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48-509: It rises in the middle of Abruzzo National Park near Pescasseroli in the Apennine Mountains . It flows southeast past Pescasseroli, Opi and Villetta Barrea and flows into the artificial lake Lago di Barrea . It then flows northeast through Alfedena , Castel di Sangro , Ateleta , Quadri , and Villa Santa Maria , before flowing into the Lago di Bomba . From there it flows northeast , it

96-452: A plywood core. The design included steel edges (invented in 1928 in Austria , ) and the exterior surfaces were made of phenol formaldehyde resin which could hold wax. This hugely successful ski was unique at the time, having been designed for the recreational market rather than for racing. 1962: a fibreglass ski, Kneissl 's White Star, was used by Karl Schranz to win two gold medals at

144-399: A downhill skiing context. Backcountry skiing, also known as off-piste skiing, is any form of skiing done outside of ski area boundaries. Most of the time this type of skiing is done with alpine touring skis , or telemark gear, where skiers take advantage of climbing skins and a detachable heel, to ski uphill. When the skier reaches the top of the area they want to ski down, they take off

192-521: A free heel to facilitate walking. Styles of Nordic skiing equipment include: Ski poles are commonly used in tandem with skis in a variety of types of skiing. They are typically used as a mechanism to help skiers in most types of skiing, giving additional maneuverability with support turning, walking, and getting up after falling. Ski maintenance encompasses four facets: binding adjustments, waxing, edge shaping, and base repair. Binding adjustment : Safety-release ski bindings require adjustment to fit

240-608: A much wider tip and tail than waist. When tipped onto their edges, they bend into a curved shape and carve a turn. Cross-country techniques use different styles of turns; edging is not as important, and skis have little sidecut. For many years, alpine skis were shaped similarly to cross-country, simply shorter and wider, but the Elan SCX introduced a radial sidecut design that dramatically improved performance. Other companies quickly followed suit, one Austrian ski designer admitting, "It turns out that everything we thought we knew for forty years

288-479: A new design technology was introduced with an outer hardwood shell completely encasing an inner layer of lighter wood, successfully eliminating spontaneously splitting glue lines. This early design eventually evolved into an advanced laminating technique which is referred to today as single-shell casing technology. In 1950, Howard Head introduced the Head Standard , constructed by sandwiching aluminium alloy around

336-478: A sidecut that narrowed the ski underfoot while the tip and tail remained wider. This enabled the ski to flex and turn more easily. Skis traditionally were hand-carved out of a single piece of hardwood such as hickory or birch or ash . These woods were used because of their density and ability to handle speed and shock-resistance factors associated with ski racing. Because Europe's forests were dwindling, finding quality plank hardwood became difficult, which led to

384-409: A single long piece of suitable wood that is hand-carved to the required shape. Early designs were generally rectangular in cross-section, with the tip bent up through application of steam. Over time the designs changed, and skis were thinned out to the sides, or had prominent ridges down the center. In the history of skiing many types of skis have been developed, designed for different needs, of which

432-399: A variety of materials including carbon- Kevlar to make skis stronger, stiffer in twisting, lighter, and more durable. Ski manufacturing techniques allow skis to be made in one or a combination of three designs: Laminated skis are built in layers. Materials such as fiberglass , steel , aluminum alloy , or plastic are layered and compressed above and below the core. Laminated construction

480-552: A verb from the noun. Finnish has its own ancient words for skis and skiing: "ski" is suksi and "skiing" is hiihtää . The word suksi goes back to the Proto-Uralic period, with cognates such as Erzya soks , Mansi tåut and Nganasan tuta. The Sami also have their own words for "skis" and "skiing": for example, the Lule Sami word for "ski" is sabek and skis are called sabega . The Sami use cuoigat for

528-504: A walking stick to help the user maintain balance. Nordic ski technology was adapted during the early 20th century to enable skiers to turn at higher speeds. New ski and ski binding designs, coupled with the introduction of ski lifts to carry skiers up slopes, enabled the development of alpine skis. Meanwhile, advances in technology in the Nordic camp allowed for the development of special skis for skating and ski jumping . This type of ski

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576-611: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a river in Italy is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Parco Nazionale d%27Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park ( Italian : Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise ) is an Italian national park established in 1923. The majority of the park is located in the Abruzzo region, with smaller parts in Lazio and Molise . It

624-887: Is joined by the Aventino , and thence it flows into the Adriatic Sea south of Punta Cavalluccio . During World War II, the mouth of the Sangro was part of the series of German military fortifications known as the Gustav Line . The Eighth Army crossed the Sangro on 23 November 1943. This crossing was the beginning of the Allied offensive on the Winter Line defenses east of the Apennines, which petered out in mid-December having failed to secure vital cities such as Orsogna. This Abruzzo location article

