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The Vikings > Who were the Vikings? > Everyday life > Viking Sports > SKIING
The Vikings > Who were the Vikings? > Everyday life > Viking Sports > SKIING |
SkiingThe ability to ski was a necessity of life throughout most of Scandinavia during the Viking era. If you wanted to get around when there was snow on the ground you had better be able to ski. Skis were also used during the hunt in the winter. If you were a good archer and skier you could get food in the winter too.
A good skier would master the climbing of hills and mountainsides as well as going downhill. When he was skiing downhill he had to be able to avoid or jump over obstacles. Slalom and ski-jumping were therefore skills all skiers needed to master. But the great test of manhood was cross-country. Tales and legends of cross-country tours from those days of up to 500 km. are still remembered in Scandinavia today. |
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A
skier's equipment consisted of one long and one short ski and a long pole. The
long ski was used for gliding, the short ski to propel you forward. Animal fur
was fastened to the bottom of the short ski in order to make it easier to climb
uphill.