Video demonstration of a variety of ski techniques used in the 1940s.
Skiing has a history of almost five millennia.[1] Although modern skiing has evolved from beginnings in Scandinavia, it may have been practiced more than 100 centuries ago in what is now China, according to an interpretation of ancient paintings.[2][3] However, this continues to be debated.[4][5]
The word "ski" comes from the Old Norse word "skíð" which means to "split piece of wood or firewood".[6]
Asymmetrical skis were used in northern Finland and Sweden until at least the late 19th century. On one foot, the skier wore a long straight non-arching ski for sliding, and a shorter ski was worn on the other foot for kicking. The underside of the short ski was either plain or covered with animal skin to aid this use, while the long ski supporting the weight of the skier was treated with animal fat in a similar manner to modern ski waxing.
Early skiers used one long pole or spear. The first description of a skier with two ski poles dates to 1741.[7]
Troops in continental Europe were equipped with skis by 1747.[8]
Skiing was primarily used for transport until the mid-19th century but, since then, it has also become a recreation and sport.[9] Military ski races were held in Norway during the 18th century,[10] and ski warfare was studied in the late 18th century.[11] As equipment evolved and ski lifts were developed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, two main genres of skiing emerged—Alpine (downhill) skiing and Nordic skiing. The main difference between the two is the type of ski binding (the way in which the ski boots are attached to the skis).
Also called "downhill skiing", Alpine skiing typically takes place on a piste at a ski resort. It is characterized by fixed-heel bindings that attach at both the toe and the heel of the skier's boot. Ski lifts, including chairlifts, bring skiers up the slope. Backcountry skiing can be accessed by helicopter, snowcat, hiking and snowmobile. Facilities at resorts can include night skiing, après-ski, and glade skiing under the supervision of the ski patrol and the ski school. Alpine skiing branched off from the older Nordic type of skiing around the 1920s when the advent of ski lifts meant that it was no longer necessary to climb back uphill. Alpine equipment has specialized to the point where it can now only be used with the help of lifts. Alpine Touring setups use specialized bindings which are switchable between locked and free-heel modes. Climbing skins are temporarily attached to the bottom of alpine skis to give them traction on snow. This permits Nordic style uphill and back-country travel on alpine skis. For downhill, travel the heels are locked and the skins are removed.
The Nordic disciplines include cross-country skiing and ski jumping, which both use bindings that attach at the toes of the skier's boots but not at the heels. Cross-country skiing may be practiced on groomed trails or in undeveloped backcountry areas. Ski jumping is practiced in certain areas that are reserved exclusively for ski jumping.
Telemark skiing is a ski turning technique and FIS-sanctioned discipline, which is named after the Telemark region of Norway. It uses equipment similar to Nordic skiing, where the ski bindings are attached only at the toes of the ski boots, allowing the skier's heel to be raised throughout the turn. However, the skis themselves are often the same width as Alpine skis.
Competition
The following disciplines are sanctioned by the FIS. Many have their own world cups and are included in the Winter Olympic Games.
Freeriding skiing – This category of skiing includes any practice of the sport on non-groomed terrain.
Nordic combined – A combination of cross-country skiing and ski jumping, this discipline is contested at the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup, the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships (odd-numbered years only), and at the Winter Olympics.
Speed skiing – Dating from 1898, with official records beginning in 1932 with an 89-mile-per-hour (143 km/h) run by Leo Gasperi, this became an FIS discipline in the 1960s. It is contested at the FIS Speed Ski World Cup, and was demonstrated at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville.[13]
Snowboarding – Disciplines include slopestyle, cross, half-pipe, alpine, parallel slalom, and parallel giant slalom. The main competitions are the annual FIS Snowboard World Cup and the FIS Snowboard World Championships (held in odd-numbered years). Snowboarding debuted as an Olympic discipline in 1998 (as part of the Alpine skiing programme) and was contested as a separate discipline at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Skiboarding – Using a snowboard in conjunction with standard ski boots, this discipline is essentially a combination of skiing and snowboarding. Various skiboarding competitions have been tried over recent years, including the Skiboard Triple Challenge, United Skiboard Series, European Skiboard Cup, Skiboard World Cup, and the US Skiboard Open.
Telemark – Named after the Telemark region of Norway, this discipline combines elements of Alpine and Nordic skiing. A relatively new competitive sport, Telemark racing is contested at the FIS Telemark World Cup and the FIS Telemark World Championships.
