University of Utah sophomore Luke Jager practices roller skiing at Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City on Thursday. According to gearwest.com, roller skiing does an excellent job imitating on-snow training, and like skiing on snow, it exercises arms, legs and core muscles and improves cardiovascular fitness. The site says many newer skiers and roller skiers may use the same boots and poles for both roller skiing and snow skiing, however the nature of roller skiing makes it very hard on equipment, so most serious skiers will eventually dedicate a second set of equipment specifically to roller skiing. In any case, poles should have their snow baskets replaced with a set of carbide roller ski ferrules. Also notable: ski boots can be very warm to wear during the summer, so some boot companies sell more breathable roller ski versions of their boots.

No snow, no problem: Roller skiing a suitable substitute - Deseret News