672-460: Is less common for alpine and ski touring . During the 1980s, Bucky Kashiwa developed a new construction technique using a rolled stainless steel sheet forming three sides of a torsion box over a wooden core, with the base of the ski forming the bottom. Introduced in 1989, the Volant skis proved expensive to produce, and in spite of numerous positive reviews, the company never became profitable. In 1990,

720-597: Is sometimes called by its former name Abruzzo National Park . The park headquarters are in Pescasseroli in the Province of L'Aquila . The park's area is 496.80 km (191.82 sq mi). It is the oldest park in the Apennine Mountains , and the second oldest in Italy, with an important role in the preservation of species such as the Italian wolf , Abruzzo chamois and Marsican brown bear . Other characteristic fauna of

768-422: Is the most widely used manufacturing process in the ski industry today. The first successful laminate ski, and arguably the first modern ski was the Head Standard , introduced in 1950, which sandwiched aluminum alloy around a plywood core. The Dynamic VR7 introduced a new construction method in which a smaller wooden core was wrapped in wet fibreglass, as opposed to pre-dried sheets of fibreglass being glued to

816-505: Is the tip, the middle is the waist and the rear is the tail. Skis have four aspects that define their basic performance: length, width, sidecut and camber. Skis also differ in more minor ways to address certain niche roles. For instance, mogul skis are softer to absorb shocks, powder skis are wider to provide more float and rocker skis bent upwards ( reverse camber ) at the tip and tail to make it easier to turn in deep and heavy snow. Skis have evolved from being made of solid wood to using

864-528: Is usually pronounced [ˈʂiː] . In Swedish , another language evolved from Old Norse, the word is skidor (plural, pronounced [ˈɧîːdʊr] ; singular: skida ). The modern Norwegian word ski and the Swedish word skid have largely retained the Old Norse meaning in words for split firewood, wood building materials (such as bargeboards ) and roundpole fence . English and French use

912-526: The Eurasian lynx in the park is still controversial, and there are no scientific studies that prove it; however, there are some unconfirmed sightings. In greater numbers, in the thicker areas of the forest, are red deer and roe deer , reintroduced in the seventies, and the wild boar . Other reclusive inhabitants of the forest include European polecat , Eurasian badger , Eurasian otter and two species of marten; pine marten and beech marten . Higher, above

960-488: The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships . By the late '60s fibreglass had mostly replaced aluminum. In 1974 , Magne Myrmo became the last world champion (Falun, 15 km cross-country) using wooden skis. In 1975, the torsion box ski construction design is patented. The patent is referenced by Kästle, Salomon, Rottefella , and Madshus . In 1993 Elan introduced the Elan SCX model, skis with

1008-574: The Garden dormouse . Many birds of prey inhabit the park. Most notable amongst them is the golden eagle , represented by six breeding couples, which, despite living in the more inaccessible regions, can often be seen soaring over central areas of the park in search of prey such as small mammals or even sick, young chamois. Other raptors that reside within the park include goshawks , peregrine falcons , Eurasian buzzards , Eurasian kestrels and Eurasian sparrowhawks . Less visible, but perhaps more audible, to

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1056-518: The Monti della Meta . The Sangro River rises near Pescasseroli and runs south-east through the artificial Lago di Barrea before leaving the park and turning to the north-east. Other rivers in the park are the Giovenco , Malfa and Volturno . Other lakes are Vivo, Pantaniello, Scanno , Montagna Spaccata, Castel San Vincenzo, Grottacampanaro, and Selva di Cardito. In wildlife terms, the main attractions of

1104-459: The Salomon S9000 took the same basic concept but replaced the steel with plastics, producing a design they called "monocoque". Now referred to as the "cap ski" design, the concept eliminates the need to wrap the core and replaces this with a single-step process that is much less expensive to produce. Cap ski construction dominates alpine ski construction today. The classical wooden ski consists of

1152-567: The base of each ski to prevent them from sliding backwards. Originally used as a means of travel over snow, skis have become specialized for recreational and competitive alpine and cross-country skiing . The word ski comes from the Old Norse word skíð which means "cleft wood", "stick of wood" or "ski". In Old Norse common phrases describing skiing were fara á skíðum (to travel, move fast on skis), renna (to move swiftly) and skríða á skíðum (to stride on skis). In Norwegian this word

