The earliest history of skiing dates back to 7000-5000 B.C. Ancient cave drawings from Eastern Russia depict hunters on skis that were used to chase game through deep snow. These drawings are found all throughout the arctic region; especially in northern parts of Scandinavia. One famous rock carving is that of Rodoy, Norway from around 2500 B.C. There is also physical evidence from around this period: the oldest ski was found in a peat bog in Sweden and also dates back to about 2500 B.C. Several other skis have been found all throughout Scandinavia and Lapland. These ancient skis show regional differences in length and width, indicating a gradual refinement in technology. As skis became quicker and more versatile, their application shifted from hunting gear towards military purposes.

But as early as 1000 A.D., skiing was no longer utilitarian: early Icelandic poetry praises Viking king Harald Hadrade's skills in ski races. Thus skiing was an activity for both entertainment, as well as a means of transportation for warfare and hunting. The findings of old skis and its role in literature show that skiing is deeply engrained in Scandinavian history. In 1521, the Danes invaded Sweden, killing nearly all nobles. Only one nobleman, Gustav Vasa managed to escape on skis. Eventually he drove out the Danes and founded the kingdom as it survives today. By this time, the advantages of skiing in warfare were clear. Skiing regiments were setup, and skis were used as stretchers to carry injured off the battlefields.

Ski gear for military purposes was further developed during several Scandinavian wars in the 16th and 17th century. The Norwegian army first used leather heel straps to facilitate downhill skiing. However, the skis were still stiff and straight sided, and did not allow for smooth turns. The typical downhill technique was stick riding: a rider used a long staff to push into the snow on either side for turns. The staff was also used for braking and propulsion on flat surfaces. The gear and the technique of stick riding remained virtually unchanged until 1850.

The birthplace of modern skiing is without a doubt Telemark, Norway. One person from this region played a key role in the development of ski gear and style; a farmer by the name of Sondre Norheim. During the long, cold winters there was not much farming to do in the Telemark region which left him with plenty of time to practice skiing. Nordheim was also skilled at furniture building, and as such familiar with woodworking and wicker working. He used these skills to improve his skis. His major contribution to skiing was the development of a heel strap from entwined birch tree roots (1850); the first design of the modern ski binding. The heel strap allowed more control over the ski in turns and it allowed ski-jumping.

In 1866, Nordheim and others from the Telemark region first demonstrated a ski turn that would later become known as the Telemark turn, and an alternate turn called the Christiana skidded stop turn. These techniques were only possible through a continued improvement of ski gear such as Nordheim's development of the Telemark ski (1870). The Telemark ski was the first sidecut ski with a narrow waist to facilitate turns. All modern skis are based on the early designs of Nordheim.

As ski gear improved, the popularity of skiing increased. Norwegian skis were exported to other parts of Scandinavia, and the rest of Europe. Norwegian skiers also travelled all over Europe to compete in nordic cross country and ski jumping. Norway's fame as a skiing nation gained even more popularity after Fridtjof Nansen's crossing of Greenland on skis (1888).

Starting in the mid-1800s, many Scandinavians also set out for the New World. Most of them ended up as farmers in the Midwest (in fact Sondre Nordheim moved to North Dakota in 1884), but some ended up as miners in California, Utah and Colorado. They brought along their skis, and raced against each other or neighboring miner settlements. This resulted in the formation of the first ski clubs in the USA. The Alturas Snow-shoe Club of Laporte was the oldest, most popular club with the most prestigious ski tournament. Another common entertainment was longboarding; several skiers strapped onto one long pair of skis (up to twelve feet long) would race down a slope with speeds sometimes exceeding 80 miles per hour.

But skiing was also important for communications in the New World. During the winter, skiing was the only means of transportation to the mining settlements. Many men signed up as skiing mail carriers. The most famous mail carrier was John "Snowshoe" Thompson (born Jon Tostensen Rue in Telemark, Norway). Thompson carried mail from Placerville, CA to Genoa and Carson Valley. A trip of some 90 miles with 60-80 pounds of mail, on a pair of skis weighing 25 pounds. Snowshoe could do the trip in two to three days.

Back in Europe, skiing was dominated by the Norwegian Telemark and Christiana styles well into the late 1800s. The focus was on endurance, technique, and ski jumping. All of these required tremendous skill and fitness, which did not attract the interest of the rich upper class Europeans. However, this would soon change with the invention of alpine skiing. The basis for this ski technique was founded by Mathias Zdarsky of Austria, a retired school teacher. Zdarsky taught himself the basics of skiing and while doing this, he invented a plow maneuver to control his speed and turn. This so called stem turn was ideal for beginning skiers with little time to practice the difficult Telemark and Christiana turns.

