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Skiers
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS). History Skiing has a history of almost five millennia. Although modern skiing has evolved from beginnings in Scandinavia, it may have been practiced more than 100 centuries ago in the Altai Mountains, according to an interpretation of ancient paintings. However, this continues to be debated. The word "ski" comes from the Old Norse word "skíð" which means to "split piece of wood or firewood". Asymmetrical skis were used in northern Finland and Sweden until at least the late 19th century. On one foot, the skier wore a long straight non-arching ski for sliding, and a shorter ski was worn on the other foot for kicking. The underside of the short ski was either plain or covered with animal skin to ai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Backcountry Skiing
Backcountry skiing ( US), also called off-piste (Europe), alpine touring, freeriding 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 is typically done on groomed trails benefiting from a ski patrol. Unlike ski touring, backcountry skiing can – and often does – include the use of ski lifts including snowcats and helicopters. Recent improvements in equipment have increased the popularity of the sport. As the sport does confront the individual practicing it with the dangers of natural, unprepared alpine terrain like avalanches, it is generally recommended to carry standard safety equipment and to learn beforehand how to behave safely under such conditions. Terminology The terms "backcountry" and "off-piste" refer to where the skiing is being done, while terms like ski touring, ski mountaineering, telemark, freeriding, and extreme skiing describ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alpine Skiing
Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for recreation or for sport, it is typically practiced at ski resorts, which provide such services as ski lifts, artificial snow making, snow grooming, restaurants, and ski patrol. "Piste, Off-piste" skiers—those skiing outside ski area boundaries—may employ snowmobiles, heliskiing, helicopters or Snowcat, snowcats to deliver them to the top of a slope. Back country skiing, Back-country skiers may use specialized equipment with a free-heel mode, including 'sticky' Ski skins, skins on the bottoms of the skis to stop them sliding backwards during an ascent, then locking the heel and removing the skins for their descent. Alpine ski racing has been held at the Alpine skiing at the Win ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ski Famille - Family Ski Holidays
Skis are runners, attached to the user's feet, designed to glide over snow. Typically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partially secured heel. For climbing slopes, ski skins can be affixed to the base of each ski to prevent them from sliding backwards. Originally used as a means of travel over snow, skis have become specialized for recreational and competitive Alpine skiing, alpine and Cross-country skiing, cross-country skiing. Etymology and usage The word ''ski'' comes from the Old Norse word which means "cleft wood," "stick of wood," or "ski". In Old Norse common phrases describing skiing were ''fara á skíðum'' (to travel, move fast on skis), ''renna'' (to move swiftly) and ''skríða á skíðum'' (to stride on skis). In Norwegian language, Norwegian this word is usually pronounced . In Swedish language, Swedish, another language evolved from Old Norse, the word is (plural, ; singular: ). The modern No ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ski Pole
Ski poles, also referred to as poles (in North America), sticks (UK), or stocks (Australia), are used by skiing, skiers for balance and propulsion. Modern ski poles are most commonly made from Aluminium, aluminum and Carbon fibers, carbon fiber, though materials such as bamboo are still used. Poles are used in alpine skiing, freestyle skiing (with the exception of aerials), and cross-country skiing. ski jumping, Ski jumpers do not use poles. History , the earliest ski pole was found in Sweden and dates back to 3623 BC, while the earliest depiction of a man with a ski pole was found in Norway in the form of a cave painting, dated at 4000 BC. Early skiers would use this pole for the purposes of balancing, braking, and turning. Alpine societies such as those in Nordic regions or the Altai mountains used their ski poles to hunt as well, giving them spear-like qualities. Skiers began to use two ski poles in 1741. This provided greater balance than one pole could provide and made pus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heliskiing
Heli-skiing is off-trail, downhill skiing or snowboarding where the skier reaches the top of the mountain by helicopter, instead of a ski lift. History In the late 1950s, helicopters were used in Alaska and Europe to access remote terrain. The idea of heliskiing first came from a Canadian geologist Art Patterson. Patterson used helicopters for his works during summer, however, he noticed that during winter time there was no use for the helicopters. Since he was a enthusiastic skier, he thought about using the helicopters to transport skiers to the top of the mountains. He teamed up with Hans Gmoser who was an experienced mountain guide and created a business together. They charged 20$ for their first day of heliskiing, however, due to unfavorable weather conditions and a small Bell 47G-2 helicopter, Patterson decided the business is too risky and withdrew from the venture. However, Gmoser continued in the business idea and in 1965 commercialized the activity in Canada by foundi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ski Patrol
