My sister Barbara and her husband, along with their daughter Jessie and her husband & two kids, went skiing recently in Granby, Colorado. I can count the times I have been snow skiing on one hand. I do love the spectacular mountain scenery, sitting in a toasty warm lodge sipping a hot beverage while watching it snow and even schussing down the bunny slopes. But I really prefer the beach. I don’t like clomping around in heavy ski boots while lugging skis and ski poles. The speed of skiing and possibility for danger also scare me. I don’t mind the green runs, but you will never catch me on the black ones. I’m more of a slow-motion, take-it-slow kind of woman. A friend told me about her co-worker who fell off a chair lift and broke her pelvis. Her last name was Barrett, and the entire office nicknamed her “Broken Butt Barrett.” It’s horror stories like these that confirm my preference for the beach. I suppose if you started young it would be different. My niece’s children are 6 and 4 years old; they seem to really like skiing. In Utah one time I rode an inner tube down a very gradual slope of snow, and that was a lot of fun. I do like to watch Olympic snow skiing. Let’s learn more about it.
According to Wikipedia, skiing is a means of transport using 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 or IOC and the International Ski Federation or FIS.
History Skiing has a history of almost five millennia. 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. However, this continues to be debated. The word "ski" is one of a handful of words that Norway has exported to the international community. It comes from the Old Norse word "skíð" which means "split piece of wood or firewood."
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.
According to Wikiwand, the first primitive Scandinavian ski was found in a peat bog in Hoting in Jämtland county in Sweden which dates back to 4500 or 2500 BCE. In 1938 a ski was found from Salla, Finland that has been dated back to 3245 BCE. Noted examples are the Kalvträskskidan ski, found in Sweden and dated to 3300 BCE, and the Vefsn Nordland ski, found in Norway and dated to 3200 BCE. There are some 20 findings of ancient, well-preserved skis in drained bogs in Norway, indicating that skis have been widely used in Norway, particularly northern Norway, since prehistoric times. Skis have also been uncovered in ancient graves. In 2014, a ski complete with leather bindings, emerged from a glacier in Reinheimen mountains, Norway. The binding is at a small, elevated area in the middle of the 172 cm long and 14,5 cm wide ski. According to the report ,the ski is some 1,300 years old. A large number of organic artifacts have been well-preserved for several thousand years by the stable glaciers of Oppland county and emerge when glaciers recede. A ski excavated in Greenland is dated to 1010. Based on findings in the Nordic countries and elsewhere, researchers have identified at least three main types: arctic, southern and central Nordic. The arctic type was short and covered with fur, and used from northern Japan in the east to Ob river in the west. The Sami people probably brought this type to the Nordic region. The southern type had one short and one long ski, and was used in forest areas of southern Scandinavia and the Baltic countries. The central Nordic type also had one short with fur and one long, and was used in large parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland.
According to Wikipedia, early skiers used one long pole or spear. The first depiction of a skier with two ski poles dates to 1741. Troops on continental Europe were equipped with skis by 1747.
Skiing was primarily used for transport until the mid-19th century, but since then has also become a recreation and sport. Military ski races were held in Norway during the 18th century, and ski warfare was studied in the late 18th century. As equipment evolved and ski lifts were developed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, two main genres of skiing emerged — Alpine or downhill skiing and Nordic skiing. The main difference between the two is the type of ski binding or the way in which the ski boots are attached to the skis.
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, 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. More recently the Alpine Touring variant has emerged, commonly referred to as "uphilling." AT 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 backcountry travel on alpine skis. For downhill travel, the heels are locked and the skins are removed.
Nordic skiing Nordic skiing encompasses the various types of skiing in which the toe of the ski boot is fixed to the binding in a manner that allows the heel to rise off the ski, unlike alpine skiing, where the boot is attached to the ski from toe to heel. Recreational disciplines include cross country skiing and Telemark skiing. Olympic events are competitive cross-country skiing, ski jumping, biathlon and Nordic combined — competition in which athletes both cross-country ski and ski jump. The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships host these sports, plus Telemark skiing, at the championship level in the winter of every odd-numbered year. Biathlon combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting, but is not included as a Nordic discipline under the rules of the International Ski Federation. Instead, it comes under the jurisdiction of the International Biathlon Union. The biomechanics of competitive cross-country skiing and ski jumping have been the subject of serious study. Cross-country skiing requires strength and endurance, and ski jumping requires aerodynamic efficiency. The requirements of both translate into specific skills to be optimized in training and competition.
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. Sondre Norheim is often credited for first demonstrating the turn in ski races, which included cross-country, slalom and jumping, in Norway around 1868. He also experimented with ski and binding design, introducing side cuts to skis and heel bindings like a cable.
Cross-country competition Cross-country competition 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 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 competition Ski jumping contests occur at the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in odd-numbered years only, FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix and FIS Ski Flying World Championships. Ski jumping has also been a regular Olympic discipline at every Winter Games since 1924.
Freeride skiing This category of skiing includes any practice of the sport on non-groomed terrain.
Nordic combined competition A combination of cross-country skiing and ski jumping, this discipline has competitions at the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup, FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in odd-numbered years only and at the Winter Olympics.
