Heliskiing
Heli-skiing is off-trail, downhill skiing or snowboarding reached by helicopter, instead of a ski lift. In the late 1950s helicopters were used in Europe to access remote terrain. In 1965 Hans Gmoser commercialized the activity in Canada by combining lodging and guiding. In Switzerland there are an estimated 15,000 heliskiing flights each year, to 42 landing sites. In 2010 Switzerland's major environmental groups, including the Worldwide Fund for Nature, handed a petition with over 15,000 signatures to the Swiss government, demanding a ban on heliskiing. Heliskiing is banned in Germany and was banned in France in 1985. Austria allows two landing sites. Media related to Heliskiing at Wikimedia Commons
Skiing
Skiing can be a means of transport, a recreational activity or a competitive winter sport in which the participant uses skis to glide on snow. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee, the International Ski Federation. Skiing has a history of five millennia. Although modern skiing has evolved from beginnings in Scandinavia, it may have been practiced more than 100 centuries ago in what is now China, according to an interpretation of ancient paintings; the word "ski" is one of a handful of words. It comes from the Old Norse word "skíð" which means "split piece of wood or firewood". Asymmetrical skis were used in northern Sweden until at least the late 19th century. On one foot, the skier wore a long straight non-arching ski for sliding, a shorter ski was worn on the other foot for kicking; the underside of the short ski was either plain or covered with animal skin to aid this use, while the long ski supporting the weight of the skier was treated with animal fat in a similar manner to modern ski waxing.
Early skiers used spear. The first depiction of a skier with two ski poles dates to 1741. Skiing was used for transport until the mid-19th century, but since has become a recreation and sport. Military ski races were held in Norway during the 18th century, ski warfare was studied in the late 18th century; as equipment evolved and ski lifts were developed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, two main genres of skiing emerged—Alpine skiing and Nordic skiing. The main difference between the two is the type of ski binding. Called "downhill skiing", Alpine skiing takes place on a piste at a ski resort, it is characterized by fixed-heel bindings that attach at both the toe and the heel of the skier's boot. Ski lifts, including chairlifts, bring skiers up the slope. Backcountry skiing can be accessed by helicopter, snowcat and snowmobile. Facilities at resorts can include night skiing, après-ski, glade skiing under the supervision of the ski patrol and the ski school. Alpine skiing branched off from the older Nordic type of skiing around the 1920s when the advent of ski lifts meant that it was not necessary to walk any longer.
Alpine equipment has specialized to the point. The Nordic disciplines include cross-country skiing and ski jumping, which both use bindings that attach at the toes of the skier's boots but not at the heels. Cross-country skiing may be practiced in undeveloped backcountry areas. Ski jumping is practiced in certain areas that are reserved for ski jumping. Telemark skiing is a ski turning technique and FIS-sanctioned discipline, named after the Telemark region of Norway, it uses equipment similar to Nordic skiing, where the ski bindings are attached only at the toes of the ski boots, allowing the skier's heel to be raised throughout the turn. The following disciplines are sanctioned by the FIS. Many are included in the Winter Olympic Games. Cross-country – Encompasses a variety of formats for cross-country skiing races over courses of varying lengths. Races occur on homologated, groomed courses designed to support classic and free-style events, where skate skiing may be employed; the main competitions are the FIS Cross-Country World Cup and the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, various cross-country skiing events have been incorporated into the Winter Olympics since its inception in 1924.
The discipline incorporates: cross-country ski marathon events, sanctioned by the Worldloppet Ski Federation. Paralympic cross-country skiing and paralympic biathlon are both included in the Winter Paralympic Games. Ski jumping – Contested at the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, the FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix, the FIS Ski Flying World Championships. Ski jumping has been a regular Olympic discipline at every Winter Games since 1924. Freeriding skiing – This category of skiing includes any practice of the sport on non-groomed terrain. Nordic combined – A combination of cross-country skiing and ski jumping, this discipline is contested at the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup, the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, at the Winter Olympics. Alpine skiing – Includes downhill, giant slalom, super giant slalom, para-alpine events. There are combined events where the competitors must complete one run of each event, for example, the Super Combined event consists of one run of super-G and one run of slalom skiing.
