Extreme skiing is skiing performed on long, steep (typically from 45 to 60+ degrees) slopes in dangerous terrain. The sport is performed off-piste. Deep powder skiing An alpine skier Members of the US Air Force skiing (and snowboarding) at Keystone Resorts 14th Annual SnoFest Skiing is the activity of gliding over snow using skis (originally wooden planks, now usually made from fiberglass or related composites), with metal edges, strapped to the feet... Backcountry sking near the Arlberg, Austria Backcountry skiing or off-piste skiing is skiing in a sparsely inhabited rural region over ungroomed and unmarked slopes (i. ...
The French coined the term 'Le Ski Extreme' in the 1970's. The first practitioner was the Swiss skier Sylvain Saudan, who invented the "windshield wiper" turn in the mid-1960's and made the first filmed descents of slopes that were previously considered impossible. The Frenchmen Patrick Valencant and Anselme Baud were among those who further developed the art and brought notoriety to the sport in the 1970's and 1980's. Extreme skiing as an English term has changed since the 80's when the term "extreme skiing" was coined to now be classified under Big Mountain skiing and/or Freeskiing which encompases all aspects and methods of decending off-piste terrain. The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ...
Because of the extremely long, steep slopes, and dangerous terrain, a single mistake at the wrong moment by some extreme skiers have led to their deaths. This distinguishes true extreme skiing (in the French sense) from the spectacular and dangerous (but not usually deadly) derivatives encapsulated in the American English term.
Skiing or snowboarding outside a ski resort's boundaries, also known as out of bounds skiing, is illegal in some ski resorts, due to the danger of avalanches on the un-patrolled areas; or the cost of search-and-rescue for lost or overdue skiers.
Skiing technique is difficult to master, and accordingly there are ski schools that teach everything from the basics of turning and stopping safely to more advanced carving, racing, mogul or "bump" skiing and newer freestyle techniques.
Ski troops played a key role in retaining Finnish independence from Russia during the Winter War, and from Germany during the Lapland War, although the use of ski troops was recorded by the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus in the 13th century.
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