Skiing
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Wikipedia-Article "Skiing"
Skiing is the activity of gliding over snow using skis (originally wooden planks, now usually made from fiberglass or related composites) strapped to the feet with ski bindings. Originally used primarily for transportation, skiing evolved into a popular recreational and competitive activity during the 20th century.
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History
- Main article: History of skiing
Although skiing probably evolved gradually from snowshoeing, Norwegian Sondre Norheim is often called the "father of modern skiing". In the 19th century, Sondre Norheim invented bindings that enabled the skier to do turns while skiing down hills, this form of skiing was called Slalom by Norheim and his contemporaries. This form of skiing is now referred to as Telemark or Telemark skiing. Skiing originally was a practical activity that resembled today's Nordic, or cross-country, style.
The invention of firmer bindings to attach the skier's feet to the ski, likely by Austrian Matthias Zdarsky, enabled the skier to turn more effectively and led to the development of Alpine, or Downhill, skiing.
Shortly thereafter, in the early 20th century, Austrian Hannes Schneider pioneered the idea of rotating the body to help steer the skis. Soon this Arlberg technique, named for his home region, spread around the world and helped make skiing a popular recreational activity.
Types of skiing
Many different types of skiing are popular, especially in colder climes, and many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Ski Federation (FIS), and other sporting organizations. Skiing is most visible to the public during the Winter Olympic Games where it is a major sport.
In skiing's traditional core regions in the snowy parts of Scandinavia, as well as in places such as Alaska, both recreational and competitive skiing is as likely to refer to the cross-country variants as to the internationally more well known downhill variants.
For many people, "skiing" refers to recreational downhill skiing where one visits a ski resort, purchases a lift ticket, dons cold-weather clothing, skis, ski boots and ski poles, and embarks on a chairlift, gondola lift, or other means of mechanical uphill transport. Upon reaching the summit, the skier disembarks from the ski lift and travels downhill, propelled by gravity, usually along a marked run known as a piste. Ski routes are referred to as 'runs,' 'trails,' or 'slopes.' Off-piste riding, also known as "back-country skiing", includes unmarked areas within the ski resort's boundaries, frequently amongst trees ("glade skiing"), or usually in pursuit of fresh fallen snow, known as powder. Skiing or snowboarding beyond the ski resort's boundaries is illegal in most countries, due to the danger of avalanches on the un-patrolled areas; or the cost of search-and-rescue for lost or overdue skiers. France is one of the few countries with no restrictions against off-piste skiing.
Skiing technique is difficult to master, and accordingly there are ski schools that teach everything from the basics of turning and stopping safely to more advanced carving, racing, mogul or "bump" skiing and newer freestyle techniques. The venue, speed and technical difficulty associated with the sport can lead to collisions, accidents, hypothermia and other serious injury or illness, including death. Regional Ski Patrol organizations, such as the National Ski Patrol in the U.S., exist as a voluntary organization to provide guidance, help, medical assistance and emergency rescue to those in need of it.
Many non-skiers wonder why skiers are willing to risk such injury. Skiers have a variety of answers to this question, but a common explanation is that it simply feels good, rather like flying, and that, when done carefully, poses no greater risk of injury compared to other sports. Of course, there is some aspect of danger, but that is part of the appeal. Skiing is the fastest means of land transport possible without mechanical assistance. Many skiers have had experiences where they have achieved a union of the mind and the body by practicing this sport; where the mind trusts the body to perform in an exceptional manner and the body trusts the mind not to lead it off an un-navigable cliff. A sense of harmony and of peak experience can result in a feeling of wholeness of self.
In addition to their role in recreation and sport, skiing is also used as a means of transport by the military, and many armies train troops for ski warfare. Ski troops played a key role in retaining Finnish independence from Russia during the Winter War, and from Germany during the Lapland War, although the use of ski troops was recorded by the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus in the 13th century. The sport of Biathlon was developed from military skiing patrols.
Skiing was pronounced "she-ing" at the start of the 20th century, after the Norwegian pronunciation, and was usually written "ski-ing".