Grass skiing – Originally developed as an alpine skiing training method, skiing on grass has become established as a skiing discipline in its own right. It is contested at the FIS Grass Skiing World Cup and the FIS Grass Ski World Championships.
Equipment
Four groups of different ski types, from left to right: 1. Non-sidecut: cross-country, telemark and mountaineering 2. Parabolic 3. Twin-tip 4. Powder
Equipment used in skiing includes:
Skis, which may have skins applied or be textured for uphill traction or wax applied for minimizing sliding friction. Twin-tip skis are also designed to move forwards or backwards.
New parabolic designs like the Elan SCX have enabled the more modern carve turn.
On other surfaces
Originally and primarily a winter sport, skiing can also be practiced indoors without snow, outdoors on grass, on dry ski slopes, with ski simulators, or with roller skis. A treadmill-like surface can also be used, to enable skiing while staying in the same place. Sand skiing involves sliding on sand instead of snow, but the skier uses conventional skis, ski poles, bindings and boots for the surface.[15]
^Formenti; et al. (2005). "Human locomotion on snow: determinants of economy and speed of skiing across the ages". Proceedings. Biological Sciences. 272 (1572): 1561–1569. doi:10.1098/rspb.2005.3121. PMC1559840. PMID 16048771.
^. China View. Xinhua News Agency. 25 January 2006. Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
^ Marquand, Edward (15 March 2006). "Before Scandinavia: These could be the first skiers". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
^Krichko, Kade (19 April 2017). "China's Stone Age Skiers and History's Harsh Lessons". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
^Larsen, Nils (12 June 2017). "Origin Story: Where did skiing begin?". International Skiing History Association. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
^Caprona, Yann de: Norsk etymologisk ordbok. Oslo: Kagge forlag, 2014. ISBN9788248910541.
^Hergstrom, P (1748). Beschreibung von dem unter schwedischer Krone gehörigen Lappland. Leipzig: von Rother.
^"Newcastle Courant". Retrieved 29 September 2019. – via The British Newspaper Archive (subscription required)
^Saur, Lasse (1999): Norske ski - til glede og besvær. Research report, Høgskolen i Finnmark.
^Bergsland, Einar (1946): På ski. Oslo: Aschehoug.
^E. John B. Allen (30 January 2014). "How concern for the national health and military preparedness led France to build the infrastructure for Chamonix, 1924". International Skiing History Association. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
^Lizza, Chris I. (1997). "The first dual slalom duel". Skiing Heritage Journal. International Skiing History Association. 10 (3): 42. ISSN 1082-2895.
^Lipsyte, Robert (2009). Vizard, Frank (ed.). Why a Curveball Curves: The Incredible Science of Sports. Popular mechanics. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 224. ISBN9781588167941.
^"Freestyle Skiing - Winter Olympic Sport". International Olympic Committee. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
skiing, this, article, about, snow, skiing, water, skiing, water, skiing, other, uses, disambiguation, skis, glide, snow, variations, purpose, include, basic, transport, recreational, activity, competitive, winter, sport, many, types, competitive, skiing, even. This article is about snow skiing For water skiing see Water skiing For other uses see Skiing disambiguation Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow Variations of purpose include basic transport a recreational activity or a competitive winter sport Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee IOC and the International Ski Federation FIS Alpine skiers Contents 1 History 2 Types 2 1 Alpine 2 2 Nordic 2 3 Telemark 3 Competition 4 Equipment 5 Technique 6 On other surfaces 7 Gallery 8 See also 9 References 10 External linksHistoryMain article History of skiing source source source source source source Video demonstration of a variety of ski techniques used in the 1940s Skiing has a history of almost five millennia 1 Although modern skiing has evolved from beginnings in Scandinavia it may have been practiced more than 100 centuries ago in what is now China according to an interpretation of ancient paintings 2 3 However this continues to be debated 4 5 The word ski comes from the Old Norse word skid which means to split piece of wood or firewood 6 Asymmetrical skis were used in northern Finland and Sweden until at least the late 19th century On one foot the skier wore a long straight non arching ski for sliding and a shorter ski was worn on the other foot for kicking The underside of the short ski was either plain or covered with animal skin to aid this use while the long ski supporting the weight of the skier was treated with animal fat in a similar manner to modern ski waxing Early skiers used one long pole or spear The first description of a skier with two ski poles dates to 1741 7 Troops in continental Europe were equipped with skis by 1747 8 Skiing was primarily used for transport until the