The concept of the ski dates from the retreat of the ice age in Northern Europe and Siberia when humans migrated to the northern steppes. Rock drawings dated at 5000 BC show evidence of skis used in hunting and transport around the open steppes.
The first skis may have evolved from sled runners dated at 7000 BC. The oldest physical manifestations of skis are the “bog” skis (dated at 2500 BC) found in the bogs of Sweden, Finland and Russia – made of one piece of wood with holes drilled vertically through the ski for bindings of sorts. The skis were generally short of equal length with curved tip and tail. Much later the squared tail appeared. Even later, a long ski was used for glide and a shorter one with caribou hide for a base was used for kick.
Picture-bog ski
The ski has not changed appreciably over thousands of years – except for small changes in shape and the addition of a bottom groove early on. Essentially the “ancient” ski remains with us today.
Until the 1930’s skis were solid wood which was “steamed” and bent to add camber and up-turned tips. Annual maintenance required presses and weights to keep these essential shapes as flattening and warping were the case. However, around 1910 Norwegians began to experiment with making skis with multiple strips of wood glued together but glues and wood technology were not good enough and skis tended to come apart.
In 1935 Ullevoldsaeter, a Norwegian, developed the first commercially viable laminated ski although ski makers in the USA were doing the same at this time. Glues were now waterproof and durable. Skis could be made on a form so that the camber and the tips were permanently glued into shape. Use of different wood types in construction and cores such as hickory, birch, balsa, beech and later even styrofoam, allowed for different ski weights and strengths. The lamination process was improved by another Norwegian, Ostby, in 1937 and he coined his skis with the name “Splitkein”, named after English cane fishing rods. The “Splitkein” brand lasted for a generation and laminated skis became the norm.
picture-laminations
In 1974 wood gave way to fibreglass as the main construction material in the ski. However wood remained in ski cores, sandwiched between two layers of fibreglass for a while but later gave way to styrofoam, styrene, expanded aluminum, air channels and even cardboard. The fate of the wood ski, especially for competition, was sealed with the win of Thomas Magnusson in the 30 km on fiberglass skis at the Nordic World Championships at Falun, Sweden in 1974. Wood persisted in touring skis for a time but was gradually replaced by fibreglass as well. Now skis could be manufactured to specification with consistent quality.
picture-glass ski section
The first ski dedicated to the skating technique was made by the Fischer ski company of Austria around 1984-85 when the FIS (the International Ski Association) allowed for the skating technique in its rules for high level competition. These fibreglass skis had inlaid aluminum edges.
Picture-Fischer ski
Ski base materials evolved along with ski construction. Early wood skis had birch bases which would actually provide glide and grip in cold snow without wax. For wet conditions hickory was the choice and later the addition of hickory, lignostone (beech compressed under heat) or aluminum to the edges to ski bottoms increased their durability. In the early ‘70s epoxy-tar became a popular base material on wood skis but gave way to plastics with the introduction of the fiberglass ski.
picture-ski bases
From 1974 ski bases were principally made from polyethylene (a product of ethylene gas) either extruded or sintered. Other plastics such as polypropylene (a product of propane gas) and ABS (a derivative of butane and styrene) were also used.
picture-ski base
To date – skis have become lighter and stronger through the use of carbon fibre technology and the trend is to shorter skis for better control but even so, skis still function much as they did millennia ago.