Grasski-ÖM 2010 Hannes Angerer Riesenslalom

Grass skiing,

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

, is a training method for

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

and an established sport of its own. The skis used for grass skiing are short with rolling treads or wheels. These skis are attached to the skiers' boots. Depending on the skill of the grass skier, high speeds and jumps can be navigated. Ingrid Hirschhofer Grass Skiing World Championships 2009 Grass skis

Grass

was invented by Josef Kaiser in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

in 1963. It was created initially as a training method for skiers before the winter season. Originally,

skis A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...

used in grass skiing were like rolling treads attached to the

ski boots Ski boots are footwear used in skiing to provide a way to attach the skier to skis using ski bindings. The ski/boot/binding combination is used to effectively transmit control inputs from the skier's legs to the snow. History Ski boots were leat ...

. Currently there are two types of skis used in grass skiing. These are the wheeled models and the tracked ones. The wheeled model can be used in various

terrain Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin word ...

s and for

freestyle skiing Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, moguls, cross, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Winter Olympics. It can consist of a skier performing aerial flips and spins and can include skiers sliding rails an ...

and

off-piste skiing Backcountry skiing ( US), also called off-piste (Europe), alpine touring, or out-of-area, is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas either inside or outside a ski resort's boundaries. This contrasts with alpine skiing, which ...

. The tracked model on the other hand is specifically designed to be used on grass slopes.

Also See

Mountain boarding Mountainboarding, also known as Dirtboarding, Offroad Boarding, and All-Terrain Boarding (ATB), is a well establishedWall Street Journal, April 16th 1998 if little-known action sport, derived from snowboarding. This was initially pioneered by Ja ...

, skateboards made for off-road downhill skating, similar to snowboarding. * Mountain Blading, in-line skates with inflatable wheels that are made for off-road downhill skating.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grass Skiing Types of skiing Alpine skiing Games and sports introduced in 1966 Sports originating in Germany