1200-461: The cambered ski. This ski arches up in the middle, under the binding, which distributes the skier's weight more evenly across the length of the ski. Earlier plank-style skis had to be thick enough not to bow downward and sink in the snow under the skier's weight. This new design made it possible to build a thinner lighter ski, that flexed more easily to absorb the shock of bumps, and that maneuvered and ran faster and more easily. The design also included

1248-445: The climbing skins and make the necessary preparations to ski back down. Backcountry terrain can also be accessed with standard alpine equipment by riding a lift uphill at a ski resort and then leaving the resort boundary. However, this is more commonly known as sidecountry because of its immediate access from a ski lift. In Nordic skiing the skier is not reliant on ski lifts to get up hills, and so skis and boots tend to be lighter, with

1296-510: The core (essentially replacing metal sheets). The result was a torsion box , which made the ski much stronger. The VR7, and its more famous follow-on VR17, was the first fibreglass ski that could be used for men's racing, and quickly took over that market. Over time, materials for both the core and torsion box have changed, with wood, various plastic foams, fibreglass, kevlar and carbon fiber all being used in different designs. Torsion box designs continue to dominate cross-country ski designs, but

1344-720: The following is a selection. Alpine skis, also called downhill skis, are skis designed specifically for lift-assisted resort runs. Ski design has evolved enormously since the beginnings of the modern sport in mid-19th-century Norway. Modern skis typically have steel edges, camber, side cut, and possibly reverse camber. During the 1990s side cut became more pronounced to make it easier to carve turns. Alpine skis typically have fixed-heel bindings. Specialised types of alpine skis exist for certain uses, including twin-tip skis for freestyle skiing , slalom skis , GS Skis , powder skis, telemark skis and monoskis . The following table shows different kinds of alpine ski types and their uses within

1392-462: The forest, Abruzzo chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata) live alone or in small groups. Animals that are easier to see include red fox , the European hare , the least weasel , the European mole , and the western European hedgehog . Dormice and red squirrel s are also quite frequently seen. Other mammals recorded in the park are the snow vole , the edible dormouse , the European wildcat and

1440-470: The heavy hardwood skis made before. Although lighter and stronger, laminated skis did not wear well. The water-soluble glues used at the time failed; they warped and split along the glue edges (delaminating) frequently and rapidly. In 1922, a Norwegian skier, Thorbjorn Nordby, developed strong waterproof glue which stopped the problem of splitting, therefore developing a much tougher laminated ski. Research and design of laminated skis rapidly progressed. In 1933,

1488-524: The invention of the laminated ski. Beginning in 1891, skimakers in Norway began laminating two or more layers of wood together to make lighter cross country running skis. These evolved into the multi-laminated high-performance skis of the mid-1930s. A laminated ski is made of two types of wood glued together. A top layer of soft wood is glued to a thin layer under a surface of hardwood. This combination created skis which were much lighter and more maneuverable than

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1536-588: The months of October and November 1921, the municipality of Opi leased 5 square kilometres of land to a private federation with the aim of protecting flora and fauna and Sipari founded in Rome an organization to administer the reserve. So the Park was founded in September 1922. Over the next few years the territory of the park expanded into neighbouring municipalities until it covered around 120 km by 1923, when protection

1584-430: The nighttime visitor are several species of owl, the little owl , the barn owl and the tawny owl . Woodland birds include the European green woodpecker and the rare white-backed woodpecker , cliffs harbor the red-billed chough and alpine chough and bare mountain birds include the rock partridge and white-winged snowfinch . Streams provide habitat for the grey wagtail and white-throated dipper . The flora of

1632-454: The original Norwegian spelling ski , and modify the pronunciation. Before 1920, English often called them skee and snow-shoe . In Italian , it is pronounced similarly to Norwegian, but the spelling is modified accordingly: sci [ˈʃi] . Portuguese and Spanish adapt the word to their linguistic rules: esqui and esquí . In German, spellings Ski and Schi are in use, both pronounced [ˈʃiː] . In Dutch ,

1680-531: The park are red deer and roe deer , wild boar and the white-backed woodpecker . The protected area is around two thirds beech forest , though many other tree species grow in the area, including silver birch and black and mountain pines . The idea for the Abruzzo National Park arose in the years following World War I thanks to the work of Erminio Sipari , environmentalist, member of Italian Parliament and cousin of Benedetto Croce . Between

1728-587: The park are the Marsican brown bear and Italian wolf . While official figures report 50-70 bears in this genetically isolated population, the declining population is actually estimated at closer to 30. The shift from local agriculture to development in Abruzzo (including a controversial proposed ski resort) and poaching , threaten this remaining small population. While Wolves were once rarer (as low as 40), numbers have reportedly rebounded in recent years. The presence of

