won't die of boredom--or Chunky Monkey ice cream.

Visit time.com to read past columns. Questions for Anita? E-mail hamilton@time.com