The stem turn became very popular for ski mountaineering, especially after the publication of Zdarsky's book on the use of the stem brake and stem turn (1896). The actual transition to fast descent, or alpine skiing was engaged by the British. The British were already prominent in the Alps where they engaged in hiking and climbing during vacations. The new and easy ski technique allowed for quick descents after a day of hiking. Soon after that the emphasis shifted away from hiking towards downhill skiing; and preferably going down as fast as possible. This development resulted in the first British club race, the Roberts of Kandahar Cup in Montana, Switzerland (1911).

Skiing as a sport boomed in the years following, especially through the efforts of an Austrian by the name of Johannes Schneider. Schneider taught skiing to the mountain troops during World War I. After his return to Sankt Anton he set up a ski school and taught accelerated ski courses using a new, modular system based on the Zdarsky stem turn. This so called Arlberg System was based on his military training experiences*, and it is the basis for modern ski classes all over the world.

In 1924, the Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS) is formed. The organization was dominated by Scandinavian countries and as a result, the first Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix, France only had Nordic ski events on the roster. The competition was crushed by the Norwegians taking 11 of the 12 gold medals. However, the attractive downhill skiing generated increasingly more interest as a spectator sport. This was fueled by ski races such as the Hahnenkamm in Kitzbühel, Austria (first one in 1931), and the Lauberhorn race in Wengen, Switzerland. Downhill skiing also gained popularity as a winter activity due to the construction of skiing lifts, starting in the 1920s. The first official FIS world championship downhill was held in 1931. The alpine events entered the Olmpics in 1936 (Garmisch Partenkirchen).

Over in the US, skiing remained a relatively obscure activity until the 1930s. There were a few Nordic instructors in Lake Placid, NY and Poconos, PA. The first major development of alpine skiing in the US started in New England through the Appalachian Mountain Club. In the years following World War I there was an enormous influx of ski instructors from Europe, resulting in a huge popularity of the sport.

After World War II, the rapid advance of materials and technology further popularized the sport all over the world. The swiveling toe piece was already invented in 1939. Further improvements to the binding followed in the 1950s (the heel-and-toe release, and the step-in binding). However, the principle of safe, easy ski bindings was only perfected in the mid-1970s. Wooden skis were replaced by aluminum (1947) and wood-core aluminum models (1947). In 1954, the all plastic ski was invented. The fiberglass skis as they are used today were invented in the 1960s by Rossignol and Kneissl. Further important developments were in boots, poles and ski clothing.

The improvements of ski gear resulted in further advances of ski technique. The counter-rotation technique (wedel) was developed in the 1960s as an addition to the classical (Arlberg) and French parallel turns. The counter rotation allowed for short abrupt turns in deep powder snow.

As skiing became more popular, the demands on ski areas increased. The first snow making device was tested in the 1950s, but around the 1970s most major ski areas relied on artificial snow making to maintain snow quality on heavily used slopes. The development of heavy snow grooming equipment and high capacity lifts also played a vital role in the development of skiing as a mass consumer activity.


* /me learned skiing in Sankt Anton, and vividly remembers a very military approach. Apparently Schneider's spirit lives on in St. Anton.

Factual Sources:
http://www.kokotele.com/history.htm
http://www.skiinghistory.org/HistoricDates.html
http://www.skiinghistory.org/History.html
http://www.sover.net/~eaglehof/index.htm

Atari 2600 Game
Produced by:Activision
Model Number:AG005
Rarity:2 Common
Year of Release: 1980

This game was Activision's fifth game. It is an absolute blast. The graphics are simple, but it has a really great feel to it. This game is very similar to the PC game Ski Free. I played this game over and over again as a child, and I do admit that it still holds some fascination for me today. The graphics are almost non-existent, the sound effects are terrible, and it was surpassed by many later titles. Even with all those things going against it I still like to play this game from time to time.

You could get a patch from the Activision Club if you managed to complete the third course in 28.2 seconds or less. Although they stopped giving those away years ago, and you probably don't wear jean jackets anymore anyway.

From the instruction manual:
"When you want to maneuver, I suggest you tap your Joystick lightly to the
right or left to move your skis or change direction, rather than push heavily
on the stick. There are 8 different positions for your skis (see my diagram
below) and 15 different directions you can go (downhill plus two possible
angles for each left or right ski position). “
Bob Whitehead is the programmer on this title.

This game is valued at around $2 USD. Games with boxes and manuals are worth more. The Atari 2600 is a machine whose time has come and gone. It was an awesome machine in its day. I even had one myself. I had an Atari 5200 and an Atari 7800 as well. But technology moved on, time moved on, and as it did it surpassed the console and the games. Today there are only a handful of Atari games worth playing in a world of modern games, and thankfully this is one of them. If you are still playing Atari games then you should probably have this one. I can't promise that you will like it, but you might.

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