History

Cross-country skiing originated in Scandinavian countries in prehistoric times. It may have also been practiced by Native Americans for similar lengths of time, although the Norwegians Snowshoe Thompson and Jackrabbit Johannsen are widely credited for introducing the sport to North America.

This sport has been used by explorers as a means of transport, and all Scandinavian armies train their infantry on skis for winter operations.

Traditionally, all of the equipment was made of natural materials: wooden skis and bamboo poles with leather hand straps. Footwear was usually sturdy leather boots with thick soles. Bindings have evolved from simple straps made of twisted wood-based thread, to the so-called Kandahar binding with the fastening of both the boot's front and back, to the 'Rat's Trap' front-only binding, which in turn have developed into the various modern bindings.