Olympic Cross Country Skiing
Cross Country skiing is the original of all ski sports with alpine (also called downhill) and snowboarding only recently emerging, in the last eighty or so years, from its Nordic ancestor. The Nordic group of snow sports comprises biathlon, ski jumping, ski orienteering, cross-country skiing and telemark.
The origins of skiing have been traced back to 3000 BC in Scandinavia. Where the inhabitants discovered a way to travel on snow, by gliding on strips of timber and cross-country skiing was born. The Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden and Finland are still considered the as the most dominant cross-country ski nations of the world. However given that cross-country skiing may be one of only a few sports that can be played on every continent of the world, the sport has spread to all corners of the globe. From humble beginnings the planks of timber were used like snowshoes to prevent sinking into soft snow. Eventually natives learned to make use of a single pole to aid in pushing off to increase glide and speed. In other parts of Europe a single pole was placed between the legs and sat on during steeper descents for balance and to reduce speed.
Legendary Swede Gustav Vasa skied over 82 kilometres from Salan to Mora in 1520, to lead his country in to battle against Danish King, Christian II. The annual Vasaloppet citizens ski race follows the same route almost 600 years later.
The evolution of ski equipment has taken many thousand years with ski length, the use of two shorter ski poles, the development of baskets on ski poles and the curved ski tip are but just a few.
Like most popular sports the modern skiing has evolved form more basic human needs of transport, hunting or warfare. During the 1800s cross-country skiing became a social and recreational activity with the advent of the first binding system, linking the ski to the shoe and so was born the exciting sport of Telemark skiing. Greater control and manoeuvrability of the ski enabled skiers to attempt steeper and more demanding slope.
It was during these early days that snow skiing was to be changes for ever with boot and binding development with the separation of Alpine and Nordic skiing. Alpine, also called Downhill boots were attached to the ski at both the heel and the toe. While Nordic boots evolved with a free heel, allowing knee and ankle flexion during skiing but more importantly the ability to climb up hill. So with the sanctioning of Alpine skiing as a Winter Olympic sport, the separation of the two skiing disciplines was complete.
Nordic skiing too, has been more varied over time to meet specific needs with Telemark, Track, Touring and Skating specialist skis now all emerging.