The dual slalom event, where racers ski head-to-head, was invented in 1941 and has been a competitive event since 1960. Alpine skiing is contested at the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, the Winter Olympics. Para-alpine skiing is contested at the World Para Alpine Skiing Championships and the Winter Paralympics. Speed skiing – Dating from 1898, with official records beginning in 1932 with an 89-mile-per-hour run by Leo Gasperi, this became an FIS discipline in the 1960s, it is contested at the FIS Speed Ski World Cup, was demonstrated at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville. Freestyle skiing – Includes mogul skiing, ski cross, half-pipe, slopestyle; the main freestyle competitions are the FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup and t
Lift ticket
A lift ticket or lift pass is an identifier attached to a skier's or snowboarder's outerwear that indicates they have paid and can ride on the ski lift up a mountain to ski or ride down. Lift tickets may vary by type of lift; some resorts use digital cards embedded with RFID chips. These cards are kept in a pocket during the skier's visit to the resort as they do not need to be removed for the access gate to detect them, it was common to use a wicket for skiing, a short piece of light wire which loops through the clothing of a customer. The wicket was invented by Killington Ski Resort employee Charlie Hanley, given its name by his wife Jane; the ticket wicket was patented in 1966, licensed to ski areas across the U. S. following a road show sponsored by Killington. Despite quick and widespread adoption of the wicket, Hanley never made any money off the soon-ubiquitous ticket wicket, it was patented again in 1995. Before ticket wickets, lift tickets were glued directly to clothing, it made tampering with the lift ticket difficult.
The wicket inspired several innovations to make its use more convenient, such as ski ticket holder pigtail. In addition, many ski jackets are designed with wickets in mind, providing plastic or cloth loops that allow the attachment of a wicket without interfering with zipper operation
Snowcat
A snowcat is an enclosed-cab, truck-sized tracked vehicle designed to move on snow. Major manufacturers are Kässbohrer and Tucker. A groomer is a snowcat dedicated to snow maintenance rather than transport. Snowcats used for snow grooming are called'piste machines','trail groomers' or'piste bashers' because of their use in preparing ski trails or snowmobile trails. Most snowcats, such as the ones produced by Bombardier or Aktiv in the past, have two sets of tracks, fitted with a Christie suspension or a Vickers suspension. Others, like the Tucker Sno-Cat and Hägglunds Bandvagn 206 vehicles, have a complex arrangement of four or more tracks; the tracks are made of rubber, aluminum or steel and driven by a single sprocket on each side, ride over rubber wheels with a solid foam interior. Their design is optimized for soft grounds such as that of a peat bog. In addition to grooming snow they are used for polar expeditions, logging in marsh areas, leveling sugar beet piles, seismic studies in the wild.
The cabs are optimized for use in sub-zero weather or cold conditions worsened by wind chill, with strong forced heating and a windshield designed to be kept clear of internal and external ice or condensation through a variety of means such as advanced coatings, external scrapers, internal ducts blowing hot air on the surface. The forerunners of the snowcat were the tracked "motors" designed by Captain Scott and his engineer Reginald Skelton for the Antarctic Terra Nova Expedition of 1910–1913; these tracked motors were built by the Wolseley Motor Car Company in Birmingham. In the 1955–1958 Fuchs and Hillary Transantarctic Expedition, four modern snowcats were used, produced by the Tucker Sno-Cat Corporation of Medford, Oregon; these vehicles were modified for the purposes of the expedition. The name "snowcat" originates from the 1946 trademark by Tucker Sno-Cat Corporation; this specialized over-snow vehicle dominated the snow transportation market until the 1960s when other manufacturers entered the business.
