LLNL Physicist Finds Beauty, Peace, and Flow in Nordic Skiing

The exciting Nordic skiing exploits featured in the Milano Cortina Olympic Games seem far from sunny Livermore, where freezing temperatures are rare and snow only lands in the highest hills. But Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) physicist Jean-Michel Di Nicola is hoping to change that.

“It’s a tough and beautiful sport that demands both grit and grace,” Di Nicola said. “When it clicks, you feel like you’re gliding effortlessly through space. The rolling terrain, the ever-changing snow conditions, and the subtle art of waxing and ski base texturing make it as technically intricate as it is physically demanding.”

Unlike the downhill form of the sport, Nordic, or cross-country, skiing is usually done on rolling terrain. The skis are long and skinny, and the boot bindings allow the skier to lift their heels. But there is a simpler way to differentiate Nordic skiing.

“Basically, you use your own body to climb the hills,” DiNicola said. “No chairlifts, no noise, no lines.”

When he’s not Nordic skiing, Di Nicola is the chief systems engineer for laser systems at LLNL’s National Ignition Facility (NIF). He and Tayyab Suratwala, program director for Optics Materials Science & Technology, led the efforts to increase NIF’s laser energy and precision to a high of 2.2 megajoules, a key factor in achieving and repeating ignition. He is also co-program director of the NIF & Photon Science Directorate’s Laser Science and Systems Engineering organization.

Nordic skiing originated about 5,000 years ago in Northern Europe for long-distance winter travel, later evolving into a sport and debuting at the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France. At the 2026 Olympic games, Norwegian Johannes Klaebo won gold in all six Nordic skiing events from the 1.6 km sprint classic to the 50 km mass start. Sweden topped the women’s events with five golds and a sweep of the spring classic.

The United States had its best performance ever, with two silvers and a bronze. Jessie Diggins won bronze in the women’s 10 km despite a rib injury, adding to a decorated career that includes Olympic gold, a Tour de Ski title, and multiple World Cup wins and Crystal Globes.

Becoming a Nordic skier

Di Nicola is a native of France, but Nordic skiing wasn’t part of his life until about five years ago.

“As a child, I dreamed of going to school on skis like the kids in the Alps,” he said. “But I grew up in Provence, in the south of France with weather similar to Livermore.”

Opportunity and proximity started Di Nicola on his journey. After buying a Sierra Nevada cabin, he and his wife Pascale, also an LLNL physicist, tried it with their children. During the pandemic, extended stays at the cabin connected him with a community of experienced Nordic skiers.

“There was a 10 km Nordic skiing race, which is something I would have never considered because I’m not a competitive athlete, but it was virtual,” he said. “I decided to try it, and then I was hooked.”

Since then, he’s participated in more events, at increasing levels of difficulty. A couple of years ago, he completed the Glacier Point Skate Race, the 38 km tour with 800 meters of elevation gain, which starts and ends at the Badger Pass Ski Area in Yosemite National Park, climbing up to 7800 feet of elevation.

“For me it’s not a race, it’s just completing the course. That was toughest one I’ve done. The climb was brutal. When I reached the top of Glacier Point, I took a moment to enjoy the amazing view,” Di Nicola said.

Another highlight was a trip to Trondheim Norway for the 2025 Internal Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) Nordic Skiing World Championship. In addition to watching top athletes compete, Di Nicola and his wife also skied around the country. On a whim, he emailed a former Roller ski World Champion Ragnar Bragvin Andresento to ask about visiting the Holmenkollen Training Lab at Oslo’s national ski arena.

“We only had the Sunday in Oslo, but they opened the gym with the roller ski treadmill for us. It’s the Mecca for this sport and a gym where most of the Norwegian champions have trained,” he said. “This community is small and so friendly. You are always welcome, no matter where in the world you are.”

Harnessing physics

Skiing may be limited to times and places with snow, but training is a year-round, all-terrain endeavor. And, it turns out, training for Nordic skiing involves a lot of non-skiing exercise.

“Running, cycling, roller skiing, weight training, swimming—any activity that builds strength and aerobic capacity,” said Di Nicola. “You need a diverse base of activity to stack up training hours and get in shape while preventing injuries.”

All this training prepares skiers for the demands of Nordic skiing. On flat and slightly uphill ground, they often use a coordinated, symmetric motion that resembles a speed skater’s stride. With this technique, known as the V2 or double dance, the skier briefly glides on one ski at a time, shifting their weight to remain balanced and standing tall, propelling themselves forward by slamming both poles on the snow by their feet. On steeper hills, they switch to an offset stride (or V1 or paddle dance), an asymmetric V stance with pressure on the inside edges and pole plants timed with the leading ski.  

“You’re dragging yourself up on the leading ski, then falling and gliding on the other ski,” Di Nicola explains. “There is a lot of technique and a lot of physics involved.”

For this laser physicist, that’s part of the charm. Ski waxing becomes a complex equation, with considerations for snow conditions, temperature, terrain and wax composition. Skiers use texturing tools at the bottom of skis to create microchannels to shed water as they glide to minimize the friction and improve control.

“Every movement is meant to propel you forward. You don’t want to leak energy by having a ski turned too far out or leaning too far or back. Timing, balance, and proper gears are key” Di Nicola said.

His training is paying off. On March 7, Di Nicola finished third in the 53rd annual Bjornloppet XC 10 km ski race at Bear Valley with a time of 33 minutes, 28 seconds, almost 15 minutes better in that distance than in his first virtual race in 2021.

His next big event is his first 18 km Broken Arrow Skyrace trail running race in June at Palisade Tahoe. And he’s hoping to spur enough interest in Nordic skiing to form a networking group through the Livermore Laboratory Employee Services Association.

“I think a lot of about energy loss, timing, and precision. On NIF, we’re constantly looking for ways to couple more of the laser’s energy into the experiments, improve pulse shape, delivery, and timing,” he said. “And in Nordic skiing, it’s all about making sure every effort is focused towards propelling you forward the most efficiently possible given your physical abilities.”

More Information:

“LLNL’s NIF Delivers Record Laser Energy,” NIF & Photon Science News, November 16, 2023

“NIF’s Jeff Wisoff and Jean-Michel Di Nicola Elected Optica Fellows,” NIF & Photon Science News, November 14, 2023

“NIF’s Fusion Ignition Shot a ‘Hot Topic’ at SPIE Photonics West,” NIF & Photon Science News, March 23, 2023

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