" Is it possible?!"

In September 2011 Holmenkollen Skimuseum opened a new exhibition called "Is it possible?!". It`s about physically disabled on snow and skis.

Opening hours

October-April : 10-16

May and September : 10-17

June, July and August : 09-20

Skiing represents an important part of Norwegian cultural history. Skis were a necessity. However, these days, skiing is primarily associated with fun and games, trips and sport. The Ski Museum would like to present some important aspects of Norwegian skiing history. We will also provide you with some literary tips for further reading

School outings

A school day spent at the Ski Museum will be exciting and unique. Through our popular and engaging exhibitions, pupils will learn about the history of skiing, its significance as a national icon, polar history, nature and the environment, outdoor pursuits and sport, the Olympic Games, and much more.

Collaborating partners

The Ski Museum’s collaborating partners are Tyin, Veidekke, Coca-Cola and Diplom-Is

Historic photographs

Do you want to see pictures of ski history and Holmenkollen? See our photo gallery by clicking on the link below.

Skiing history

	Ancient history

	Rock carvings The ‘Bøla Man’ was uncovered quite by chance in Steinkjer in the county of Nord-Trøndelag in 2001. The carving clearly shows a man on skis with a pole in his hand. This is the earliest evidence of skiing in Norway. Before this, there had been the ‘Rødøy Man’ in Alstahaug municipality in the county of Nordland. The site in which this carving is located comprises a total of ten figures, although only the ‘Rødøy Man’, together with an imperfect carving, depict a man on skis. The site was discovered in 1933 by archaeologist Guttorm Gjessing. The ‘Rødøy Man’ was the inspiration behind the official pictograms of the XVII Olympic Winter Games that were held in Lillehammer in 1994. Rock carvings in Alta in the county of Finnmark in 1985 Among the many thousands of carvings is one depicting a skier in typical ski-skating posture. The rock carvings in Alta are included on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. These carvings are 4-5,000 years old.

	The secrets of the marsh Over 200 prehistoric skis have been uncovered. These findings have all taken place in Norway, Sweden, Finland or Russia. Nearly all were uncovered quite by chance in marshy areas. The world’s oldest ski was found in Russia and is around 8,000 years old. However, the oldest ski ever found in Norway is ‘Drevjaskia’, which is 5,200 years old.

	How can we tell how old skis are? Skis are dated by using the radiological C14 dating method. This method is unique for dating organic material. Ski findings in Norway are dated at the National Laboratory for C14 Dating in Trondheim. Previously, pollen analyses had been the most common method of dating skis. However, this method proved to be unreliable. The ‘Øvrebø ski’ from the county of Vest-Agder had long been regarded as Norway’s oldest ski. The C14 method has shown that it is, in fact, from the 1500s.

	Skiing in mythology and sagas In Norse mythology we find stories of skiing and hunting. In the heroic prose of the Elder Edda, the god Ull is described as being beautiful and warlike, and was said to exceed everyone when it came to using skis and a bow & arrow. However, the goddess Skade was the finest skier of all, according to Norse mythology. Skade was a giantess who married the prominent god Njord. Several Norse sources refer to her as ‘Onduris’ – goddess of skiing. From the Middle Ages, there are many written references to skiing. Snorri recounts that both Olav Tryggvason and Einar Tambarskjelve were competent skiers and skiers also appear in several places in The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway. At the beginning of the 13^th century, civil war raged in Norway. Birkebeiners and Baglers fought against each other. In 1206, Håkon Håkonsson, the two year old son of the king, had to be brought to safety. The ‘two most ski-worthy men’ on the Birkebeiner’s side were Torstein Skjelva and Skjervald Skrukka. They brought the king’s son over the mountains between Gudbrandsdalen and Østerdalen. The Birkebeiner race is held every year, inspired by this story. This is a 54 km skiing event between Rena and Lillehammer, in which all competitors must carry a bag weighing 3.5 kilos. The bag symbolises Håkon Håkonsson, the king’s son.

