Skiing

History of Skiing

The oldest skis, probably about 4,000 to 5,000 years ago, were found in Sweden and Finland. Some of the first skis were broad and looked like snowshoes. They were made from the bones of large animals.

Skis were first used for transportation and are still used as a way of travelling in Norway, Sweden and Finland. In the USA, skiers delivered the mail in the snowy mountains of the American Rockies. They were even used in wars during the Middle Ages.

Skiing as a sport developed in the 19th century. In 1843 the first competitions were held in Norway and at the end of the 19th century skiing developed in the Alps. An Austrian, Mathias Zdarsky, known as the father of Alpine skiing, had the idea of using two poles for balance and shortened his skis. After World War II Alpine skiing started to boom in the Alps because more and more lifts were built. Although cross-country skiing developed earlier, Alpine skiing became more popular.

Display of old skis at the Holmenkollen Ski Museum in Norway

Image : Elena Giglia from Torino, Italia, CC BY 2.0,
via Wikimedia Commons