1776-416: The park including, 41°45′51″N 13°52′08″E  /  41.76417°N 13.86889°E  / 41.76417; 13.86889 Ski Skis are runners, attached to the user's feet, designed to glide over snow. Typically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings , with either a free, lockable, or partially secured heel. For climbing slopes, ski skins can be affixed to

1824-437: The park is rich and interesting. A comprehensive list of plants would extend to more than 2,000 species without including lichens , algae or fungi . Flowers present in the area include Marsican Iris ( Iris marsica ), gentian , primrose , cyclamen , violets and the lily . The most well-known flower of the park is the rare lady's slipper ( Cypripedium calceolus ), a yellow and black orchid . The predominant tree of

1872-537: The park is the beech which covers 60% of the area, generally grows at 900–1800 m altitude and provides a stunning display of color throughout the whole year. Notable also the presence of some old-growth beech forests in the northern part of the park. Other trees are the black pine , the mountain pine and the silver birch . The park covers 25 municipalities, distributed across 3 provinces. Province of L'Aquila : Province of Frosinone : Provincia of Isernia : Many outdoor activities are possible within

1920-462: The park management at the end of the 1960s heralded better times and by 1976, further expansion to 400 km , followed at the request of villages in neighbouring Molise , that were convinced by the economic benefits of the park. Today, at 500 km , the area of the park is 100 times larger than the original reserve. However, the park's role in the marsican bear conservation program is now strongly debated; while every year there are monitoring actions of

1968-586: The plain and skinned short ski. Finnish names for these are lyly and kalhu for the long and short ski. The seal hunters at the Gulf of Bothnia had developed a special long ski to sneak into shooting distance to the seals' breathing holes, though the ski was useful in moving in the packed ice in general and was made specially long, 3–4 meters, to protect against cracks in the ice. This is called skredstång in Swedish. Around 1850, artisans in Telemark, Norway, invented

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2016-507: The total bear's population there have been recently some problems related to the pave actions carried out inside the park's boundaries and the building projects to connect the only ski track of the park to the opposite valley, which is a delicate spot for the bear's movements. The mountains within the park are Petroso (2,249 metres), Marsicano (2,245 metres), Meta (2,242 metres), Tartaro (2,191 metres), Jamiccio (2,074 metres), Cavallo (2,039 metres), Palombo (2,013 metres). These are included in

2064-449: The verb "to ski". Skis appeared before the wheel , with the oldest wooden skis found in Russia (c. 6300–5000 BCE), Sweden (c. 5200 BCE) and Norway (c. 3200 BCE) respectively. These early skis were not designed for recreation, transportation, or speed; their sole purpose was to keep the user on top of the snow while hunting or when at war . Early skis were generally accompanied by

2112-405: The weight and height of the skier. Annual maintenance assures that settings continue to be correct. For rental skis, such an adjustment is required for each change of customers. Waxing : Most ski wax minimizes gliding friction on snow. " Grip wax " promotes grip on snow for cross-country skis. Wax may be applied in three ways, melting on, rubbing on and as a paste. Edge shaping : Edges engage

2160-869: The word is ski and the pronunciation was originally [ˈɕiː] as in Norwegian, but since approximately the 1960s changed to [ˈskiː] . In Welsh the word is spelled sgi . Many languages make a verb form out of the noun, such as to ski in English, skier in French, esquiar in Spanish and Portuguese, sciare in Italian, skiën in Dutch, or Schi laufen or Schi fahren (as above also Ski laufen or Ski fahren ) in German. Norwegian and Swedish do not form

2208-456: Was enshrined in law. A period of intense activity followed and the park had further expanded to around 300 km when it was abolished by the Fascist government in 1933. Re-establishment of the park in 1950 coincided with a period of financial difficulty, followed by a building boom which saw more than 12,000 trees felled for the construction of houses, roads and ski tracks. A reorganization of

2256-556: Was used at least in northern Finland and Sweden until the 1930s. On one leg, the skier wore a long straight non-arching ski for sliding, and on the other a shorter ski for kicking. The bottom of the short ski was either plain or covered with animal skin to aid this use, while the long ski supporting the weight of the skier was treated with animal fat in similar manner to modern ski waxing . Early record of this type of skis survives in works of Olaus Magnus . He associates them to Sami people and gives Sami names of savek and golos for

2304-462: Was wrong." Line Skis , the first free-ski focused ski company inspired the newschool freeskiing movement with its twin-tip ski boards in 1995. The first company to successfully market and mass-produce a twin-tip ski to ski switch (skiing backwards) was the Salomon Group , with its 1080 ski in 1998. Described in the direction of travel, the front of the ski, typically pointed or rounded,

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