Evolution of Skiing

Nobody knows exactly who invented skiing or where it first originated, but we know that it has been around for as long as people have lived in areas with heavy snowfall. 

Cave paintings depicting people with skis have been found from the last ice age, which was 100,000 years ago, along with findings of ancient skis in Norway and China that used to be covered in horse hair for more grip. In modern times, these things called 'skins' are used to grip the snow for uphill skiing, called touring.

The main goal of original skiing was to ultimately get out of deep snow and to be used as a method of travel - skis came when horses and trains couldn’t go any further.

At this time, the Nazis were in the frigid mountains of Italy, so an elite group of champion skiers and mountaineers was assimilated by the U.S. Army. Thus, establishing the only mountain and winter warfare fighting unit, the 10th Mountain Division.  The 10th not only succeeded in forcing the Germans to surrender, but also, "...destroyed five German divisions, unhinging the defense in Italy and drawing forces away from other theaters"(US Army, 2022).

The 10th biggest military victory against Hitler's troops went down in history at Riva Ridge in Italy after an intensive night climb and battle. There is a fascinating movie called Fire on the Mountain regarding this battle, and the trailer can be accessed below (SnowBrains, 2017).

 (11) Fire on the Mountain Official Film Trailer - YouTube 

• Downhill wasn’t invented until the 1800s by the Norwegian Army Scandinavians who have been skiing this way since the Roman Empire.
• Ski design improved when the cambered ski was invented in Telemark, Norway
• The world’s first ski school opened in 1881.
• The first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix in 1924
  • Downhill was introduced to them in the 1936 German Winter Games.
• The world’s first chairlift was installed in Sun Valley, Idaho and different skiing techniques continued to evolve.

Now, ski resorts have expanded vastly and flourished bringing in people from all over the world (MountainSight, 2023).

Since the installation of the first chairlift, skiing has become easier and more accessible than ever. Styles of skiing continue to develop and evolve. 

Shane McConkey, among many other influential skiers, began shaping the ski industry into what it is today. He invented the powder ski - a larger ski to float through deep powder, by simply skiing (on snow) with water skis. He also won many awards for extreme skiing and was very well known for combining skiing with base jumping. Some of you may be familiar with the comedic movie, G.N.A.R. (Gaffney’s Numerical Assessment of Radness) which was made by his friends, Rob & Scott Gaffney in memory of the life he led.

In addition to G.N.A.R. there are countless ski movies and films to share with the skiing community as it continues to evolve. Just to name a few...

One of the newer types of skiing has been “... the rise of freestyle skiing… [which] quickly became popular among young skiers” (SnowVision, 2023). There are tons of freestyle tricks all ranging in difficulty level. Some tricks are easier to learn than others. Please enjoy this video of my friends, my brother and me 'sending it' when sometimes we probably shouldn't have.