Skiing for people with disabilities
Downhill skiing for people with disabilities is a recreational pastime open to those with any manner of cognitive and/or physical disabilities. Adaptations include the use of outriggers, ski tip retention devices, ski sliders, sit skis (dual and mono), brightly colored guide bibs, ski guides, and inter-skier communication systems. Recreational skiing programs for people with disabilities exist at mountains across the globe. In the Northeastern part of the United States, Maine Handicapped Skiing is one of the largest, operating out of the Sunday River ski resort. In the western part of the United States, the Winterpark program in Salt Lake City, Utah attracts world-class disabled athletes from Europe, Asia, and North America. Currently the International Ski Federation (FIS) sanctions a number of regional, national, and international disabled skiing events. Skiing for people with disabilities became popular after World War II with the return of injured veterans. [1]
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Skiing and society
In some places, particularly in the United States, skiing is often associated with wealth. Some resorts, particularly several in the American state of Colorado, are known as places where the affluent go on vacation.
The term "ski bum" has been used to classify skiers who want to spend the entire skiing season at the resort, engaging in their favorite sport and obtaining simple jobs, mainly in the local tourism industry to make a living; in reality, however, many different types of people engage in skiing. Some people take days off of work occasionally, go after work, after school, or on the weekends, for short trips if the ski resort is near their home. Recently, skiers and snowboarders have engaged in rivalry on and off the slopes, which is usually friendly and increases the notoriety of both sports; snowboarders often share hills with downhill skiers.
Trail ratings
North America
In North America, a color-shape rating system is used to indicate the difficulty of trail or slope.
There is no governing body that assigns difficulty ratings to ski trails. Instead, resorts assign ratings to their own trails, marking a given trail according to its relative difficulty when compared with other trails at that resort. As a result, identically-pitched trails at different resorts can have different ratings.
Although slope angle is the primary consideration in assigning a trail rating, other factors come into play - including trail width, normal snow conditions and whether or not the resort normally grooms the trail.
The ratings are as follows:
- Green circle: A green circle indicates that the trail is 'easier' compared to other trails at the resort. As a result, these trails are typically the most popular trails among newer skiers and snowboarders. Skiers and snowboarders sometimes refer to green circle runs as "beginner trails."
- Blue square: Often called an "intermediate slope," trails marked with a blue square are more difficult than those with a green circle, but not the most challenging runs at a given resort. In general, trails marked with a blue square are steeper than those marked with a green circle.
- Black diamond: A black diamond indicates that a trail is among the most difficult at a given mountain. Trails marked with black diamonds are generally steeper than those with other ratings, and they may or may not be groomed.
- Double black diamond: Until the 1980s, by convention, North American ski resorts limited trail ratings to green circle-blue square-black diamond. But technological improvements in trail construction and maintenance, coupled with intense marketing competition, led to the creation of a new trail rating symbol: the double black diamond. Many North American resorts now use the double-black symbol, although some retain the old three-symbol system. In general, trails marked with a double black diamond are even more challenging than those marked with a single diamond. Usually, this is due to significantly increased slope angle, but other factors such as width, exposure,length, the presence of obstacles can cause a resort to assign a double-diamond rating to a trail. Although the double black diamond is subject to the same lack of standardization as the other three symbols, trails marked with double black diamonds should typically be attempted only by very skilled and experienced skiers and snowboarders. Some may even have near-cliffs, large moguls, and large, constant tree obstacles.
- Variations: Although the North American trail rating system is a convention used by most resorts, some ski areas have unilaterally made modifications to the system by using combinations of symbols. For example, you might see a trail rating with both a blue square and a black diamond at a given resort, indicating that the trail is more challenging than other blue square runs at the resort but less challenging than the black diamonds.
Because of the lack of standardization in trail ratings, it's generally a good idea to start on a given resort's less challenging runs, as indicated by their trail ratings, to develop a sense of how difficult that resort's terrain actually is before moving on to more demanding terrain.
Europe
In Europe, trails or slopes are classified by a similar, colour-coded system, although shapes are not used (all ratings are circles). The ratings are:
- Green: Learning or 'baby' slopes. These are usually not marked trails, but tend to be large open, gently sloping areas at the base of the ski area.