	Types of skis and use Skis were necessary tools in the old farming communities. High mountains, deep fjords and large plateaux were natural obstacles to communication during the winter time. Skis were therefore an important way for people to maintain contact with each other. Skis also played a vital role in hunting and trapping. There were different types of skis all over Norway, depending on the region. Terrain and snow conditions also varied greatly. The same applied to the availability of suitable materials for ski making, as well as the different areas of application. Generally speaking, there were forest skis and mountain skis. In the lowlands and in woodland districts, a broad – especially at the front – short ski could be found, suited to loose and deep snow. These were easy to turn in on rugged terrain. The upper side was flat and the underside was often edgeless. In open, flat terrain and on mountain plateaux, snowfields were formed of hard-packed snow. The skis here were longer, narrower, had a reinforced top layer for added stiffness, as well as larger grooves that provided better control over the snowdrifts. It was normal for a farm to have several skis of varying length and shape for different kinds of use. Uniquely crafted and decorated skis – church skis, for example – could be used on special occasions.




	Outdoor life and sport After the Middle Ages, there appear to be no further records of skiing. However, long winters and natural conditions would suggest that skis continued to be used as before. From the 1700s, it is military skiing history that has been preserved in historical records. However, it was only from the middle of the 1800s that a real turning point in skiing history was reached .

	Military use of skis From the 1700s, it is the military history of skis that becomes most prominent in written records. This part of skiing history is both a ‘missing link’ as well as a vital precursor to skiing as a competitive sport. Even in the Middle Ages, historical records would suggest that skis were used by warring parties. An account of the Scanian War (1676-79) tells of soldiers with skis and muskets, who were capable of skiing between 80 and 100 km per day. A command had also been issued for the organisation of ski soldiers in connection with Swedish King Karl XII’s offensives in 1716 and 1718. It was not before 1747 that permanent army ski companies were established in Southern and Central Norway. Ski soldiers were an important part of the Norwegian Army up to the union with Sweden in 1814. The army’s ski troops made a great impression on young village boys. As early as 1767, skiing competitions were held offering cash prizes. This played an important part in recruitment. As well as prizes, there was also the glory of victory. It was his skiing proficiency that determined whether or not a young man would be accepted as a ski soldier. Those who were conscripted had to use their own skis during training. There were many different types of skis but the most common ones were long skis and ‘Andor’ skis (short skis) from Østerdalen. Ski troops carried out various exercises, including shooting at fixed targets while skiing downhill. There are also accounts of ski jumping. Eventually, there arose a need for written guidelines. The first skiing regulations in the world were formulated in 1733. However, the army companies were disbanded in 1826, which resulted in skiing being set back in many places.

		Leisure The mid-1800s represented a turning point in skiing history. It started in the cities, where industrial growth and technological developments resulted in the inhabitants having more leisure time. People started looking at nature differently as the romantic perspective reached Norway. The countryside was now used for recreation and outdoor pursuits. Initially, this applied to the middle classes. It then picked up from the 1880-90s. Skiing became very fashionable in Kristiania. In 1898, the Holmenkollen Line opened. This became the link between urban life and the wilderness. During this period, ski clubs, ski cabins and skiing competitions emerged. People from the lower social strata eventually followed suit as they gained more free time. It could be said that skiing as a mass phenomenon was connected with the development of the welfare state.

		Skiing in the mountains The opening of the Bergen Railway in 1909 was of great significance to the development of mountain skiing. It was during the 1880s that interest in mountain skiing grew. People like Henrik Angell, Fridtjof Nansen, Thomas Heftye, Laurentius Urdahl and Karl Roll were pioneers who inspired people to take themselves into the mountains. Their descriptive newspaper accounts of the plateau’s beautiful yet unpredictable nature persuaded many people to experience the high mountains. At the beginning of the 1890s, several meetings were held in order to provide first-time skiers with advice about equipment, clothing and ski waxing. Increasingly more people travelled to the mountains. This created a need for accommodation. Around the turn of the century, the Association for the Promotion of Skiing opened a few cabins in Jotunheimen during Christmas and Easter. The Norwegian Trekking Association opened its first cabin in 1907. Many more were built and it was soon possible to walk from cabin to cabin during both summer and winter.

