Some Interesting Links and Videos

• This is a really interesting link to the Olympics official website.If you are interested in skiing, snowboarding or any other sport in the Olympics http://www.olympic.org/  is a great website to find out about your favourite athletes and sports.

• For skiing fans take a look at :http://www.olympic.org/alpine-skiing-slalom-men. It brings you straight to the alpine skiing section. There are some really cool videos of men doing the Slalum. Especially the mens alalum final inTorino in 2006. It also has photos and links to all other skiing event.

• Want to learn how to ski or just inprove your skills? Check out this video http://vimeo.com/15351115. This video helps improve and "spice up your skills".

• Look at this ! A very stupid but normal, recreational skier somehow gets on the racecourse and is taken out by racer. http://video.mpora.de/watch/G7Sq3vR45/

Some Olympic skiing news

• Olympic silver medal winner Jeret "speedy" Peterson found dead in Utah. Police suspect it to be suicide.

Read more : http://sports.espn.go.com/action/freeskiing/news/story?id=6273652

• The World Cup parallel Slalum in Munich will stay on the calender for the next 5 years.

Read more : http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/16112011/58/munich-race-stay-calendar.html

• Several World Cup teams going to USA earlier than planned due to lack of snow in Northern Europe.

Read more : http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/09112011/58/world-cup-teams-flock.html

• Halfpipe and slopeskiing events added to the Freestyle World cup calender in Sochi, Russia in 2014.

Read more : http://skiracing.com/?q=node/10964

Skiing as a sport

Different skiing competitions: Competitive skiing is broken mainly into two different disciplines. Racing and Freestyle.

1.      Racing: Racing is a discipline that requires you to make lots of fast turns to manoeuvre around gates. It is a very competitive discipline and there are five main different types of racing including slalom, giant slalom, combined, super-G and super combined. These are all competitions in the winter Olympics.

2.      Freestyle: Freestyle has been a competitive sports in the winter Olympics since 1992.There are also many different types of freestyle including half pipe, aerials and moguls.

• http://vimeo.com/17531650- this is a really cool video of guys showing what they do best FREE STYLE SKIING.

• Anyone interested in freestyle skiing in the Olympics check this out!

http://sports.espn.go.com/action/freeskiing/news/story?id=6273652

Ski Slopes the colour system

This is the European classification of slopes.

Green: This is the easiest slope or ‘baby’ slope. It is for beginners. It is usually not a marked track or trail. It can sometimes be an open area at the end of the other skiing areas.



Blue Ski run
http://banskoactive.com/skiboard/blueskirun.jpg



Blue: These are also very easy slopes. They too are for beginners or for messing around on. These slopes are always groomed and taken care of very well. They may be very shallow and so do not need to be groomed too often.

Red: This is an intermediate slope. It is quite a bit steeper than a blue slope. They can sometimes be quite narrow and usually they have little bumps and jumps on them. They are usually groomed as well but sometimes they may not be depending on the narrowness of the slope.




Black Ski run
http://www.skileb.com/ski-resort/Mzaar/photos/&docid=JqBAVKKSBJHB9M&imgurl=http://www.skileb.com/multimedia/image/galleries/mzaar_black_slope.jpg



Black: This is an expert slope. It may or may not be groomed. Usually it is not groomed to create a challenge for the skier. The classification of black slopes is very wide. It can range from being a little harder than a red slope to be very steep and avalanche prone.

Yellow: This has only really started in recent years. Some ski resorts have classified a ski route which is un-groomed, unpatrolled and usually off-piste as a yellow slope.

Skiing Gear and Equipment (what to bring)

Here is a list of what YOU need to bring if you are going on a ski trip.

1.     Ski jacket and trousers.

2.     Thermal layers (long-johns, vests etc.) 

3.     Jumpers (extra, warm layers)

4.     Gloves

5.     Hats

6.     Balaclavas

7.     Goggles

8.     Thick, warm socks

9.     Sun Scream

10.  Lip balm

11.   Sunglasses

12.    Knee supports (If needed)

What you will need to rent out there.

1.     Skis

2.     Poles

3.     Helmets (u15)

4.     Boots

Different types of skis

There are 5 main types of skis. Alpine, free ride, freestyle, cross-country and telemark.

Alpine: are precise, fast and are really good for hard pistes. They are designed for turning. The bindings are attached at the toe and heel.

Free ride: these are excellent for tough conditions, they are well known for floating through powder snow. They are only really used when you have mastered everything in the ski area.

Freestyle: there are many different types of freestyle ski depending on the discipline. E.g. Aerialists will have lightweight skis.

Skis
http://www.besportier.com/archives/rossignol-bandit-b94-respect.jpg

Cross-country: these are very thin and light. They usually have slightly straight ski edges. The binding is only attached at the toe.

Telemark: these are also known as downhill or touring skis. The binding is like cross-country skis and only attaches at the toe.

History of Skiing

Skiing is one of the oldest forms of human transport.  Archaeologists have found stone carvings in Sweden and Norway. These carvings show pictures of people on skis. This dates back to as far as 5000BC. Originally skiing was used as a form of transport over long distances when walking would be too slow. The word skiing originally comes from the icelandic word ‘scidh’ which means snowshoe or piece of wood. Skiing was also used to aid hunting and military technique. The first downhill Salom races were first introduced in Europe around the 1920’s and the first World Championship was organised in 1931



Skiing in its early years
http://www.skiinghistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Ski-Warriors.jpg



As the popularity of skiing has grown the technique and equipment has adapted. In Alpine Skiing the boot used becomes mounted to the ski at the heel and toe. This gives more control to the skier and allows skiers to tackle steeper slopes at higher speeds. In the 1930’s skiing really became a popular past time in Europe. The addition of ski lifts helped eliminate the challenge of hiking up the mountains. The first ski resorts were developed in Austria and Switzerland after the 2^nd world war. This was to allow everyone to experience this up and coming sport.  

Introduction to my Blog

Definition of Skiing: recreation, sport, and mode of transportation that involves moving over snow by the use of a pair of long, flat runners, called skis, attached to shoes or boots. (Encyclopædia Britannica from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service)

Skiing as a sport has grown over the last number of years. Over the last few decades skiing has become so popular nearly everybody has a basic understanding of what skiing is. It basically is gliding over the snow with long, thin, flat boards to keep balance and control. It uses gravity to go downhill and pick up pace.

In my blog I will cover:

1.       History of Skiing

2.       Skiing gear and equipment (what to bring when going skiing)

3.       Ski slopes (colour system)

4.       Skiing as a sport