We use skis as a fun pastime in the winter. We go to a lodge, sit back in a warm chalet by a fire, and then go hit the slopes. However, skis were not always used just for fun. In Sweden, they found a wide short ski that was found to be 4500 years old and at the same spot, they found cave drawings to indicate that skis were used far before then. In the past, skis were not used for a fun pastime. In most cases, they were used just to stay above the snow. They think that skis were used for hunting trips and to travel from place to place, where the skis were not made for speed, but to keep the people using them on top of the snow.
In the early 1700's, the people from the Telemark Area in Norway were mostly credited for the creation of the sport of skiing. These people invented two turns, the Telemark, and the Christiana (now known as the Christie) to help control the speed going downhill. These people also liike to jump alot. The two skiing disciplines in alpine and Nordic skiing owe their beginning to the early pioneers.
Skiing became very popular and was taken to different parts of the world. When it hit the Alps, the slopes were too steep for Nordic skis where the boot was only connected at the toe. Therefore, the skis with the boot connected at the toes and heel were created. These boots added more control to the skier on the steeper slopes. This, in turn, created Alpine Skiing.
Many different thoughts have grown up around skiing, and now there are many different techniques to skiing with more being thought up all the time. Each one adding to the enjoyment of skiing. |
