Downhill skiing, also known as alpine skiing, developed in the twentieth century from the millennia-old tradition of cross-country skiing. According to the International Skiing History Association website, about 40 million people practice downhill skiing. Several hundred major ski resorts cater to this market, providing ski lifts, groomed downhill runs and other associated amenities.
Ski Origins
The history of skis dates back at least 8,000 years -- archaeological finds in Russia indicate that people were skiing across country during the ice age. Cave paintings in Scandinavia show skis in use roughly 5,000 years ago. These early skis were not used for downhill or alpine skiing, however, as their shape and construction was suited for cross-country skiing. A specific type of skis, allowing better turning control, was developed in nineteenth-century Telemark, Norway.
Early Downhill Skiing
Scandinavians and people from the colder areas of northern Europe took their skiing tradition with them when traveling around the world, and skiing quickly gained popularity in southern and central Europe, as well as in the United States. In the 1800s, European immigrant workers came to the United States to work in the mines, and introduced both cross-country and downhill skiing to the country. Downhill racing became possible using long wooden skis, and the English started organizing ski races early in the twentieth century.
Twentieth Century
A key moment in the development of downhill skis occurred in 1947, when Howard Head -- a skier from Baltimore -- developed skis made of plywood with an aluminum exterior. Head's skis allowed much greater flexibility and control in downhill skiing, to the point where they became known alternatively as "cheaters" and "banana skins." Another aluminum ski invented in 1947 was the Alu-60. Later in that decade, the Dynamique company produced the first smooth and hard ski sole that gave skiers a more comfortable ride.
Synthetic Materials
Modern skis are made of synthetic materials rather than wood, a development that came about in the second half of the twentieth century. Cellulix developed plastic-bottomed skis in the 1940s. This invention meant that skiers not longer had to apply a pungent lubricant preparation to the underside of their skis every hour. The first entirely plastic ski was made by Holley in 1954, although it was not immediately popular. In the 1960s, fiberglass skis were made by Kneissl and Rossignol, and fiberglass skis remain the industry standard. Fiberglass is more suited to downhill skiing than aluminum as it smooths the ride and does not change shape on impact.
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