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| Scandinavians have used skis as a means of transport for almost five thousand years, but the modern skiing as we see it today was invented in Telemark, Norway, in the 19th century From Stone-Age skiers to modern Telemark skiers Some 5000 years ago, Stone-Age inhabitants of Scandinavia were already using skis as a means of transport over the snow-covered land. Many remains of those pre-historic skis have been found in boglands across Norway, Sweden and Finland. In the Norwegian coast of Rødøy, near the large Svartisen glacier, it was found a famous rock carving depicting a group of hunters on skis. Skis were an everyday utility for the Vikings in the medieval times. The famous tale of the Birkebeiners tells how baby prince Hakan was taken to safety across the mountains on skis in 1205 AD. The Icelandic Eddas of the 11th century tell us that, besides their normal use for traveling and hunting, skiing was used for fun in race competitions and was also a highly regarded skill among the aristocrats. Actually, the old Norse word skíð (stick of wood) is the origin of the modern word “ski” which is found today in every language around the world. The 19th century brought great developments to skiing. Norwegian farmers from the Telemark region started to use shorter, flexible, bow-shaped cambered skis which became the basis of modern skiing. Ski races were organised in Tromsø as early as 1843. In 1877 the world's first ski school opened for business in Christiania, Oslo. Holmenkollen became the world's capital of ski jumping after 1892. From then on, skiing started to be exported outside Scandinavia as the winter sport that we practice today. Sondre Norheim “the father of modern skiing” Born in 1825 in Morgedal, Telemark, Norwegian skiing pioneer Sondre Norheim is called “the father of modern skiing” because he invented the equipment and techniques that led to modern skiing as we practice it today. Sondre Norheim was a farmer in Morgedal, in the Norwegian region of Telemark, who grew passionate for skiing from an early age. As a young man, Sondre invented a tough but flexible birch binding which could hold the ski firmly enough to the foot so the skier was able to make audacious turns and jumps in the air without danger of losing the ski. Moreover, since Sondre was also a carpenter, he created a new ‘Telemark ski’ which was shorter and curved, narrow under the foot and wide at the tip and tail. Those two technical developments allowed Sondre to turn easily his skis while skiing downhill. Modern skiing was born. With his new skis and skiing style, Sondre Norheim was ready to become the first master of downhill skiing ever. In 1868, at the age of 43, he won the first Norwegian skiing competition in Christiania, Oslo, stunning the public with his precise turning and quick braking. Back at his farm in Morgedal, he started teaching his famous skiing technique to the people of Telemark. A few years later, Telemark skis and skiers had become Norway’s most famous international export. Ski clubs were blooming all over Norway. Norwegian skiers travelled around Europe and north America bringing their skis with them and teaching and spreading the new skiing techniques everywhere they went. Many founders of some of the world’s oldest ski clubs were Norwegians. Most of the winners of the international skiing competitions of the first half of the 20th century were Norwegians. In the First Winter Olympic Games held in Chamonix in 1924 the Norwegians won eleven of the twelve titles offered. In 1884 Sondre Norheim decided to join the thousands of Norwegians that were emigrating to north America in search of a better life. Sondre settled with his family near Denbigh, in the North Dakota prairies, where he died few years later in 1897. His grave is marked with an inscription that reads: “In memory of Sondre Norheim, pioneer and champion of modern skiing. He developed slalom and introduced the Telemark and Christiania turns. Born 1825 in Morgedal, Telemark, Norway. Died in the United Stated 1897”. Telemark skiing today Prior to Sondre Norheim's Telemark skiing, traditional skis were very long, hard, heavy, and difficult to turn. Telemark skis and skiing techniques changed all this, making it much easier for skiers to turn and to control speed. Telemarkers set the foundations over which modern alpine skiing developed during the 20th century. Telemark skis are rather similar to alpine skis, the main difference being the flexible bindings that connect the boot to the ski at the toes only, just like in Nordic skiing. The main characteristic of the Telemark skiing technique is the turnning, which is led with the heel flat on the outside ski, while the inside ski is pulled beneath the skier's body with a flexed knee and raised heel. Today, there are still a number of skiers who choose to ski 'the old fashioned way', using Telemark equipment and techniques. Telemark is particularly popular in Scandinavia and it is quite common to see skiers telemarking at the slopes of the Nordic ski resorts.
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