mid 19th century but since then it has also become a recreation and sport 9 Military ski races were held in Norway during the 18th century 10 and ski warfare was studied in the late 18th century 11 As equipment evolved and ski lifts were developed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries two main genres of skiing emerged Alpine downhill skiing and Nordic skiing The main difference between the two is the type of ski binding the way in which the ski boots are attached to the skis TypesAlpine Main article Alpine skiing Also called downhill skiing Alpine skiing typically takes place on a piste at a ski resort It is characterized by fixed heel bindings that attach at both the toe and the heel of the skier s boot Ski lifts including chairlifts bring skiers up the slope Backcountry skiing can be accessed by helicopter snowcat hiking and snowmobile Facilities at resorts can include night skiing apres ski and glade skiing under the supervision of the ski patrol and the ski school Alpine skiing branched off from the older Nordic type of skiing around the 1920s when the advent of ski lifts meant that it was no longer necessary to climb back uphill Alpine equipment has specialized to the point where it can now only be used with the help of lifts Alpine Touring setups use specialized bindings which are switchable between locked and free heel modes Climbing skins are temporarily attached to the bottom of alpine skis to give them traction on snow This permits Nordic style uphill and back country travel on alpine skis For downhill travel the heels are locked and the skins are removed Nordic Spring ski touring on Hardangervidda Norway Main article Nordic skiing The Nordic disciplines include cross country skiing and ski jumping which both use bindings that attach at the toes of the skier s boots but not at the heels Cross country skiing may be practiced on groomed trails or in undeveloped backcountry areas Ski jumping is practiced in certain areas that are reserved exclusively for ski jumping Telemark Main article Telemark skiing Telemark skiing is a ski turning technique and FIS sanctioned discipline which is named after the Telemark region of Norway It uses equipment similar to Nordic skiing where the ski bindings are attached only at the toes of the ski boots allowing the skier s heel to be raised throughout the turn However the skis themselves are often the same width as Alpine skis CompetitionThe following disciplines are sanctioned by the FIS Many have their own world cups and are included in the Winter Olympic Games Cross country Encompasses a variety of formats for cross country skiing races over courses of varying lengths Races occur on homologated groomed courses designed to support classic in track and free style events where skate skiing may be employed The main competitions are the FIS Cross Country World Cup and the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships held only in odd numbered years and various cross country skiing events have been incorporated into the Winter Olympics since its inception in 1924 The discipline also incorporates cross country ski marathon events sanctioned by the Worldloppet Ski Federation cross country ski orienteering events sanctioned by the International Orienteering Federation and biathlon a combination of cross country skiing and rifle shooting Paralympic cross country skiing and paralympic biathlon are both included in the Winter Paralympic Games Ski jumping Contested at the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships odd numbered years only the FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix and the FIS Ski Flying World Championships Ski jumping has also been a regular Olympic discipline at every Winter Games since 1924 Freeriding skiing This category of skiing includes any practice of the sport on non groomed terrain Nordic combined A combination of cross country skiing and ski jumping this discipline is contested at the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships odd numbered years only and at the Winter Olympics Alpine skiing Includes downhill slalom giant slalom super giant slalom super G and para alpine events There are also combined events where the competitors must complete one run of each event for example the Super Combined event consists of one run of super G and one run of slalom skiing The dual slalom event where racers ski head to head was invented in 1941 and has been a competitive event since 1960 12 Alpine skiing is contested at the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships held only in odd numbered years and the Winter Olympics Para alpine skiing is contested at the World Para Alpine Skiing Championships odd numbered years and the Winter Paralympics Speed skiing Dating from 1898 with official records beginning in 1932 with an 89 mile per hour 143 km h run by Leo Gasperi this became an FIS discipline in the 1960s It is contested at the FIS Speed Ski World Cup and was demonstrated at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville 13 Freestyle skiing Includes mogul skiing aerials