A History of Skiing - A Concise Essay on this Popular Winter Sport Including its History, Equipment, Different Styles and Techniques

E. Wroughton

Description

This vintage book explores the subject of skiing. Skiing is a means of transport, a recreational activity and a competitive winter sport in which the participant uses skis to move on snow. This illustrated volume looks at the history of the sport, as well as equipment, different styles and techniques, and much more; making it perfect for those with an interest in the origins and development of this universally-enjoyed winter sport. Contents include: “The Antiquity and Renaissance of Ski”, “Countries in Which Ski-Running is Practised”, “Outfit”, “The Elements of Ski-Running”, “The Snow and its Peculiarities”, etc. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this book now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with the original text and artwork.

Sujets

• Types of snow

Informations

• Publié par: Read Books Ltd.
• Date de parution: 17 septembre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 3
• EAN13: 9781528767262
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

A HISTORY OF SKIING
A CONCISE ESSAY ON THIS POPULAR WINTER SPORT INCLUDING ITS HISTORY, EQUIPMENT, DIFFERENT STYLES AND TECHNIQUES.

By
E. WROUGHTON
H UNTING ON S KI
From the Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus of Olaus Magnus , 1555.
CONTENTS

I The Antiquity and Renaissance of Ski
II Countries in Which Ski-Running is Practised
III Outfit
IV The Elements of Ski-Running
V The Snow and its Peculiarities
SKI-ING
I THE ANTIQUITY AND RENAISSANCE OF SKI
I F ski-running was not a method of locomotion indulged in by prehistoric man during the great ice Age it can nevertheless claim an antiquity at least as respectable as most other forms of sport. Those nomadic tribes, whose hunting-grounds lay in the great plains which, owing to their proximity to the Arctic Circle, were usually covered by snow, would soon discover that unaided locomotion was extremely perilous. To reach game at all in snow-covered country it is necessary to be provided with footgear which will prevent sinking; and the further advantage of coming up more swiftly with his prey would incline the predatory savage to look with favour on snow-shoes or ski.
From being used within the Arctic Circle exclusively, ski probably became familiar to the sub-Arctic peoples, who though not absolutely dependent upon them yet found them of the greatest possible assistance in excursions from farm to farm, or on woodcutting expeditions during the winter months, when timber is more readily transported; and thence, in all likelihood, they were introduced into the Scandinavian countries, whose inhabitants have always been in contact with the Arctic tribes. In such circumstances the sporting possibilities of ski would speedily become apparent. To a people not immediately dependent upon the products of the chase, ski-running would resolve itself into a pastime offering all the exhilaration of rapid movement and at the same time satisfying the essential requirement of keeping the performer warm.
That some such conditions probably represent the early phase of ski-running is proved by the account of Captain F. J. Jackson, who whilst travelling in the neighbourhood of the Ural Mountains, gleaned from the native Samoyed population much interesting information regarding the introduction of ski-running into Northern Europe. He found that ski were in constant use by these people, who called them loegya, and they stoutly maintained that the Norwegians had borrowed from them the idea of ski-running. But it would be rash to credit any one people with the invention of ski. One might, with equal possibility of success, attempt to discover the nationality of the inventor of the fire-hollowed canoe or the first rude attempt at a wheel. Such inventions are, indeed, older than the nations, and have their genesis in the dire necessities of struggling humanity.
The early snow-shoe had obvious disadvantages. When going downhill it had a tendency to slip, and this disconcerting circumstance could only be obviated by fixing studs to its under surface, which were similar to the roughing of a horse s shoe. Ultimately, however, the sliding movement was utilised; the shoe was further elongated and the point so turned up that tripping was avoided and an easy run obtainable.
Xenophon, Procopius and our own King Alfred, are all eloquent witnesses to the antiquity of the ski. Obviously it grew out of the primitive snow-shoe, and one remarkable circumstance in connection with its evolution should not be overlooked. Shoes with upturned toes are a characteristic of the Mongolian races all the world over. There can be little doubt that the original habitat of the Mongolian peoples was Northern Asia, and upon their settlement in the warmer spheres of the south it would appear that they retained the upturned bend in their footgear. Striking proof of this is given by the monuments of that strange people of Asia Minor, the Hittites, who were a Mongolian race, and whose history is so closely intertwined with that of the Israelites. Professor Sayce of Oxford, writing upon Hittite costume, says, Wherever the figure of a Hittite is portrayed there we find this peculiar form of boot. The boot is really pheres of the south it would appear that they retained the upturned bend in their footgear. Striking proof of this is given by the monuments of that strange people of Asia Minor, the Hittites, who were a Mongolian race, and whose history is so closely intertwined with that of the Israelites. Professor Sayce of Oxford, writing upon Hittite costume, says, Wherever the figure of a Hittite is portrayed there we find this peculiar form of boot. The boot is really a snow-shoe, admirably adapted for walking over snow, but ill-suited for the inhabitants of a level or cultivated country. The fact that it was still used by the Hittites of Kadesh in the warm fertile valley of the Orontes proves better than any other argument that they must have come from the snowclad mountains of the north.

