Deep snows and long northern winters have presented people living in far northern climes with challenges to movement and communication for thousands of years. About 4,500 to 5,000 year ago, at roughly the same time as the Fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt, cave paintings were made in Norway showing people overcoming their snowy obstacles with the use of primitive skis. From those humble beginnings the equipment used in skiing has greatly improved, showing remarkable development in the 20th century.
Prehistory of Ski Equiptment
Until the 20th century all skis were made of wood, so surviving examples are extremely rare. The oldest surviving skis, known as the Kalvträskskidan, comprised a pair of wooden skis and a shovel-shaped ski people from Sweden. The skis have been dated to 3,200 BC, 600 years before the cave painting were made in Norway. The Kalvträskskidan are made of pine cut from trees that grew on a hillside and possess four holes for a binding-cord. This arrangement is similar to the skis used in ancient Siberia.
Nineteenth-Century Developments
Modern skiing's pioneer is Sondre Norheim, a Norwegian who lived in the 19th century in the Telemark region of Norway. In 1850 he is credited with inventing a heel-strap binding using birch-tree roots. This organic heel strap was instrumental in allowing skiers to attempt jumps and steep downhill runs without losing their skis. In 1870 he refined the ski's shape, introducing the first sidecut ski, which allowed for easier turns in soft snow. During the 19th century skiers alternatively used two short or one long pole depending on terrain and conditions.
Development of Ski
Skis were first manufactured in 1879 by a Norwegian immigrant to Minnesota named Martin Strand. Minnesota remained dominant in ski manufacturing when in 1911 the Northland Ski Company was founded and produced hickory skis that remained the market standard for 30 years. The future arrived in 1933 when the Norwegian Ostbye-Splitkein and the Americans Anderson and Thompson developed the first laminated skis. A year later in 1934, all-aluminum skis were developed and sold in France, though they enjoyed only a limited production run. Aluminum skis were to gain commercial viability in 1949 when produced by the American Howard Head. Fiberglass came of age in 1960 when Kneissl, Sailer and Plymold developed the first commercially viable fiberglass ski.
Development of Bindings And Boots
Like skis, bindings developed rapidly in the 20th century. In 1935, the first Kandahar cable binding was sold, allowing a skiers heel to be secured to the ski. This was a departure from cross-country style ski bindings where the heel is left free. Securing the heel allows for more secure downhill runs and high-speed turns. A few years later in 1939, a successful release binding was introduced. Designed to meet the increasing demands of the downhill ski sport, the Henke Speed Fit buckle boots were introduced in 1955 and the all-plastic Lange boot was introduced in 1964.
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