By "snowcat" was such a common description that it was used to describe all over-snow vehicles. Tucker is well known for its use of four tracks on its vehicles. Tucker Sno-Cat is arguably the best known of the early remains in business today. Tucker Sno-Cats have been used by governmental agencies and utilities. Another early model was the Swedish made Aktiv Snow Trac of which 2265 were manufactured in Sweden between 1957 and 1981. NATO forces used the Snow Trac during the Cold War between NATO and the USSR. Numerous accounts from Antarctica related successful use of the Snow Trac by research organizations such as A. N. A. R. E. in Antarctica. Thiokol sold its ski-lift and snowcat operation in 1978 to John DeLorean, changed its name to DeLorean Motor Company. DMC was bought out by its management team and renamed Logan Machine Company. LMC ceased production in 2000. Thiokol's Imp, Super-Imp and Spryte were popular dual-track snowcats and Thiokol's production continued under DMC and LMC; the Spryte, sold as 1200 and 1500 series machines, are still popular in commercial and industrial use, nearly 20 years after the end of their production runs.
Many of these models are still in use today in the commercial market and are popular as owned snowcats. KRISTI snowcat had a limited production of two-track snowcats between 1968 in Colorado. Aktiv Snow Trac ceased assembly in 1982 when its engine supplier ceased production of its air-cooled engines in Europe. Over 1000 Snow Tracs were imported to Canada and the United States by Canadian utilities and U. S. governmental agencies. Bombardier still continues in business but has radically altered its business model and product selection and sold its snow grooming division and no longer makes commercial snowcats. Bombardier sold over 3000 of its popular snow bus models which are still in use today and in popular demand by dedicated collectors. Bombardier Recreational Products still produces the Ski-Doo line of open ridge single-tracked personal snowmobiles. Russia as one of the snowiest countries in the world has a wide range of snowcat producers, from the big 30-tonnes load capacity two linked tracked Vityaz vehicles to 0.4-2 tonnes load capacity ZZGT vehicles.
Antarctic snow cruiser Bandvagn 202 Bandvagn 206 BvS 10 Continuous track Snow coach Snowcat skiing The Thing The Shining Agricultural Tractors and Machinery at Curlie Video of a snowcat at work ZZGT- Russian snowcat producer www.oharacorp.co.jp Snowcat Sculpting Video produced by Oregon Field Guide Preston, Diana. A First Rate Tragedy: Captain Scott's Antarctic Expeditions. London: Constable. ISBN 978-0-09-479530-3. OCLC 59395617
Armenia
Armenia the Republic of Armenia, is a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located in Western Asia on the Armenian Highlands, it is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, the de facto independent Republic of Artsakh and Azerbaijan to the east, Iran and Azerbaijan's exclave of Nakhchivan to the south. Armenia is a multi-party, democratic nation-state with an ancient cultural heritage. Urartu was established in 860 BC and by the 6th century BC it was replaced by the Satrapy of Armenia; the Kingdom of Armenia reached its height under Tigranes the Great in the 1st century BC and became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion in the late 3rd or early 4th century AD. The official date of state adoption of Christianity is 301; the ancient Armenian kingdom was split between the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires around the early 5th century. Under the Bagratuni dynasty, the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia was restored in the 9th century. Declining due to the wars against the Byzantines, the kingdom fell in 1045 and Armenia was soon after invaded by the Seljuk Turks.
An Armenian principality and a kingdom Cilician Armenia was located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea between the 11th and 14th centuries. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, the traditional Armenian homeland composed of Eastern Armenia and Western Armenia came under the rule of the Ottoman and Iranian empires ruled by either of the two over the centuries. By the 19th century, Eastern Armenia had been conquered by the Russian Empire, while most of the western parts of the traditional Armenian homeland remained under Ottoman rule. During World War I, Armenians living in their ancestral lands in the Ottoman Empire were systematically exterminated in the Armenian Genocide. In 1918, following the Russian Revolution, all non-Russian countries declared their independence after the Russian Empire ceased to exist, leading to the establishment of the First Republic of Armenia. By 1920, the state was incorporated into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, in 1922 became a founding member of the Soviet Union.