Ski patrols are organizations that provide medical, rescue, and hazard prevention services to the injured in ski area boundaries, or sometimes beyond into backcountry settings. Many have technical-medical certifications, such as Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) provided by the National Ski Patrol (USA), that are specific to the winter-season environment and providing emergency medical services in remote locations. Many patrollers also hold EMS issued credentials, such as emergency medical technician or any other pre-hospital care certification. Due to the remote location and terrain, transportation is often limited to Rescue toboggan, snowmobile, or, for life-compromising injuries or extremely remote terrain, helicopter rescue. Depending on the ski area terrain, ski patrollers can be versed in a large variety of specialized rescues, such as avalanche search and rescue, outdoor emergency transportation, chairlift evacuation, and, in some cases, helicopter rescue techniques are t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ski Wax
Ski wax is a material applied to the bottom of snow runners, including skis, snowboards, and toboggans, to improve their coefficient of friction performance under varying snow conditions. The two main types of wax used on skis are glide waxes and grip waxes. They address kinetic friction—to be minimized with a glide wax—and static friction—to be achieved with a grip wax. Both types of wax are designed to be matched with the varying properties of snow, including crystal type and size, and moisture content of the snow surface, which vary with temperature and the temperature history of the snow. Glide wax is selected to minimize sliding friction for both alpine and cross-country skiing. Grip wax (also called "kick wax") provides on-snow traction for cross-country skiers, as they stride forward using classic technique. Modern plastic materials (e.g. high-modulus polyethylene and Teflon), used on ski bases, have excellent gliding properties on snow, which in many circumstances ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Altai Mountains
The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The massif merges with the Sayan Mountains in the northeast, and gradually becomes lower in the southeast, where it merges into the high plateau of the Gobi Desert. It spans from about 45° to 52° N and from about 84° to 99° E. The region is inhabited by a sparse but ethnically diverse population, including Russian people, Russians, Kazakh people, Kazakhs, Altai people, Altais, Tuvan people, Tuvans, Mongol people, Mongols, and Volga Germans, though predominantly represented by indigenous ethnic minorities of semi-nomadic people. The local economy is based on bovine, sheep, horse animal husbandry, husbandry, hunting, agriculture, forestry, and mining. The proposed Altaic languages, Altaic language family takes its name from this mountain ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piste
A ''piste'' () is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. This European term is FrenchEnglish language ''Fédération Internationale de Ski'' (FIS) website ("trail", "track") and synonymous with 'trail', 'slope', or 'run' in North America. The word is pronounced using a long "e" sound so that it rhymes with "beast". North Americans employ its common European antonym, 'off piste', to describe , especially when referring to skiing outside officially approved areas of a |
Ski Resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North America, it is more common for ski areas to exist well away from towns, so ski resorts usually are destination resorts, often purpose-built and self-contained, where skiing is the main activity. Ski resort Ski resorts are located in both hemispheres, on all continents except Antarctica. They typically are located on mountains, as they require a large slope. They also need to receive sufficient snow (at least in combination with artificial snowmaking, unless the resort uses dry ski slopes). High concentrations of ski resorts are located in the Alps, Scandinavian Peninsula, Scandinavia, western and eastern List of ski areas and resorts in North America, North America, and List of ski areas and resorts in Japan, Japan. There are also ski res ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Après-ski
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North America, it is more common for ski areas to exist well away from towns, so ski resorts usually are destination resorts, often purpose-built and self-contained, where skiing is the main activity. Ski resort Ski resorts are located in both hemispheres, on all continents except Antarctica. They typically are located on mountains, as they require a large slope. They also need to receive sufficient snow (at least in combination with artificial snowmaking, unless the resort uses dry ski slopes). High concentrations of ski resorts are located in the Alps, Scandinavia, western and eastern North America, and Japan. There are also ski resorts in the Andes, scattered across central Asia, and in Australia and New Zealand. Extreme locations of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally drive a continuous track at the rear, while skis at the front provide directional control. The earliest snowmobiles were powered by readily available industrial four-stroke, air-cooled engines. These would quickly be replaced by lighter and more powerful two-stroke gasoline internal combustion engines and since the mid-2000s four-stroke engines had re-entered the market. The challenges of cross-country transportation in the winter led to the invention of an all-terrain vehicle specifically designed for travel across deep snow where other vehicles foundered. , the snowmobile market has been shared between the four large North American makers (Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP), Arctic Cat, Yamaha, and Polaris) and some specialized m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