- Blue: An easy trail, similar to the North American Green Circle, and are almost always groomed, or on so shallow a slope as not to need it.
- Red: A intermediate slope. Steeper, or narrower than a blue slope, these are usually groomed, unless the narrowness of the trail prohibits it.
- Black: A difficult slope. Steep, may or may not be groomed, or may be groomed for mogul. It is worth noting that 'Black' can be a very wide classification, ranging from a slope marginally more difficult than a 'Red' to an icy mogulfield.
Japan
Japan uses a color-coded system, but shapes do not usually accompany them. Some resorts, mainly those catering to foreigners, use the North American or European color-coding system, adding to the confusion. When in doubt, check the map legend. The usual ratings are:
- Green: Beginner slopes. These are usually near the base of the mountain, although some follow switchback routes down from the top.
- Red: Intermediate slopes. At most ski areas in Japan, these constitute the majority of the slopes (40% to 60%, depending on how the slopes are accounted).
- Black: Expert slopes. These are the steepest and most difficult slopes at the ski area. The difficulty of these compared to like-classified slopes at other ski areas is heavily dependent on the target audience.
Japan has more than 600 ski areas (108 in Nagano Prefecture alone), many of them small and family-oriented, so comparisons between the three slope classifications in Japan and "equivalent" slopes in Europe or North America should be taken with a grain of salt.
Snow and weather
Skiers and snowboarders can encounter a wide range of snow and weather conditions, in part due to the location of specific resorts and global weather patterns at the time.
Natural snow ranges in consistency from very light and fluffy to dense and heavy, depending upon atmospheric conditions as it falls. Snow is often measured by moisture content, or the amount of water in a given volume of snow. Some areas of the United States' Rocky Mountains, for example, can receive considerable amounts of snow with a moisture content as low as three to five percent; in the Northeastern United States and the Alps, moisture content is more typically 15 percent or more. Snow made by mechanical snowmaking often has moisture content of 35 percent or more.
Temperatures play a critical role in snow moisture content, but other atmospheric conditions are also relevant. Air currents and other factors determine snow crystal shape; obviously, the farther apart given snow crystals are, the more air is contained in the newly settled snow, resulting in lower net moisture content in a given volume of snow. Snow produced mechanically typically has high relative moisture content and low amounts of loft because the crystal structure resembles small, dense pellets.
Even the fluffiest snow has mass, and snow typically settles under its own weight after time. This is one reason why untouched snow measuring 20 cm on the day it falls might be measured at 15 cm the day following. Snow is also subject to sublimation - a process by which water can go directly from a frozen state to a gaseous state without first melting. It's the same process that ultimately makes ice cubes shrink in your freezer.
There are other factors that impact snow beyond its moisture content and crystal shape, however. Snow is impacted by wind, sunlight, skier traffic, ambient air temperature, relative humidity and grooming equipment; all of these factors combine to change snow crystal shape and density over time.
Thus, skiers and snowboarders typically encounter a wide range of snow conditions over the course of a season. Some of the more common conditions include:
- Powder: Light, fluffy snow, found during and immediately after a snowstorm. Skiing and snowboarding in deep powder snow is a favorite among skilled, experienced skiers and snowboarders.
- Packed Powder: Packed Powder is powder snow that has been compressed, either by means of mechanical snow grooming apparatus or skier traffic. The term can also be used to describe snow that has been properly made with adequate control over snowmaking apparatus. This snow condition is favored by beginners and the majority of recreational skiers, in that it tends to be relatively forgiving, easy to turn upon, and requires less skill to negotiate than powder snow.
- Granular snow: Granular snow crystals are small pellets. Depending on sun and temperature conditions, it may be wet granular snow - meaning that there is a considerable amount of unfrozen water in it, or loose granular snow, which has no unfrozen water. Wet granular snow will form a snowball; loose granular snow will not. Wet granular conditions are often found in the springtime. Loose granular conditions are generally produced when wet granular snow has re-frozen and then been broken up by snowgrooming apparatus.
