In a cave in Sweden we found the oldest ski of the world.
Scientists believe that this ski has to be at least 4.500 years old.
on the walls
It makes the scientists believe that some kind of skiing was already going on long before the exact scientific date was determined.
When looking at this ski it is to be presumed that this ski was mainly mad in order to stay on top of the snow: the ski was wide and short.
It is presumed that ski poles were invented due to the fact that these skiers realized that the use of a walking stick would improve balance. And when using twe stick would help him gain speed when traveling up of down hill.
NORDIC
which allowed the skier to move the heel freely up and down.
Today we call this type of system as Nordic.
From history books we know that the very first Nordic competition consisted out of downhill skiing, combined with cross country and ski jumping.
The earliest of these events occurred in the early 1800s.
TELEMARK
The Telemarkers out of the city "Telemark" in Norway are give the credit in the history of snow skiing history books for developing skiing into a serious sport around the early 1700s.
has been referred to as the father of modern skiing
This enabled a skier to quickly find his skis after a fall.
were festive events that drew people from far and wide - a lot like the parties that go on in the parking lots of football stadiums before the game begins.
WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES 1924
These first ever games were held in Chamonix
They consisted of two types of skiing competition: ski jumping and combined Nordic.
The very first gold medal won in these Olympics was captured by Charles Jewtraw in the 500 meter speed skating event.
while the United States only finished fifth with 4 medals.
WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES 1932
to obtain a firm place in the history of skiing.
the venue was originally scheduled for Big Pines
This time the United States preformed much better than in 1924: they won 12 medals.
The history of snow skiing allows us comfort in the knowledge that it is "all downhill from here."
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