		The cradle of modern skiing? It had long been claimed that Morgedal in the county of Telemark was the cradle of modern skiing. However, more recent research into the history of skiing would suggest that other parts of Norway would be equally deserving of this title. Indeed, it would neither be wrong to say that the whole country was the cradle of skiing. Equally, there is no doubt that the people of Telemark, with Sondre Norheim (1825-1897) at the helm, were extremely competent skiers. Sondre, from the Øverbø smallholding in Morgedal, competed in and won the skiing event that was held at Iversløkken by the Old Aker Church in Kristiania in 1868. At the time, he was nearly 43 years old and had travelled most of the way from Telemark to the capital on skis before finally descending the ski jump. Everyone had to practice and train in order to become a competent skier. In Morgedal, young and old alike would meet up on Sundays to have a good time. ‘Moroløyping’ (Skiing for fun) is a term that stems from this region. The most proficient skiers also jumped from the tops of barn roofs. When the competition in Kristiania was over, a few people from Morgedal remained in the city in order to teach the inhabitants various turning techniques such as the Telemark turn and the Kristiania turn.

		Skiing disciplines The very first civil skiing event was organised in Tromsø in 1843. The organisers sent out ‘an invitation to partake in a race upon skis’. It was a cross-country race of around forty minutes’ duration. The first civil ski jumping event was organised in Trysil in 1862. After a while, skiing events started appearing all over Norway.

		Ski jumping – from the retraction style to the V style How did ski jumping begin? Nobody is able to provide an exact answer to this question. Neither can we say with any certainty when the first ski jump took place. It would be natural to assume that skiers descending a hill might suddenly have encountered uneven terrain, which resulted in an involuntary flight through the air. At both Iversløkken in the 1860s and later at Husebybakken, Holmenkollen’s predecessor, this style of jumping was referred to as the ‘retraction’ style. Ski jumpers would retract their legs either once or twice while airborne. Some of them were proficient enough to manage three retractions during a jump of 20-25 metres.

		A new style was developed in the mid-1880s. Some of the ski jumpers from Telemark began to stand straight in the air – straight as an arrow – with controlled, elegant arm movements. During the landing, they would move one foot slightly in front of the other and would then bounce lightly at the knees in order to approach the landing slope in a steady and stylish manner. It was only natural that these two new style features would be referred to as the Telemark style and the Telemark landing.

		Eventually, ski jumps grew larger. The inrun speed, and therefore the air speed increased, which resulted in significant air pressure on the body throughout the glide. Ski jumpers had to lean forwards in order to counter the effects of air resistance. This aerodynamic style was first introduced by Jacob Tullin Thams and Narve Bonna in the 1920s. Their upper bodies were bent slightly at the hips and their arms were stretched backwards. Ten years later, Birger Ruud would bend even further at the hip with his arms stretched backwards. He was a trend setter and a brilliant exponent of the Kongsberg technique both at home and abroad.

		Around the mid-1950s, a new style appeared – the Finland style. Antti Hyvärinen, Olympic champion in Cortina in 1956, positioned his arms backwards and leaned boldly forward in the glide. A new variant was introduced by East German Helmut Recknagel, who was Olympic champion in Squaw Valley in 1960. He stretched his arms straight ahead. Like Toralf Engan, Bjørn Wirkola was a great exponent of the sport who almost perfected the Finland style with his arms close to the body and skis parallel to each other. Per Bergerud is also remembered for his perfect Telemark landing. Every time a new style was introduced, there was never any shortage of opinions. This was certainly the case when Swede Jan Boklöv introduced the V style towards the end of the 1980s. Nowadays, this style reigns supreme.