Alpine skiing competition Alpine skiing includes downhill, slalom, giant slalom, super giant slalom or 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. Alpine skiing competitions occur at the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, FIX Alpine World Ski Championships held only in odd-numbered years and the Winter Olympics.
Paralympic alpine skiing is an adaptation of alpine skiing for athletes with a disability. The sport evolved from the efforts of disabled veterans in Germany and Austria during and after World War II. The sport is governed by the International Paralympic Committee Sports Committee. The primary equipment used includes outrigger skis, sit-skis and mono-skis. Para-alpine skiing disciplines include downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, super combined and snowboard.
Para-alpine skiing classification is the classification system for para-alpine skiing designed to ensure fair competition between alpine skiers with different types of disabilities. The classifications are grouped into three general disability types: standing, blind and sitting. A factoring system was created for para-alpine skiing to allow the three classification groupings to fairly compete against each other in the same race despite different functional skiing levels and medical problems.
Alpine skiing was one of the foundation sports at the first Winter Paralympics in 1976 with slalom and giant slalom events being held. Different disciplines were added to the paralympic program over time.
Para-alpine skiing contests occur at the World Para Alpine Skiing Championships in odd-numbered years and the Winter Paralympics.
Speed skiing competition Dating from 1898, with official records beginning in 1932 with an 89-mile-per-hour run by Leo Gasperi, this became an FIS discipline in the 1960s. The competition is the FIS Speed Ski World Cup, and the sport was demonstrated at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.
Freestyle skiing competition 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 program in 1992. It became an Olympic sport in the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games when the slopestyle and half-pipe events were introduced.
Snowboarding competition 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 program and was competition as a separate discipline at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Skiboarding competition
Using a snowboard in conjunction with standard ski boots, this discipline is essentially a combination of skiing and snowboarding. Various skiboarding competitions have been trialed over recent years, including the Skiboard Triple Challenge, United Skiboard Series, European Skiboard Cup, Skiboard World Cup and the US Skiboard Open.
Telemark skiing competition Named after the Telemark region of Norway, this discipline combines elements of Alpine and Nordic skiing. A relatively new competitive sport, Telemark racing competitions are the FIS Telemark World Cup and the FIS Telemark World Championships.
Grass skiing competition Originally developed as an alpine skiing training method, skiing on grass has become established as a skiing discipline in its own right. Competitions are the FIS Grass Skiing World Cup and the FIS Grass Ski World Championships.
Technique Technique has evolved along with ski technology and ski geometry, the shape of the ski. Described in the direction of travel, the front of the ski, typically pointed or rounded, is the tip; the middle is the waist, and the rear is the tail. Skis have four aspects that define their basic performance: length, width, sidecut and camber. Skis also differ in more minor ways to address certain niche roles. For instance, skis for moguls are much softer to absorb shocks from the quick and sharp turns of the moguls and skis for powder are much wider to provide more "float" in deeper, softer snow.
Early techniques included the Telemark turn, stem, stem Christie, snowplow and parallel turn. New parabolic designs like the Elan SCX have enabled the more modern carve turn.
A carved turn is a skiing term for the technique of turning by shifting the ski onto to its edges. When edged, the sidecut geometry causes the ski to bend into an arc, and the ski naturally follows this arc shape to produce a turning motion. The carve is efficient in allowing the skier to maintain speed because, unlike the older stem Christie and parallel turns, the skis don't create drag by sliding sideways. Starting a carved turn requires the ski to be rotated onto its edge, which can be accomplished through angulation of the hips and knees applied to both skis, leading them to efficiently carve a naturally parallel turn. Carving turns are generally smoother and longer radius than either stemmed or parallel turns. Carving maintains the skis efficiently turning along the direction of travel as opposed to skidding at an angle across the direction of travel. For a given velocity, carving with shaped skis typically requires less effort than stemming or parallel and offers increased speed and control in even steep descents and highly energetic turns, making it ubiquitous in racing. Prior to the introduction of "shaped skis" in the 1990s, the technique was not simple to learn. Since then, it has become accessible, and carving is commonly taught as a form of parallel skiing alongside the classic parallel "brushed" technique. Modern downhill technique is generally a combination of carving and skidding, varying the ratio between the two when rapid control over the turn or speed is required. Pure carving is a useful technique on "groomers" — slopes of moderate steepness with smooth snow — with skis dedicated to this style. Other situations remain almost pure parallel Christie technique, such as competitive mogul skiing, with edged turn initiation aided by the moguls themselves.
Skiing 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. Roller skiing is an off-snow equivalent to cross-country skiing. Roller skis have wheels on their ends and are used on a hard surface, to emulate cross-country skiing. The skiing techniques used are very similar to techniques used in cross-country skiing on snow. First created as a summer training exercise, roller skiing grew into a competitive sport in its own right. Annual championships are held in various locations around the world. Most, if not all, national cross-country ski teams around the world roller ski during the off-season for specific physical training simulating winter skiing. In Norway, separate roller ski facilities have been constructed to allow exercise off public roads. 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.
Comments