F IGHTING ON S KI
From the Historia de Gentibus Septentrionabilus of Olaus Magnus , 1555.
In the Middle Ages the use of ski appears to have been chiefly confined to Norway, and they are mentioned by Olaus Magnus. They seem also to have been not unknown in England, and an interesting reference to them will be found in Lorna Doone. The military history of Scandinavia contains many instances of the early use of ski by soldiers. In A.D . 1200 King Sverre recruited a ski company composed of men drawn from the northern districts, and under Paul Belte they were sent to reconnoitre the Ryenbergen. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries ski-running is frequently alluded to, and a picture in Olaus Magnus shows the Finns in 1539 campaigning on ski under the King of Hensingern. Gustavus Adolphus was in the habit of sending out scouts equipped with ski, and in the Danish wars of Charles XI. it is said that two hundred dragoons were driven back by sixteen Norwegians on ski, the latter, owing to their knowledge of fighting on snow, being easily able to outmanoeuvre their enemies.
In 1719 a Swedish army under Armfield was lost in a terrible blizzard. The remains were discovered by a party of Norwegian ski-runners, who had observed them on the march. In 1747 a corps of ski-runners was organised in companies of a hundred men each, and in 1768 a regiment was formed into four companies. Thirty years later another regiment was formed, and schools of instruction were organised at Trondhjem and Kongsvinger. A drill book relating to military evolutions in ski-running was issued in 1804 and remained in force for sixty years.
When war broke out between Sweden and Norway in 1808 the smaller country possessed over two thousand ski-runners. They were for the most part employed in reconnoitring, and there are many instances to show that signal advantages were gained by the Norwegians by the aid of this mobile and highly useful arm of their service. When through the rupture of diplomatic negotiations in 1905, war between Norway and Sweden seemed certain, not only were the regular ski corps ready to take the field, but the infantry of the line were trained to the use of the ski, and had hostilities actually resulted there can be no doubt that much valuable information as to the usefulness of the ski corps on active service would have been gained from the observations made on the spot.
Most European countries now include ski troops in their military establishments: France, Germany, Russia, Switzerland, Italy, and even observant Japan possess regular organisations of ski soldiers, or have set on foot inquiries into the value and utility of ski. With the knowledge of what is being achieved by other nations before us, the question naturally arises, Of what importance is ski-running to the British Army? Our Empire, including as it does, all varieties of climate, is by no means deficient in country where ski would be of real service to our troops. The difficulties encountered by our men in the Tibet Expedition are almost too well known to be referred to, and on their return to India it was nothing uncommon for the men to march knee-deep in snow. One account states that the unfortunate men in that expedition were often up to their waists in snow. If ski had been available the evil results attending such hardships might have been obviated, and in all probability the true value of these easily-carried implements will in due time be recognised by the military authorities.
The modern history of the sport of ski-running may be said to date from the year 1879, with the ski meeting held on the slopes of the hill at Huseby, near Christiania, under the auspices of the Christiania Ski Club. A number of peasants from the Telemarken district were induced to attend the meeting, and the exhibition so stimulated local interest in the sport, notwithstanding the somewhat ludicrous attempts of the urban sportsmen, that a real impetus was undoubtedly given to what has since become the national pastime. In subsequent years this annual fixture, as it had become, attracted thousands of people to Christiania, and the jumping of the Telemarkings was regarded in the light of a prodigious feat. The jeunesse dor e of the capital longed to imitate, if they could not hope to surpass, the marvellous feats of the provincials, and ski-running and jumping became universal. For some years the peasants easily outdistanced and outleapt their city opponents. They possessed all the advantages of a knowledge of the sport from infancy. But the townsmen, quick to recognise the benefits arising from a judicious course of training, at length succeeded in defeating their rivals both in leaping and long-distance racing.
In many cases, notably at Glarus in Switzerland in 1903, the introduction of ski-running into European countries h