Alpine skiing

Alpine skiing was first recognised as a separate discipline in the Alpine countries. Englishman Sir Arnoll Lunn developed the modern slalom. In 1922 he introduced new rules, and poles (bamboo canes) were used to form the gate combinations that were to be passed on the course. In 1924 the first modern international slalom event was organised in Mürren in Switzerland. However, the term ‘slalom’ (Norwegian: slalåm) did not originate in the Alpine countries. The term was first used in Telemark. The first syllable ‘sla’ means ‘slope’ or ‘hill’ and ‘låm’ is the trail that descends the hill. Slalom was a hill event with natural, built-in obstacles, turns, jumps, etc. The first slalom competitions in Norway with artificially-erected gates were organised in 1929 and the first downhill event was held in 1933.

The same degree of specialisation that was evident in cross-country skiing and ski jumping also found its way into alpine skiing. This discipline is split into the following sub-disciplines: Slalom, Giant Slalom, Super G and Downhill. Each sub-discipline requires a completely different technique and type of equipment. Fridtjof Nansen had used metal under his skis on his Greenland expedition in 1888. The first patent for metal-bottomed skis was taken out by Austrian Rudolf Lettner in 1927 and a patent for steel-edged skis was taken out by Marius Eriksen in 1933

Biathlon
During hunting – skiing and shooting belonged naturally together. The Norwegian Army also recognised how useful it would be for soldiers to be proficient in both skiing and shooting and it decided to organise competitions. These competitions were the precursors to the biathlon discipline. When the ‘Centralforeningen for Legemsøvelser og Vaabenbrug’ (19^th century rifle association) was established in 1861, considerable emphasis was placed on developing both skiing and shooting proficiency at rifle clubs. In 1912, Kristiania Rifle Club arranged a cross-country event combined with shooting in Nittedal. The event was 12 km long and skiers were required to shoot at a distance of 100 metres. An army patrol event on skis formed part of the programme at the Winter Olympics in Chamonix in 1924 and St. Moritz in 1928. The soldiers did not discharge their weapons but just carried them on their backs. However, during the International Ski Federation event in Oslo in 1933, shooting formed part of the ‘Kobberhaugtjern’ competition. In 1915, the Association for the Promotion of Skiing organised a 30 km army cross-country event. The event was divided into officer, non-commissioned officer, corporal and private classes. During such events, skiers were obliged to carry packs weighing up to 11 kg, in addition to a firearm. In 1950, the biathlon discipline was adopted in both Norwegian and international winter programmes. The first world championships were held in Austria in 1958 and, since the Olympic Winter Games in Squaw Valley, the discipline has become an Olympic event. Ole Einar Bjørndalen is one of the greatest ever biathletes.

Production

In the mid-1880s machinery started to be used and several ski manufacturers appeared. In Norway this peaked at a total of around 70 ski factories.

Ski-making
In the old days, skis were homemade at individual farms. Some village craftsmen specialised in making skis and ski-making workshops started to appear. Birch was the most commonly used wood for ski-making in North Norway, while pine was more common in Southern Norway. Good skis required the appropriate materials. Ski-makers had to ensure that the tree was straight, as knotless as possible and easy to process. Such material needed to dry over a prolonged period, from one to several years, before it could be turned into skis

Ski manufacturers
Rustad ski factory in Fåberg in the county of Oppland is regarded as the oldest ski factory in the world, having been founded in 1872. During the 1880s, attempts had been made to persuade ski-makers to produce better quality skis. Ski exhibitions were organised and ski-makers from all over Norway were invited to submit their skis so that they could be assessed by judges in Kristiania. This resulted in the various ski types becoming ‘normalised’ and Fritz Huitfeldt’s Telemark type from 1896 was a model that many people emulated. With more time to dedicate to outdoor pursuits and sport, there was a great demand for this type of ski and it became widely used. It was the forerunner of the factory produced ski.

Skis were made from solid wood, even though laminated skis had been around since the 1890s with varying degrees of success. In 1933, Peter Østby took out a patent in Oslo on a laminated ski, Splitkein – a patent he had bought from Bjørn Ullevoldsæter of Nittedal. The skis became extremely popular. This resulted in others wanting to produce laminated skis. The number of ski manufacturers increased notably yet again. By the end of the 1930s there were around 80 ski factories in Norway.

