Distinctly Montana Magazine

Pictoral Histories Publishing Company, Missoula jumping and competed in the 1932 Winter Olympics. Events like the Winter Carnival in Anaconda helped to popularize skiing in Montana and encourage sale of ski gear. The Mercantile in Missoula offered, in 1937, "Splitkein Laminated Skis" with steel edges, "Lund Topflight Hickory Skis", and "Gerber Brothers Geared Cable Bindings." World War II and aircraft technology led to advances in ski gear. Howard Head's famous Head Standards were introduced in 1950 with a plywood core, aluminum top and bottom, plastic sidewalls and onepiece full metal edges. These high performance skis were sometimes called "cheaters" and "banana skins." In the 1950s, P-tex and fiberglass came into their own for ski manufacture, and ski builders introduced other high tech materials such as carbon fiber and Kevlar through the 60s and 70s. Plastic bases reduced the need for waxing. In 1990, a revolution in ski shape began when Elan and Kneissel introduced deep-sidecut "shaped" skis, often called Parabolics. The first powder skis were Atomic Powder Plus, made by sawing a snowboard in half lengthwise and adding edges and bindings. Sidecut began to expand in the 1990s with skis like K2's Big Kahuna and Elan's SCX (SideCut eXtreme). Into the new century, skis got phatter and camber was replaced by rocker, with the ski base bending downward. Volant offered the first rockered ski, the Spatula, in 2003 and the concept caught on big time. Rocker works best in deep, soft snow, like Bridger Bowl's Cold Smoke, allowing for easier turn initiation. Downhill ski shape and design has evolved in every direction imaginable, with skis designed for women, kids, powder, hardpack, off-piste, big mountain, pipe and park, alpine touring, freeride, and racing. Many skiers are using twin-tip skis designed for riding both directions, as skiers have adopted and adapted many of snowboarding's moves. Ed Schenk displays excellent form while skiing Big Mountain, Montana, in 1948. Photo from the Aaron Schenk Collection, courtesy of Pictoral Histories Publishing Company, Missoula. 1970s ski equipment. Note ski leashes and straight fiberglass skis with big tips. Bindings — From Traps to Safety Ski bindings were originally designed solely to hold the boot to the ski, with no release mechanism. Stiff heel cables were the norm, with steel plates to hold the toe. The sport got a reputation for injury, with an estimated 10 per cent of skiers injured each season. This did not help the growth of an otherwise very inviting sport. "The newest and best thing in ski gear is the "early rise tip" or "all mountain rocker" which is being crafted in more and more skis, making the whole ski experience a world apart from the old equipment. ~ Seth Turner, Black Tie Ski www.distinctlymontana.com 29

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