Ski Equipment History

People have been skiing since earlier than 5000 BC. You can either cross country ski or downhill ski. Equipment for each of these activities has been evolving since their conception. New and exciting innovations are introduced every year.

  1. The Earliest Beginnings

    • The very first skis used by man were probably large animal bones attached to the toes with pieces of leather cut from skins. Five-thousand or more years ago, tools were limited and using bones eliminated the need of shaping skis. This type of ski was used in Northern Europe and Russia to glide across relatively flat land. They were not appropriate for steep downhill runs.

    Wooden Skis

    • The first known wooden skis were made in Sweden and have been dated to 4,500 years ago. It was about this time that tools became available to flatten out and shape pieces of wood. Once again, they were tied only at the toes. Poles were simply branches. These skis made were used to get from place to place over the deep snow.

    The Roots of Modern Equipment

    • Skis remained basically the same until the 1700s. They had become longer and were carved and finished to have a better gliding surface, but the bindings were still just a toe strap. During the 1700s, the people of the Telemark area of Norway began the sport of skiing. In the mid-1800s, Sondre Norhiem revolutionized ski equipment when he designed a birch binding, which meant you would no longer easily lose a ski. Norhiem has become know as the founder of modern skiing.

    Manufactured Skis

    • The industrial revolution affected ski equipment, along with every other aspect of life. Ski design was improved and producing skis became faster and easier. For the first time, boots were actually designed to fit inside a ski. Bamboo poles had baskets attached so they would not sink in the deep snow. The first winter Olympics was 1932, and new technologies provided the equipment for exciting downhill races and cross country events.

    Post WWII

    • Today shaped skis help technique

      The sport of skiing became increasingly popular after World War II. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, many new ski manufacturers sprouted up and provided an avid public with faster skis, better boots (albeit still leather) and lighter poles. The late 1950s saw the advent of release bindings and the first metal skis. Soon after, manufacturers began making ski boots from artificial materials such as molded plastic. By the late 1960s, the first fiberglass skis were made. They had surfaces on the bottoms that required little waxing, yet provided fast, smooth running.

    Latest Developments

    • Toward the end of the 20th century, manufacturers began experimenting with what are now called shaped skis. They incorporated a parabolic shape that helps carve crisp turns more easily than the traditional longer ski. The tendency also became to make a ski shorter, reducing the 7-foot oak of the 1930s and 1940s to a 5-foot-6-inch light, easy-to-handle synthetic material in 2010. Boots have evolved from stiff leather to a variety of synthetic materials that help reduce injury. Cross country skis have also improved, with better gliding surfaces and improved bindings.

    Where to Now

    • Today, the ski equipment industry is booming. More people take up the sport each year. Manufacturers constantly search for new and different ways to improve equipment to attract their share of the market.