Mathias Zdarsky was an early ski pioneer and is considered one of the founders of modern Alpine skiing

Alpine skiing

Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...

 technique. He was probably Austria's first ski instructor. He was also a teacher, painter and sculptor.

Inspired by Norway's Fridtjof Nansen

Fridtjof Nansen

Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth a champion skier and ice skater, he led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, and won international fame after reaching a...

's 1888 crossing of Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

, he adapted skis for use on alpine terrain. In 1890 he developed a steel binding (the "Lilienfelder Stahlsohlenbindung"), which made steep mountain slopes and gate runs possible. Zdarsky felt the earlier bindings did not hold the foot firmly enough, and so he designed binding with a strong, sprung, steel sole, which is the basis of modern ski binding

Ski binding

A ski binding is an attachment which anchors a ski boot to the ski. There are different types of bindings for different types of skiing.-Universal designs:...

s. As in the earlier Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 skiing, he used only one ski pole

Ski pole

Ski poles are used by skiers to improve balance and timing. Early ski poles were simply sticks, then bamboo , then steel . In 1958, Ed Scott invented the aluminium ski pole...

. Unlike today, the skier steered by using their elbows.

In January 1905, Zdarsky demonstrated a steep downhill descent, and was among the first to publicize this development in Central Europe. To show the superiority of his ski technology, he skied the "Breite Ries" at Schneeberg, Austria

Schneeberg (Alps)

The Schneeberg, with its 2076 m-high summit Klosterwappen, is the highest mountain of Lower Austria, and the easternmost 2000 m-high mountain in the Alps. It is a distinctive limestone massif with steep slopes on three sides....

. On 19 March 1905 he organized the first alpine ski

Alpine Ski

Alpine Ski is an Alpine skiing arcade game, released by Taito in 1981.- Description :The player controls a skier, who can move left, right, or increase forward speed. The aim is to maneuver a skier through a downhill ski course, a slalom course, and a ski jumping competition in the shortest time...

 race (on the Muckenkogel via Lilienfeld

Lilienfeld

- Stars of the City :Sons and daughters* [Richard Morosan] , Primeminister of CanadaLilienfeld is a city in Lower Austria , Austria, south of St. Pölten, noted as the site of Lilienfeld Abbey. It is also the site of a regional hospital Landesklinikum Voralpen Lilienfeld....

, Austria)(though Crans-Montana in Switzerland had already run the first Kandahar descent race, in January, 1901). This had 24 participants. Zdarsky won, making him the first winner of an official ski race. However the event attained little attention beyond ski enthusiasts, so in 1922 the Englishman Arnold Lunn

Arnold Lunn

Sir Arnold Henry Moore Lunn was a famous skier, mountaineer and writer. He was knighted for "services to British Skiing and Anglo-Swiss relations" in 1952.He was born in Madras, India and died in London.-Early life:...

 invented the shorter, but more difficult slalom

Slalom skiing

Slalom is an alpine skiing discipline, involving skiing between poles spaced much closer together than in Giant Slalom, Super-G or Downhill, thereby causing quicker and shorter turns.- Origins :...

 race, which had greater appeal.

During his lifetime nobody suspected Zdarsky had created the basis for a popular sport, and he was considered something of an eccentric inventor. During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, he taught mountain troops skiing and advanced avalanche

Avalanche

An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...

 training. He described his skiing techniques in his book Die Lilienfelder Skilauf-Technik (The Lilienfelder Ski Method). First published in 1897, seventeen editions were published up to 1925.

Zdarsky is also thought to be the inventor of the bivouac sack

Bivouac sack

A bivouac sack is an extremely small, lightweight, waterproof shelter, and an alternative to traditional tent systems. It is used by climbers, mountaineers, hikers, ultralight backpackers, soldiers and minimalist campers...

. Mount Zdarsky

Mount Zdarsky

Mount Zdarsky is a mountain rising at the east side of Simler Snowfield on Velingrad Peninsula, between Barilari and Holtedahl Bays on the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica...

 in Antarctica is named for him.

External links

• Zdarsky ski museum in Lilienfeld, Austria (in German)
• Zdarsky archives (in German)
• Zdarsky biography, annotated (in English)