During the 2^nd World War, the Germans forced Norwegian ski manufacturers to produce vast numbers of skis. By the end of the 1940s there were a little more than 60 sizeable Norwegian ski manufacturers. From this point, the number declined steadily. By the end of the 1960s only 15 remained. This was mainly due to an increase in international competition, as well as rising costs in Norway. These days, only three ski factories are left: Madshus, owned by the American company K2, is a world leader in cross-country racing skis. Åsnes Ski specialises in mountain skis and children’s skis. Rønning ski factory has always made wooden touring and mountain skis.

A revolution
Synthetic bases first appeared in the 1950s, initially on alpine and jumping skis. The development of fibreglass cross-country skis started in Norway in the middle of the 1950s, although central European ski manufacturers soon started competing and, by the 1970s, had become the biggest suppliers. The World Championships that were held in Falun, Sweden, in 1974 were described as ‘the glassfibre revolution’. With one exception, every gold medal in the cross-country event was won by competitors using synthetic skis. In these championships, the Norwegian Magne Myrmo made history by becoming the last world champion to compete on wooden skis. On his Landsem skis, he won the 15 km cross-country event by the astonishing margin of 0.91 seconds. The era of the wooden ski was over. In 1980, ‘double box’ technology was patented. Double box skis contain a light foam core that is enclosed by two glassfibre reinforced boxes. Many different types of synthetic skis have been developed utilising a variety of construction principles. Carbon has long been a popular type of coating under skis.

Ski wax
In mild weather, skis become wet. Snow accumulates on them and sticks. In the old days, in order to avoid this, the skis would be lubricated with tar and then ‘dried’ in the sun or ‘baked’ over a low heat. Resin, pitch, wax and tallow were also used. Sometimes, leaf fat, butter, cheese, herring or salt were rubbed into the base. An animal hide attached to the bottom of the skis meant that the skis would not slip when ascending a hill. The hides could be from a reindeer, moose or seal and would be attached so that the hairs were facing backwards. A heightened interest in the use of skis at the end of the 1800s created an impetus for the manufacture and sale of ski wax. The first product on the market was Thorvald Hansen’s ‘Record Tjærevoks’. Around 1910-12 some people developed klister waxes. These gave a good downhill glide as well as preventing the skis from slipping on uphill sections. In 1913, Peter Østby took out a patent on a klister wax and in the 1920s and 30s a wide range of ski waxes appeared on the market. In 1946, Swix wax was launched in Norway. This was the first ski wax containing high-molecular, synthetic raw materials. In 1974, polythene ski bases created a new waxing technique in cross-country skiing – glide wax for the front and back of the skis and sticky wax for the middle. Blue, green and red Swix (3-colour idea) were extremely popular waxes in the 1970s for ordinary recreational use. The ski waxes that entered the market around the middle of the 1980s were based on a fluorine compound. CERA F is the world’s most expensive ski wax and is produced in extremely limited amounts. It is principally used in a competitive context

Polar skiing history

Skis have played a significant role on several Norwegian polar expeditions. After he had accomplished his expedition to the South Pole, Roald Amundsen expressed himself in his notes thus: “I would venture to say, we loved our skis. Because there were an endless number of occasions that demonstrated how helpless we would have been without them.”

