The history of alpine skiing

The origins

The exact origins of skiing are difficult to determine as they date back to a distant era. During the ice ages, the tribes had to move despite large amounts of snow. It is in this context that the first skis seem to have been created.

The first rock engravings representing men wearing skis date back more than 6,000 years, around 4,000 BC, they are located in northern Norway.

(Source: Le Parisien)

The arrival of skiing in France

The practice of skiing is widespread in Scandinavia since the 10th century. But skis are not known in Western Europe at that time, it is theinternational exhibition of 1878 that will allow them to arrive in France.

During this exhibition in Paris, the Grenoble mountaineer Henri Duhamel discovered these wooden boards and bought them from a Swedish exhibitor. Back in Grenoble, he founded the Ski Club des Alpes in 1885.

It was the Minister of War who created the first ski school in 1903 in Briançon, where more than 5,000 soldiers were trained until 1914.

Skiing as a sport

The French Ski Federation (F.F.S) was founded in 1924 and exists through 10 federations organized by regions.

That year the first Winter Olympic Games (called International Snow and Ice Games) were organized in Chamonix and gathered more than 200 journalists to cover the event. Only three disciplines were practiced during these games: cross-country, ski jumping and Nordic combined.

Alpine skiing will make its appearance at the 1936 Olympic Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

(Source : Collection-Musée-Alpin-Chamonix)

Skiing and winter tourism

The birth of the stations

It is not the practice of skiing that motivated the creation of the oldest resorts. It is as centers of thermalism that the stations attracted visitors. They also came for activities such as skating, field hockey, sledding or sleigh rides.

The first cable car arrived only in 1933 in Megève, it was reserved for skiers. At that time, other resorts were created in France: L'Alpe d'Huez, Vars, Valloire...

In 1938, France had 6 ski lifts and 11 cable cars, the first slopes were created and began to attract French people.

The boom of the 60s and 70s

In the 1960s, mass tourism developed in the Alps. Ski lifts and lodgings flourished at high altitudes. The number of resorts increased from 50 in 1960 to 200 in 1975.

The Snow Plan, which ran from 1964 to 1976, helped create 150,000 beds and resorts that are known to all today: Les Arcs, Avoriaz, La Plagne, Tignes.

The first snow guns were installed in 1973 in Flaine in Haute-Savoie. During this period, ski manufacturers innovate, they design their skis with new materials like fiberglass or polyurethane.

(Source : Ski-aravis.com)

Conclusion

Dating back more than 6,000 years, skiing today is no longer a simple means of transportation but a discipline spread throughout the world. Imported into France at the end of the 19th century, skiing is now part of the daily life of many vacationers in the Alps.

If you want to know more about skiing, you can read our articles on the 3 techniques to brake or on learning to ski.

And if you want to learn to ski with a professional, we recommend the group and private ski lessons offered by the Ski Family.