In 1936, the Transcaucasian state was dissolved, transforming its constituent states, including the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, into full Union republics. The modern Republic of Armenia became independent in 1991 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Armenia recognises the Armenian Apostolic Church, the world's oldest national church, as the country's primary religious establishment; the unique Armenian alphabet was invented by Mesrop Mashtots in 405 AD. Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Council of Europe and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Armenia supports the de facto independent Artsakh, proclaimed in 1991; the original native Armenian name for the country was Հայք, however it is rarely used. The contemporary name Հայաստան became popular in the Middle Ages by addition of the Persian suffix -stan.. However the origins of the name Hayastan trace back to much earlier dates and were first attested in circa 5th century in the works of Agathangelos, Faustus of Byzantium, Ghazar Parpetsi and Sebeos.
The name has traditionally been derived from Hayk, the legendary patriarch of the Armenians and a great-great-grandson of Noah, according to the 5th-century AD author Moses of Chorene, defeated the Babylonian king Bel in 2492 BC and established his nation in the Ararat region. The further origin of the name is uncertain, it is further postulated that the name Hay comes from one of the two confederated, Hittite vassal states—the Ḫayaša-Azzi. The exonym Armenia is attested in the Old Persian Behistun Inscription as Armina; the Ancient Greek terms Ἀρμενία and Ἀρμένιοι are first mentioned by Hecataeus of Miletus. Xenophon, a Greek general serving in some of the Persian expeditions, describes many aspects of Armenian village life and hospitality in around 401 BC, he relates that the people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like the language of the Persians. According to the histories of both Moses of Chorene and Michael Chamchian, Armenia derives from the name of Aram, a lineal descendant of Hayk.
The Table of Nations lists Aram as the son of Shem, to whom the Book of Jubilees attests, "And for Aram there came forth the fourth portion, all the land of Mesopotamia between the Tigris and the Euphrates to the north of the Chaldees to the border of the mountains of Asshur and the land of'Arara." Jubilees 8:21 apportions the Mountains of Ararat to Shem, which Jubilees 9:5 expounds to be apportioned to Aram. The historian Flavius Josephus states in his Antiquities of the Jews, "Aram had the Aramites, which the Greeks called Syrians. Of the four sons of Aram, Uz founded Trachonitis and Damascus: this country lies between Palestine and Celesyria. Ul founded Armenia. Armenia lies in the highlands surrounding the mountains of Ararat. There is evidence of an early civilisation in Armenia in the Bronze Age and earlier, dating to about 4000 BC. Archaeological surveys in 2010 and 2011 at the Areni-1 cave complex have resulted in the discovery of the world's earliest known leather shoe and wine-producing facility.
According to the story of Hayk, the legendary founder of Armenia, around 2107 BC Hayk fought against Belus, the Babylonian God of War, at Çavuştepe along the Engil river to establish the first Armenian state. This event coinc
Gondola lift
A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift, supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable, strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers; the cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal, connected to an engine or electric motor. They are considered continuous systems since they feature a haul rope which continuously moves and circulates around two terminal stations. Depending on the combination of cables used for support and/or haulage and the type of grip, the capacity and functionality of a gondola lift will differ dramatically; because of the proliferation of such systems in the Alpine regions of Europe, the French language name of Télécabine is used in an English language context. Gondola lifts should not be confused with aerial tramways as the latter operates with fixed grips and shuttles back and forth between two end terminals. Both are types of cable car. In some systems the passenger cabins, which can hold between two and fifteen people, are connected to the cable by means of spring-loaded grips.