Across Greenland on skis in 1888
Fridtjof Nansen’s expedition across Greenland was the first polar expedition and became important to all later expeditions. At this time, Greenland’s interior had not yet been scientifically investigated and several sources believed that oases would be found there. On their expedition, Nansen and his crew scientifically disproved such claims. The expedition comprised six men: Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup, Kristian Kristiansen Trana, Oluf Dietrchson and the Samis Samuel Balto and Ole Nielsen Ravna. Nansen selected all members of the expedition based on their skiing proficiency. At the start, they had five sleds that they pulled themselves. Metal plates were attached to the undersides of some of the skis and rectangular-shaped pieces were cut out and covered in moose hide. In addition, metal edges were attached to the sides of the bindings. The ski poles were made of bamboo with ice pick-shaped heads. Nansen’s expedition started at the Umivik fjord on the east coast of Greenland on 15^th August 1888 and reached the Ameralik fjord on the west coast on 26^th September. The expedition had travelled 560 kilometres across Greenland on skis. At the Ameralik fjord they built a canvas boat out of the base of a tent. Fridtjof Nansen and Otto Sverdrup then rowed ca. 90 km over the course of four days in order to reach Godthåp. The last ship had sailed from Greenland two months previously so they were obliged to spend the winter there. They arrived back in Norway on 30^th May 1889. During the winter months, the crew had lived with Inuits and Nansen had used this time to make anthropological observations. For example, he learnt how the Inuits hunted, clothed themselves, ate, and he learnt how to paddle a kayak. He used this knowledge in his next attempt to reach the North Pole. After his homecoming, Nansen wrote the book ‘The First Crossing of Greenland’, which was immediately translated into German, English and French. The book impacted greatly on the promotion of skiing over large parts of Central Europe. In his book, Nansen declared skiing as Norway’s national sport.

‘Fram’ to the North Pole 1893-1896

The expedition was also known as ‘the first Fram expedition’. Nansen wished to take oceanic readings in the North Pole region and also examine how the oceanic current drifted towards the west. The plan had been to allow the ship to be frozen in the pack ice and carried by the oceanic current north and westwards. For this task, Colin Archer built the polar vessel ‘Fram’ – the world’s strongest ship. ‘Fram’ was specially constructed to withstand the pressure of the pack ice. Nansen equipped the vessel for five years, even though he had estimated that the expedition would take only two years to complete. The crew of twelve included Otto Sverdrup and Hjalmar Johansen, among others.
86°14 N
‘Fram’ drifted further south than Nansen had estimated. Nansen and Hjalmar Johansen therefore chose to leave the polar vessel, using skis, dogs, sleds and kayaks in their attempt to reach the North Pole. They reached the northernmost point – 86°14 N – in April 1895. They then had to turn around due to the extreme cold, lack of food and treacherous ice conditions. On many occasions, the situation became critical. Nobody had ever been this far north before. From here they travelled southwards until they reached Franz Josef Land, where they spent the winter.
By a stroke of good fortune, they met a British expedition and were able to return to Norway on the expedition’s ship ‘Windward’. In the summer of 1990 a Norwegian-Russian expedition found the winter camp on Franz Josef Land with visible evidence of Nansen’s and Johansen’s stay.

The South Pole 1910-1912
Roald Amundsen was 17 years old when Fridtjof Nansen returned home from Greenland in 1889. He was at the dockside when Nansen arrived by ship from Denmark and he witnessed the jubilation that greeted his arrival. He then told himself: ‘I want to be a polar explorer, too’. Amundsen is regarded by many as the foremost polar explorer of all time. Amundsen’s journey to the South Pole must count as one of the most audacious expeditions in modern history. Its success was attributable to thorough planning, proper equipment and perseverance. The expedition covered around 3,000 km on skis. The skis were made of hickory. At the start of the expedition, each of the four sleds weighed 400 kg. They were pulled by 52 dogs, 13 to each sled. Roald Amundsen, Oscar Wisting, Sverre Hassel, Olav Bjaaland and Helmer Hanssen made up the team that reached the pole on 14^th December 1911. At the same time as Amundsen, a British expedition, under the leadership of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, fought to be the first to reach the pole. They eventually reached the South Pole about four weeks after Amundsen. Sadly, all members of the British party perished on their return journey.

" Is it possible?!"

Opening hours

Skiing history

School outings

Collaborating partners

Historic photographs

Skiing history

Ancient history

Outdoor life and sport

Skiing disciplines

Production

In the mid-1880s machinery started to be used and several ski manufacturers appeared. In Norway this peaked at a total of around 70 ski factories.

Polar skiing history

Read more about the history of skiing! We recommend the following books that contain further exciting material about the history of skiing