ski cross half pipe and slopestyle The main freestyle competitions are the FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup and the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships held in odd numbered years The discipline was first demonstrated at the 1988 Winter Olympics and was added to the Olympic programme in 1992 It became an Olympic sport in the 2014 Sochi Olympic games when the Slope style and Half pipe events were introduced 14 Snowboarding Disciplines include slopestyle cross half pipe alpine parallel slalom and parallel giant slalom The main competitions are the annual FIS Snowboard World Cup and the FIS Snowboard World Championships held in odd numbered years Snowboarding debuted as an Olympic discipline in 1998 as part of the Alpine skiing programme and was contested as a separate discipline at the 2018 Winter Olympics Skiboarding Using a snowboard in conjunction with standard ski boots this discipline is essentially a combination of skiing and snowboarding Various skiboarding competitions have been tried over recent years including the Skiboard Triple Challenge United Skiboard Series European Skiboard Cup Skiboard World Cup and the US Skiboard Open Telemark Named after the Telemark region of Norway this discipline combines elements of Alpine and Nordic skiing A relatively new competitive sport Telemark racing is contested at the FIS Telemark World Cup and the FIS Telemark World Championships Grass skiing Originally developed as an alpine skiing training method skiing on grass has become established as a skiing discipline in its own right It is contested at the FIS Grass Skiing World Cup and the FIS Grass Ski World Championships Equipment Four groups of different ski types from left to right 1 Non sidecut cross country telemark and mountaineering 2 Parabolic3 Twin tip4 Powder Equipment used in skiing includes Skis which may have skins applied or be textured for uphill traction or wax applied for minimizing sliding friction Twin tip skis are also designed to move forwards or backwards Boots and bindings Poles Helmets Ski suits Ski goggles Skiing gloves Ski masksTechniqueTechnique has evolved along with ski technology and ski geometry Early techniques included the telemark turn the stem the stem Christie snowplough and parallel turn New parabolic designs like the Elan SCX have enabled the more modern carve turn On other surfacesOriginally and primarily a winter sport skiing can also be practiced indoors without snow outdoors on grass on dry ski slopes with ski simulators or with roller skis A treadmill like surface can also be used to enable skiing while staying in the same place Sand skiing involves sliding on sand instead of snow but the skier uses conventional skis ski poles bindings and boots for the surface 15 Gallery Giant Slalom Ski Racer Freestyle switch 720 mute grab A ski jumper using the V style Cross country skiing free style or skate skiing Dry slope racing A skier with a disability on a sit ski using two outriggers See alsoGlossary of skiing and snowboarding termsReferences Formenti et al 2005 Human locomotion on snow determinants of economy and speed of skiing across the ages Proceedings Biological Sciences 272 1572 1561 1569 doi 10 1098 rspb 2005 3121 PMC 1559840 PMID 16048771 Ancient paintings suggest China invented skiing China View Xinhua News Agency 25 January 2006 Archived from the original on 29 March 2015 Retrieved 27 January 2015 Marquand Edward 15 March 2006 Before Scandinavia These could be the first skiers The Christian Science Monitor Retrieved 8 March 2015 Krichko Kade 19 April 2017 China s Stone Age Skiers and History s Harsh Lessons The New York Times Retrieved 9 May 2020 Larsen Nils 12 June 2017 Origin Story Where did skiing begin International Skiing History Association Retrieved 9 May 2020 Caprona Yann de Norsk etymologisk ordbok Oslo Kagge forlag 2014 ISBN 9788248910541 Hergstrom P 1748 Beschreibung von dem unter schwedischer Krone gehorigen Lappland Leipzig von Rother Newcastle Courant Retrieved 29 September 2019 via The British Newspaper Archive subscription required Saur Lasse 1999 Norske ski til glede og besvaer Research report Hogskolen i Finnmark Bergsland Einar 1946 Pa ski Oslo Aschehoug E John B Allen 30 January 2014 How concern for the national health and military preparedness led France to build the infrastructure for Chamonix 1924 International Skiing History Association Retrieved 17 July 2014 Lizza Chris I 1997 The first dual slalom duel Skiing Heritage Journal International Skiing History Association 10 3 42 ISSN 1082 2895 Lipsyte Robert 2009 Vizard Frank ed Why a Curveball Curves The Incredible Science of Sports Popular mechanics Sterling Publishing Company Inc p 224 ISBN 9781588167941 Freestyle Skiing Winter Olympic Sport International Olympic Committee 26 November 2019 Retrieved 5 December 2019 Fastest sand skiing Guinness World Records Retrieved 26 March 2018 External links Media related to Skiing at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Skiing amp oldid 1141534344, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
