Pretty well, I guess...
Coming from alpine means you're used to balancing on a pair of skis. Which is a huge plus. But you'll probably find x-country skis incredible flimsy when going downward.

Skiing isn't not rocket science. Walk/jog like normal, just kick the foot agressively downwards instead of just stepping on it. (Think: Kick the binding DOWN). You want the ski to stick (and not slide backward) when you apply force to accelerate yourself forward.

Skating is similar, just that you are... skating. You're sigsaging, balancing on one ski and applying a kick with the other ski at an angle to your direction of movement. Easier done than to explain it.

As always: It takes some practice before those movements become natural and fluid.



People made do without steel edges for ages before they became the norm for "mountain skis". Although a huge plus for a wide range of conditions they can't be said to be mandatory.

Metal edge really shines if the surface is very hard and icy. Otherwise, they're not nescessary. On grommed tracks they won't be needed - but they will be really nice to have when the wet/warm track has frozen into concrete over the night.

If you plan to go "off track" you'll encounter a much wider range of snow conditions than on carefully groomed tracks, including ice hard rain crust, sastrugi and wind crust. It's like choosing a car: If you want to go offroad you'd buy a car with 4WD and all-terrain tires. If you want to go outside tracks you'd by (slightly) wider skis with a steel edge.

Skis made for going as fast as possible on groomed tracks typically won't have steel edges. Skis intended for off-track ("mountain skis") or combined track/off-track use will typically have a 3/4 or full steel edge.

As always, you adapt to local conditions. Where I live we have a coastal climate, so there will be episodes of rain all winter. Which means you have to be prepared to meet icy hard crusts any time you step outside the "paved" tracks... Even if the low lying areas have nice fluffy snow the wind exposed ridges will often be wind blown, hard and icy.