How Skis Have Evolved

Wondering how skis have evolved? Over the years skis have evolved quite a bit to become the skis we know today. Though most of the development was done in the 1800s and 1900s, skis today are much different than what ancient mn used 5,000 years ago. The first improvement to the skis was done in 1850 by wood carvers in the area of Telemark, Norway. They created a better way to evenly distribute the skier’s weight across the entire ski. They called it a cambered ski and it had more of a bow shape with an arch toward the center of the ski.

The next big advance in skis was in 1868 by a man named Sondre Norheim. Norheim created a ski which was known as the Telemark Ski. The Telemark Ski has a side cut on the ski, which narrowed the ski underfoot. In 1893, the first two-layer laminated ski was made. It was created by H.M. Christiansen who lived in Norway. The ski had either hickory or ash for its base, then spruce or basswood for the body.

In 1928, France created a prototype of the first solid aluminum skis. In 1932, this was followed by the three-layered ski. This three-layered ski was created by Bjorn Ullevoldsaeter. In 1934, there was a limited amount of production on the solid aluminum skis. This was done in France by a man named M. Vicky. Today there are many kinds of skis that you can chose from. Ranging from aluminum skis to aluminum and fiberglass, the ski itself has not changed much over the years. The only change has been the material we use.