- Corn snow: Corn snow is the result of repeated daily thaws and nightly re-freezing of the surface. Because of the thaw-refreeze cycle, snow crystal shapes change over time, producing crystal shapes somewhat akin to wet granular, but larger. True corn snow is a delight to ski or ride.
- Ice: skiers and snowboarders typically regard any snow condition that is very hard as 'ice.' In fact, true ice conditions are comparatively rare. Much of what is perceived to be ice is actually a frozen granular condition - wet granular snow that has refrozen to form a very dense surface. Telling the difference is comparatively easy; if one can get a ski pole to stand up in it, the surface is likely to be more of a frozen granular surface than an icy one - and while it's certainly not as enjoyable as many other snow conditions, skilled skiers and snowboarders can successfuly negotiate it. In fact, it's a preferred condition among racers, in that the surface tends to be quite fast and race course conditions tend to remain more constant, with fewer ruts developing on the course. Another form of icy condition can be found at higher elevation resorts in the Rocky Mountains and in Europe; direct sunlight can melt the top layers of snow crystals and subsequent freezing and produce a very shiny, slick surface.
- Crust: Crusts are extremely challenging conditions. A crust condition exists when soft snow is covered by a harder upper layer upon the surface. This crust can be created by freezing rain (precipitation formed in warmer upper levels of the atmosphere, falling into a temperature inversion at which surface temperatures are below freezing, and freezing on contact with the ground), by direct sunlight, and by wind loading which packs down the upper layers of the snowpack but leaves lower layers more or less unaffected.
New Developments
The combination of kiteboarding technology with skiing has led to the creation of a new sport, snowkiting. Harnessing the pull of the wind with a kite, snowkiters are able to make massive jumps and travel uphill.
Skiing topics
Types of skiing
- Alpine skiing (also known as Downhill skiing)
- Backcountry skiing (also known as Off Piste skiing)
- Cross-country skiing (also known as Nordic skiing)
- Extreme skiing
- Heliskiing
- Newschool Skiing
- Telemark skiing
- Speed skiing
- Ski jumping
- Ski mountaineering
- Ski touring
- Snowkiting
- Freestyle skiing
- Cat skiing is a type of snow skiing that involves the use of a snowcat to transport skiers up mountainous terrain rather than helicopters or ski lifts used at ski resorts. It is considered a form of backcountry skiing or off-piste skiing, as the hazards encountered in a backcountry mountain environment are the same and professionals often guide participants.
Turning techniques
- Stem techniques
- The Snowplough - (also known as the wedge) - see snowplough turn
- The Stem Christie
- Parallel turn
- Carve turn
- Telemark turn
Equipment
Competition events
- Arlberg-Kandahar competition
- Winter Olympic Games
- Winter Paralympic Games
- Four Hills Tournament
- Winter X-Games
Alpine events
- Alpine Skiing World Cup
- Downhill
- Freestyle
- Slalom
- Giant slalom
- Super Giant Slalom
- Speed Skiing
- Moguls
Nordic events
Skiing organizations
International organizations:
- International Biathlon Union (IBU)
- International Ski Federation (FIS)
- International Ski Instructors Association (ISIA)
- International Skiing History Association (ISHA)
National organizations:
- US National Ski Hall of Fame
- Professional Ski Instructors of America
- Ski Club of Great Britain
- United States Ski Association
- Colorado Ski Museum
Ski safety
Ski lifts
- Aerial tramway (or cable car)
- Chairlift
- Detachable chairlift
- Funitel
- Funicular
- Gondola lift
- Rope tow
- Platter lift (or button lift)
- T-bar lift
- Telemix
- Magic carpet
Other
- History of skiing
- Dry ski slope
- Indoor ski slope
- List of ski areas
- Piste
- Ski resort
- Ski school
- Ski warfare
- Snow
- Trail grooming machine (piste basher)
- Physics of skiing
- Après-ski
Health and injuries
- Altitude sickness
- Injuries
- First aid
- Frost bite
- Hypothermia
- Physical fitness
- Snow blindness
- List of famous skiing deaths