No Skiing in Switzerland?
 

All,

It seems odd to think of a time when people didn't ski in Switzerland.
However, when Arthur Conan Doyle arrived in Switzerland in 1893 that was
exactly the situation. Learn how the man who wrote the Sherlock Holmes novels
also helped to popularize skiing in Switzerland -
http://www.siracd.com/life/life_ski.shtml

Sincerely,

M. Perry
Webmaster - The Chronicles of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
http://www.siracd.com/

There was a lady at Santarem--but my lips are sealed. It is the part of a
gallant man to say nothing, though he may indicate that he could say a great
deal. - The Crime of The Brigadier by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

No Skiing in Switzerland?
 

"MPerry8304" wrote in message
...
All,

It seems odd to think of a time when people didn't ski in Switzerland.


You mean tourists or locals?
--
Simon Brown
www.hb9drv.ch

No Skiing in Switzerland?
 

I recall many years ago reading a book about the history of skiing. The
British popularised winter holidays in Wengen and to stop them getting
bored, they popularised skiing as a recreational sport. Prior to that time,
only mountain dwellers skied and then only as a means of transport.

Any DHO members going to comment?

regards
Paul Smith


"Simon Brown" wrote in message
...
"MPerry8304" wrote in message
...
All,

It seems odd to think of a time when people didn't ski in Switzerland.


You mean tourists or locals?
--
Simon Brown
www.hb9drv.ch

No Skiing in Switzerland?
 

"PSmith" wrote:

I recall many years ago reading a book about the history of skiing. The
British popularised winter holidays in Wengen and to stop them getting
bored, they popularised skiing as a recreational sport. Prior to that time,
only mountain dwellers skied and then only as a means of transport.

Any DHO members going to comment?


Your author was in error. There were no skis in Switzerland prior to
their importation (by foreign tourists) from Scandinavia in the 1870s.

No Skiing in Switzerland?
 

In message , funkraum
writes
"PSmith" wrote:

I recall many years ago reading a book about the history of skiing. The
British popularised winter holidays in Wengen and to stop them getting
bored, they popularised skiing as a recreational sport. Prior to that time,
only mountain dwellers skied and then only as a means of transport.

Your author was in error. There were no skis in Switzerland prior to
their importation (by foreign tourists) from Scandinavia in the 1870s.

I wouldn't normally agree with anyone, but Funk's right. Skis were
originally "nordic", used on flattish ground around the Baltic. To
understand why, read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's description of skiing in
the Alps in the 1880s (it's in several places on the web, Google for
it).
Downhill skiing was invented by lazy Brits who CBA to walk up so they
took the train up and skied down. They were thrown out of the Club for
this, and quite right too - without them there'd be no concrete
apartment blocks, no drifts of cigarette butts, no clouds of dope fumes,
no mogul fields, no cable cars so big you can see them from outer space,
avalanches would inconvenience only the wildlife...
--
Sue ];(:)

No Skiing in Switzerland?
 

"Sue" wrote in message
...
In message , funkraum
writes
"PSmith" wrote:

I recall many years ago reading a book about the history of skiing. The
British popularised winter holidays in Wengen and to stop them getting
bored, they popularised skiing as a recreational sport. Prior to that
time,
only mountain dwellers skied and then only as a means of transport.

Your author was in error. There were no skis in Switzerland prior to
their importation (by foreign tourists) from Scandinavia in the 1870s.

I wouldn't normally agree with anyone, but Funk's right. Skis were
originally "nordic", used on flattish ground around the Baltic. To
understand why, read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's description of skiing in
the Alps in the 1880s (it's in several places on the web, Google for
it).
Downhill skiing was invented by lazy Brits who CBA to walk up so they
took the train up and skied down. They were thrown out of the Club for
this, and quite right too - without them there'd be no concrete
apartment blocks, no drifts of cigarette butts, no clouds of dope fumes,
no mogul fields, no cable cars so big you can see them from outer space,
avalanches would inconvenience only the wildlife...
--
Sue ];(:)

Thanks for putting me right. I read the book over 20 years ago when I first
I started skiing. So it seems likely that I forgot the fact about the Brits
acquiring the skis invented/used by the Scandanavians. I must have
remebered that the Brits got the skis from someone and jumped to the obvious
answer of the swiss locals. Sorry.