These grips allow the cabin to be detached from the moving cable and slowed down in the terminals, to allow passengers to board and disembark. Doors are always automatic and controlled by a lever on the roof or on the undercarriage, pushed up or down. Cabins are driven through the terminals either by a chain system. To be accelerated to and decelerated from line speed, cabins are driven along by progressively swifter rotating tires until they reach line or terminal speed. On older installations, gondolas are accelerated manually by an operator. Gondola lifts can have intermediate stops that allow for downloading on the lift. Examples of a lift with three stops instead of the standard two are the Village Gondola and the Excalibur Gondolas at Whistler Blackcomb. In other systems the cable is slowed down intermittently to allow passengers to disembark and embark the cabins at stations, to allow people in the cars along the route to take photographs, such as Lebanon's Téléférique which offers an exceptional view to the Mediterranean, the historical Jounieh Bay and the pine forest at the 80% slope which this gondola lift goes over.
Such a system is called Pulse Cabin because more than one cabin are loaded at a time before the trip begins. Systems where a single cable provides both support and propulsion of the cabins are called monocable gondolas. Another type of gondola lift is the bi-cable gondola, which has one other stationary cable, besides the main haul rope, that helps support the cabins. Famous examples of this type of lift include the Ngong Ping Cable Car in Hong Kong, the Singapore Cable Car, the Sulphur Mountain Gondola in Banff, Canada; this system has the advantage that the stationary cable's strength and properties can be tailored to each span, which reduces costs. There are tri-cable gondolas that have two stationary cables that support the cabins, they differ from aerial tramways in that the latter consist only of one or two larger cabins, moving up and down, not circulating. Bi- and tri-cable systems provide greater lateral stability allowing the system to operate in higher cross-winds. Open-air gondolas, or cabriolet as called, are uncommon and are quite primitive because they are exposed to the elements.
Their cabins are hollow cylinder, open from chest height up, with a floor and a cover on the top. They are used as village gondolas and for short distances. An example of these are the Cabriolets at Mont Tremblant Resort in Quebec, at Blue Mountain Ski Resort in Ontario, The Canyons Resort in Park City, Mountain Creek, the new Village Cabriolet at Winter Park Resort in Colorado. Open-air gondolas can come in a style similar to a pulse gondola, like the Village Gondola at Panorama Ski Resort, British Columbia; the first gondola built in the United States for a ski resort was located at the Wildcat Mountain Ski Area. It was a two-person gondola built in 1957 and serviced skiers until 1999; the lift was demolished in 2004. The lift and its cabins were manufactured by a former Italian lift company: Carlevaro-Savio. One of the longest gondola rides in the world, Gondelbahn Grindelwald-Männlichen, is in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland and connects Grindelwald with Männlichen. A ropeway conveyor or material ropeway is a subtype of gondola lift, from which containers for goods rather than passenger cars are suspended.
Ropeway conveyors are found around large mining concerns, can be of considerable length. The COMILOG Cableway, which ran from Moanda in Gabon to Mbinda in the Republic of the Congo, was over 75 km in length; the Norsjö cable car in Sweden had a length of 96 km. In Eritrea, the Italians built the Asmara-Massawa Cableway in 1936, 75 km long. Conveyors can be powered by a wide variety of forms of power sources: electric motors, internal combustion engines, steam engines, or gravity. Gravity is common in mountainous mining concerns, directly employed. Gravity can be used indirectly, where running water is available. While gondola lifts are traditionally used for ski resort purposes, in recent years they are finding increased usage in urban environments. Cable cars used for urban transit include the Metrocable in Colombia.
Ski jumping
Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the longest jump after descending from a specially designed ramp on their skis. Along with jump length, competitor's style and other factors affect the final score. Ski jumping was first contested in Norway in the late 19th century, spread through Europe and North America in the early 20th century. Along with cross-country skiing, it constitutes the traditional group of Nordic skiing disciplines; the ski jumping venue referred to as a hill, consists of the jumping ramp, take-off table, a landing hill. Each jump is evaluated according to the distance traveled and the style performed; the distance score is related to the construction point, a line drawn in the landing area and serves as a "target" for the competitors to reach. The score of each judge evaluating the style can reach a maximum of 20 points; the jumping technique has evolved over the years, from jumps with the parallel skis with both arms pointing forwards, to the "V-style", used today.
