2. • Skiing was a prehistoric
activity; the oldest known
skis date to between 8000
and 7000 BCE and were
discovered in Russia.
Early skis have been
found in many areas of
northern Europe: a 4,000-
year-old rock carving
depicting skis was found
near the Arctic Circle in
Norway, and hundreds of
ski fragments that are
1,000 to 3,500 years old
have been found in bogs
in Sweden, Norway, and
Finland.
• Some of the first skis were
short and broad,
resembling snowshoes
more than modern skis.
Skiing certainly was not
confined to Europe,
though, as the first written
references to skiing are
from the Han dynasty
(206 BCE–220 CE) and
describe skiing in northern
China.
3. • Many peoples who lived in
climates with snow for many
months of the year
developed some form of
skiing. The Sami (Lapps)
believed themselves to be
the inventors of skiing, and
their use of skis for hunting
was renowned from Roman
times. In addition, the
Vikings used skis from the
9th to the 11th century. Skis
are still occasionally used for
travel in rural areas of
Russia and the
Scandinavian countries.
4. • Skiing also has long been
employed
for military purposes.
Norwegian men on skis
reconnoitered before the
Battle of Oslo (1200).
• Ski troops were also used in
Sweden in 1452, and from
the 15th to the 17th century,
skis were used in warfare in
Finland, Norway, Russia,
Poland, and Sweden.
• Capt. Jens Emmahusen
wrote the first skiing manual
for Norwegians in 1733.
• Military skiing continued into
the 20th century where snow
conditions and terrain
favored their use for scouts
and for a type of mounted
infantry with a first-strike
advantage against small
objectives. In particular, ski
troops fought in both world
war| and world war 2
• Many veterans, especially of
World War II, were very
active in promoting the sport
of skiing after returning to
civilian life.
5. • The word 'Ski' is derived
from the Norwegian
word 'skíð' which means
a split piece of wood.
• The first recorded
downhill skiing race was
held in Sweden, in 1879.
• Alpine skiing made its
first debut in the Winter
Olympics of 1936 and
German born Franz
Pfnür became the first
man to win the gold
medal in the
championship.
