Skiing is the self-propulsion on snow by means of elongated runners for the feet, which are slightly upward at the top.
The earliest archaeological examples of skis were found in Russia and date to 5000 BC. But 10,000-year-old wall paintings suggest use of skis in the Xinjiang region of what is now China.
Skis found in the bogs of Norway, Sweden, and Finland are estimated to be between 4,000 and 5,000 years old. The earliest skis are assumed to have been made from bones of large animals and were strapped to shoes with leather thongs.
Norwegian rock carvings dating back to 2500BC are the oldest known depictions of people skiing.
Not until after the beginning of the Christian era was wood used for skis.
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| Pixiebay |
HISTORY
The earliest archaeological examples of skis were found in Russia and date to 5000 BC. But 10,000-year-old wall paintings suggest use of skis in the Xinjiang region of what is now China.
Skis found in the bogs of Norway, Sweden, and Finland are estimated to be between 4,000 and 5,000 years old. The earliest skis are assumed to have been made from bones of large animals and were strapped to shoes with leather thongs.
Norwegian rock carvings dating back to 2500BC are the oldest known depictions of people skiing.
Not until after the beginning of the Christian era was wood used for skis.
Vikings were keen skiers, they even worshipped a god in its name. Medieval sources have very limited material on the god Ullr, but he's almost always shown on skis carrying a bow.
Medieval Russian soldiers used skis to facilitate their movement during winter campaigns.
The earliest known stretchers were made from a piece of canvas stretched between two skis. They were used to carry away wounded soldiers during a 1521 conflict between Denmark and Sweden.
Skiing was introduced into central Europe, via Austria, in 1590.
In 1721, the Norwegian army became the first to have a specialized ski unit.
Skiing as a sport was first practiced as late as the eighteenth century by the Norwegians, and then only very spasmodically.
The sport began as part of a military competition held in Oslo (then known as Christiania) in 1767. Soldiers were invited to vie with each other in skiing down a steep slope "without riding or leaning on their sticks."
Another early Norwegian skiing contest anticipated the modern slalom. Those taking part had to descend "a moderately steep slope," but had to do so "between bushes without falling or breaking their skis."
The first public skiing competition ("betting race") was held in Tromsø, Norway on March 19, 1843. The race was organized by the local businessman and sports enthusiast, Erling Kagge, and it consisted of a 3.5-kilometer course with betting on the side.
Medieval Russian soldiers used skis to facilitate their movement during winter campaigns.
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| Sergey Ivanov's 1903 rendition of medieval Russian soldiers' use of skis |
The earliest known stretchers were made from a piece of canvas stretched between two skis. They were used to carry away wounded soldiers during a 1521 conflict between Denmark and Sweden.
Skiing was introduced into central Europe, via Austria, in 1590.
In 1721, the Norwegian army became the first to have a specialized ski unit.
Skiing as a sport was first practiced as late as the eighteenth century by the Norwegians, and then only very spasmodically.
The sport began as part of a military competition held in Oslo (then known as Christiania) in 1767. Soldiers were invited to vie with each other in skiing down a steep slope "without riding or leaning on their sticks."
Another early Norwegian skiing contest anticipated the modern slalom. Those taking part had to descend "a moderately steep slope," but had to do so "between bushes without falling or breaking their skis."
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| Tonje Sekse competes in the slalom. By NM i Trysil |
The first public skiing competition ("betting race") was held in Tromsø, Norway on March 19, 1843. The race was organized by the local businessman and sports enthusiast, Erling Kagge, and it consisted of a 3.5-kilometer course with betting on the side.
The Tromsø event was significant in the history of skiing because it marked the beginning of organized skiing competitions and paved the way for the sport to become a popular pastime and competitive sport worldwide. The event was also notable because it was the first skiing competition to be reported in a newspaper.the Tromsø Tidende, which helped to spread the word about the event and the sport of skiing.
The first-ever ski jumping competition with prizes was held in Høydalsmo, Norway in 1866.
Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is believed to have been the first Briton to write about the thrill of skiing - describing it as "getting as near to flying as any earthbound man can."
British alpine ski pioneer Sir Arnold Lunn (1888-1974) invented the sport of downhill skiing in 1911.
Lunn also invented slalom gates, and obtained Olympic recognition for the modern Alpine slalom race and downhill races.
The first slalom event in skiing was held in Murren, Switzerland in 1922. The word "slalom" is from the Morgedal/Seljord dialect of Norwegian slalåm: "sla," meaning slightly inclining hillside, and "låm," meaning track after skis.
The first alpine ski tow in the U.S. was built in Woodstock, Vermont, in 1934.
Congressman and former pop singer Sonny Bono ("I Got You Babe") died aged 62 in a skiing accident. On January 5, 1998, he was on a skiing vacation at Heavenly Ski Resort near South Lake Tahoe, California. Bono was skiing alone when he struck a tree and suffered fatal head injuries.
The prize for the French Val d’Isere downhill ski competition in 2005 was a cow. The Val d’Isere resort is right in the middle of an abundant cheese farm region and they offered a Tarine cow (notable as the producer of local Beaufort cheese) to the winner of the competition. The organizers intended to trade the cow for a $5000, but the winner, Olympian Lindsey Vonn, declined and kept the cow. It was later found to be worth $20000.
The world’s fastest person on snow is Italian world champion speed skier Ivan Origone. He clocked 158mph downhill at La Foret Blanche ski resort in the French Alps in March 2016, accelerating so fast he beat the off-the-line speed of a Formula 1 car, getting up to 125 mph in 5.5 seconds.
FUN SKIING FACTS
The noun 'ski' was first recorded in English in 1755 but it took until 1893 for the verb 'to ski' to come into use.
Saint Bernard of Menthon (c1020-1081) is the patron saint of skiers. He was the founder of the famed hostel which has served travelers for nearly a millennium. St Bernard dogs are also named after him.
'Skiing' is the only common six-letter word in English with a double-i exactly in the middle.
In Switzerland, 35 per cent of skiing accidents involve knee injuries.
Sources Compton's Encyclopedia, Europress Family Encyclopedia 1999, Daily Express
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