With the wind at your back.

Dan Clausen has been sailing for several years. After hours and hours of practice, he's learned to judge the direction and speed of the wind and adjust his sails accordingly In the best conditions he can reach 40 miles per hour. No need to flip the magazine closed and check the cover, you are reading Cross Country Skier. It's true. Clausen has mastered the art of sailing across snow covered meadows and frozen lakes on a pair of cross country skis.

Ski sailing started in Norway as an ingenuous way to cover long distances over the snow.

Modern explorers Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen used the same Norwegian made ski sails to move them across the Antarctic as Clausen uses on Midwestern flatlands.

"It's the purest form of sailing, "Clausen said, "it's so very fast." All the equipment needed to sail on skis comes stored in a medium sized daypack. The pack includes a harness, telescoping boom, sails and the control lines. The harness is similar to a climbing harness with webbing wrapping around legs and across the chest. A quick release buckle separates the sail from you in case you fall. Weighing just a few pounds there's room for a water bottle, extra gloves or goggles. Small fasteners on the pack can be used to carry your poles when you are skiing.

Constructed of fine sailcloth, the sails range from four-meter rectangles for beginners, eight meter for all around use and a large 11-meter sail for use in the lightest wind conditions. A series of 21 lines connect the sail to the boom. Prices range from $200 to $700 depending on the size of the sail.

As a PSIA Nordic Team member, examiner for the PSIA Central Division and Director of the Minocqua Winter Park, Clausen is also a ski sailing instructor.

"People are surprised that it's easy to learn even if you haven't had any sailing experience," Clausen said. "It is relatively easy to learn and less aggressive than kite-boarding with a snowboard." For most skiers, ski sailing will always be something to watch someone else try, but almost 100 interested skiers have signed up for Clausen's sailing lessons at the Minoequa Winter Park center in Wisconsin.