Introduction

The early skies that were designed for recreation and sport were made from a single piece of wood, usually hickory, but laminated or covered construction started to be used from the year 1930s. During the 1950s plastic running planes on the bottom of the skis improved their speed together with durability. By the period of 1990s, the skis were classically made by making form core surrounded by wood, covering both layers with the fiberglass put together with Kevlar, titanium or even carbon for stability, and lastly adding a plastic base. Skiing is a sport or a recreational activity that is mostly done in the cold or snowy parts of the world. The term skiing comes from the word ski which means a flat equipment that is long usually put on the feet and facilitates easy movement on the snow as  they have a smooth surface. The introduction of skiing had an original aim of allowing easy traveling through the snow. That is why the equipment used for skiing be it recreational or ski racing are usually the same. The equipments that I will use for skiing as a recreational activity or racing are basically the same.

Skiing equipment

As an activity done on snow and in a cold environment, it is obvious that one will need to wear warmly. First of all one will need a warm jacket which come in assorted type and color but basically serving the major purpose of keeping the person skiing warm. Then equipment that is used for both racing and recreational is the ski boots that also come in a range of choices for the user.  There are boots with the rear-entry which people prefer for the fact that they are easy to wear and the front entry one most talked of well by the professionals (Wickham, J. 2009). The boots used for racing and recreation are similar and serve the same purpose.

Still in skiing, we have the skiing poles which are used both for race and or rather recreation. Currently there are the adjustable skiing poles that many prefer as they give one a chance to change the length of the pole according to the terrain one is passing through; its obvious that one will need longer length in a steeply area and  a short one in a flat terrain. Still on clothing one has to have a specific type of underwear just with one specific reason of staying warm; this is followed by putting on another layer of fleece as insulation from cold.  Equipment important is the hat and helmet; the helmet is worn on the hat to protect the person wearing and partly to keep the skier warm. The helmet will protect the skier’s skull from shock if there is any case of accident. Helmets and are used in both recreational skiing and racing. It’s an essential that most recreational skiers usually take it for granted and ignore it but it is an important part of skiing.

For the sake of protecting the hands, many people skiers have preferred gloves because of agility but it’s obvious that mittens are warmer than gloves. The gloves are usually made of leather and rubber outside; the leather for offering a good grip and rubber for just beauty and insulation (Rees, D., 1981) In short we may say that the basic equipment for skiing usually apply for both race skiing and the recreational skiing because they are all skiing but the difference lies at the purpose of the skiing. The major challenges that are encountered by the skiers are just how to manage or control the speed and the direction of their descent. For instance, the downhill skiers normally gain such control through the making of shifting left to right turns. Generally, the novice skiers use a technique known as the snowplow/snowplough in maintaining good and comfortable speed and stop by pointing one or even both the skis inward, however, more experienced skiers normally use more complicated but more stylish and speedier methods.