Since this is a newsgroup for people sharing an interest in skiing, some of
Sue's comments do seem rather anti? I can certainly do without the concrete
blocks etc, but the recreational sport does need lifts and accommodation
etc.

No Skiing in Switzerland?
 

In message , PSmith
writes

Thanks for putting me right.

On Usenet there's always someone who'll enjoy putting someone else right
;)

Since this is a newsgroup for people sharing an interest in skiing, some of
Sue's comments do seem rather anti? I can certainly do without the concrete
blocks etc, but the recreational sport does need lifts and accommodation
etc.

That doesn't mean they aren't ugly.
Snowsports are often condemned as environmentally damaging (even by
people with no other interest in them) but I suspect our impact gets
exaggerated because the facilities are so unsightly.

I don't know what they could do about it.
Pistes and lift lines carved through forests are conspicuous, but they
make useful firebreaks. Maybe they could thin out the trees at the
edges to make them look a bit more natural, or maybe every tree's needed
to keep the chalet fires burning.
Without lifts the size of ocean liners the conspiracy to join the whole
Alpine range into one vast lift system would fail (whoops, forget I said
that, or we'll have to shoot you.)
The concrete apartment blocks can't be removed without yet more
environmental damage. Besides, what's unfashionable today may become
retro-chic tomorrow.

So why not halt all new development of resorts in the Alps - oh, silly
me, the threat of global warming's done that anyway. And if we get
cooling instead, the spreading glaciers'll soon grind the whole lot into
moraine, which should satisfy everyone.

--
Sue ];(:)

No Skiing in Switzerland?
 

Sue wrote:

[...]
Downhill skiing was invented by lazy Brits who CBA to walk up so they
took the train up and skied down. They were thrown out of the Club for
this, and quite right too - without them there'd be no concrete
apartment blocks, no drifts of cigarette butts, no clouds of dope fumes,
no mogul fields, no cable cars so big you can see them from outer space,
avalanches would inconvenience only the wildlife...

When I find myself starting the "It is no longer like it used to be"
diatribe, usually in connection with the type of visitors to ski
resorts, I am reminded of Whymper telling of how the new mountain
railway to Zermatt brought a much less desirable class of individual
to the village.

I further remind myself of how, if one wishes to find 'un-spoiled' and
un-visited mountains then there are .... one or two .... in highly
inaccessible countries. These may well go through the same process.

Book now so you can whine about the old days when the time comes.

No Skiing in Switzerland?
 

Oh no!

Downhillskiing was a fact in Norway, long before the Brits had even heard of
skis, not only as a means of transportation, but also for fun. The vikings
were skiing, almost 1000 years ago. However as a sport it really took off
mid 1800. Heard of Telemark skiing? It is coming from the area of Telemark
in Norway, and was brought to the US by immigrants around 1900. Skiing in
Central Europe, I think was also brought there from Scandinavia. BUT, I
fully acknowledge that Brits was instrumental in developing the sport there.

Jostein (from Telemark, Norway)

"funkraum" skrev i melding
...
Sue wrote:

[...]
Downhill skiing was invented by lazy Brits who CBA to walk up so they
took the train up and skied down. They were thrown out of the Club for
this, and quite right too - without them there'd be no concrete
apartment blocks, no drifts of cigarette butts, no clouds of dope fumes,
no mogul fields, no cable cars so big you can see them from outer space,
avalanches would inconvenience only the wildlife...

When I find myself starting the "It is no longer like it used to be"
diatribe, usually in connection with the type of visitors to ski
resorts, I am reminded of Whymper telling of how the new mountain
railway to Zermatt brought a much less desirable class of individual
to the village.

I further remind myself of how, if one wishes to find 'un-spoiled' and
un-visited mountains then there are .... one or two .... in highly
inaccessible countries. These may well go through the same process.

Book now so you can whine about the old days when the time comes.