Ski jumping has been included at the Winter Olympics since 1924 and at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships since 1925. Women's participation in the sport began in the 1990s, while the first women's event at the Olympics has been held in 2014. All major ski jumping competitions are organised by the International Ski Federation. Stefan Kraft holds the official record for the world's longest ski jump with 253.5 metres, set on the ski flying hill in Vikersund in 2017. Ski jumping can be performed in the summer on an in-run where the tracks are made from porcelain and the grass on the slope is covered with water-soaked plastic; the highest level summer competition is the FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix, contested since 1994. Like most of the Nordic skiing disciplines, the first ski jumping competitions were held in Norway in the 19th century, although there is evidence of ski jumping in the late 18th century; the recorded origins of the first ski jump trace back to 1808. Sondre Norheim, regarded as the "father" of the modern ski jumping, won the first-ever ski jumping competition with prizes, held in Høydalsmo in 1866.
The first larger ski jumping competition was held on Husebyrennet hill in Oslo, Norway, in 1875. Due to its poor infrastructure and the weather conditions, in 1892 the event was moved to Holmenkollen, today still one of the main ski jumping events in the season. In the late 19th century, Sondre Norheim and Nordic skier Karl Hovelsen immigrated to the United States and started developing the sport in that country. In 1924, ski jumping was featured at the 1924 Winter Olympics in France; the sport has been featured at every Olympics since. Ski jumping was brought to Canada by Norwegian immigrant Nels Nelsen. Starting with his example in 1915 until the late 1960s, annual ski jumping competitions were held on Mount Revelstoke — the ski hill Nelsen designed — the longest period of any Canadian ski jumping venue. Revelstoke's was the biggest natural ski jump hill in Canada and internationally recognized as one of the best in North America; the length and natural grade of its 600 m hill made possible jumps of over 60 m —the longest in Canada.
It was the only hill in Canada where world ski jumping records were set, in 1916, 1921, 1925, 1932, 1933. In 1935, the origins of the ski flying began in Planica, where Josef Bradl became the first competitor in history to jump over 100 m. At the same venue, the first official jump over 200 m was achieved in 1994, when Toni Nieminen landed at 203 metres. In 1964 in Zakopane, the large hill event was introduced at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. In the same year, the normal hill event was included on the Olympic programme at the 1964 Winter Olympics; the team event was added at the 1988 Winter Olympics. A ski jumping hill is located on a steep slope, it consists of the jumping ramp, take-off table, a landing hill. Competitors glide down from a common point at the top of the in-run, achieving considerable speeds at the take-off table, where they take off with help of speed and their own leap. While airborne, they maintain an aerodynamic position with their bodies and skis, that would allow them to maximize the length of the jump.
The landing slope is constructed so that the jumper's trajectory is near-parallel with it, the athlete's relative height to the ground is lost, allowing for a gentle and safe landing. The landing space is followed by an out-run, a substantial flat or counter-inclined area that permits the skier to safely slow down; the out-run area is surrounded by a public auditorium. The slopes are classified according to the distance that the competitors travel in the air, between the end of the table and the landing; each hill has a construction point. The classification of the hills are as follows: Competitors are ranked according to a numerical score obtained by adding up components based on distance, inrun length and wind conditions. In the individual event, the scores from each skier's two competition jumps are combined to determine the winner. Distance score depends on the hill's K-point. For K-90 and K-120 competitions, the K-point is set at 120 metres, respectively. Competitors are awarded 120 points if they land on the K-point.
For every metre beyond the K-point, the competitor is awarded extra points. A competitor's distance is measured between the takeoff and t
