River Dee, Wales
The River Dee is a river in the United Kingdom. It flows through parts of both Wales and England, forming part of the border between the two countries; the river rises in Snowdonia, flows east via Chester and discharges to the sea in an estuary between Wales and the Wirral Peninsula in England. It has a total length of 110 km; the River Dee was the traditional boundary of the Kingdom of Gwynedd in Wales for centuries since its founding in the 5th century. It was recorded in the 13th century as flumen Dubr Duiu; the total catchment area of the River Dee down to Chester Weir is 1,816.8 km2. The estimated average annual rainfall over the catchment area is 640 mm, yielding an average flow of 37 m3/s; the larger reservoirs in the catchment area are: Bala Lake: 400 acres Llyn Brenig: 370 acres Llyn Celyn: 325 acres The River Dee has its source on the slopes of Dduallt above Llanuwchllyn in the mountains of Snowdonia in Meirionydd, Wales. Between its source and Bala Lake the river is known by Afon Dyfrdwy.
Legend tells that the waters of the river pass through Bala Lake and emerge undiluted and unmixed at the outflow. On leaving Bala the river meets its confluence with Afon Tryweryn and passes through the Bala sluice gates, part of the Dee Regulation System protecting communities further downstream from severe flooding. Skirting the village of Llanfor, the path of the river takes it past Llandderfel and under the Grade II listed Pont Fawr bridge; the river trends east-southeast through the Vale of Edeyrnion, shadowed by the B4401 Bala to Cynwyd road. Leaving Gwynedd and entering Denbighshire the Dee flows beneath other historic bridges at Llandrillo and Cynwyd before arriving at the town of Corwen. From here the river passes the Iron Age hillfort of Caer Drewyn and enters the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB. Through its forested valley the course takes it through Carrog and Llantysilio, with the Llangollen Railway following the river on its route between Llangollen and Corwen. At Berwyn the river passes over the manmade Horseshoe Falls, before picking up speed on a downhill gradient past the Chain Bridge Hotel and its historic pedestrian bridge.
First built in 1814, refurbished by Henry Robertson in 1870, it was considered a marvel of early suspension bridge design. In 1928 the original bridge was destroyed by severe flooding and was rebuilt in its current form from original parts in 1929; the course of the river takes it through Llangollen and under its 16th-century, Grade I listed bridge. The bridge is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and considered one of the Seven Wonders of Wales. On leaving Llangollen the river continues east skirting the outcropping Karstic limestone exposures of Eglwyseg Rocks. Overlooking the river here is the medieval Castell Dinas Brân, a ruined fortress abandoned by John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey in 1282; the river enters Wrexham County Borough, passing south of Trevor and under Thomas Telford's Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, of 1805, which carries the Llangollen Canal 120 feet overhead. Less than a mile east of the aqueduct at Cefn Mawr, the river is crossed by the Cefn Mawr Viaduct, built in 1848 by Thomas Brassey and carries the Shrewsbury to Chester railway line across the Dee.
Beyond this point the river forms the boundary between Wrexham County Borough in Wales and Shropshire in the West Midlands of England. Passing Chirk and the confluence with the River Ceiriog, the river begins to trace gentle meanders on the level ground at the beginning of the Cheshire Plain; the course continues past Erbistock on the Welsh side, the 5th-century earthwork of Wat's Dyke on the English, before passing wholly into Wales at Overton bridge. A couple more miles downstream is Bangor-on-Dee, known for its Racecourse; until 1974 this area was part of an exclave of historic Flintshire known as English Maelor. The Dee continues to meander past Worthenbury. At this point the border between Wrexham and Cheshire West and Chester follows the course of the river, it passes the Cheshire village of Crewe by Farndon, before cutting between Holt in Wales and Farndon in England beneath the 14th-century, Grade I listed Farndon Bridge. One of the major tributaries of the Dee, the River Alyn crosses the Carboniferous Limestone from Halkyn Mountain and runs down through the Loggerheads area before making its confluence north of Holt.
Throughout the length of the Alyn there are numerous swallow holes and caverns and during the summer months long stretches of the river bed run dry. These caves include Ogof Hen Ffynhonnau. A significant part of this lost flow reemerges in the Milwr Tunnel, a manmade tunnel, entering the west bank of the Dee estuary and carrying 12 million imperial gallons per day; this tunnel was constructed to drain metal mines in Halkyn Mountain. Once the main River Dee approaches the Cheshire border and the Carboniferous Coal Measures, it turns northwards before meandering up to Chester; this long stretch of the river drops in height by only a few feet. The rich adjoining farmland has many remnants of abandoned coal workings and deep claypits used to make bricks and tiles. A number of these pits are now being used as landfill sites for commercial waste. Approaching Churton and Aldford, the river crosses into England, passes the grand country house of Eaton Hall, seat of the Duke of Westminster, it continues past the village of Eccleston and beneath the A55 North Wales
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state located in the Appalachian region in the Southern United States, considered to be a part of the Middle Atlantic States. It is bordered by Pennsylvania to the north, Maryland to the east and northeast, Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest. West Virginia is the 41st largest state by area, is ranked 38th in population; the capital and largest city is Charleston. West Virginia became a state following the Wheeling Conventions of 1861, after the American Civil War had begun. Delegates from some Unionist counties of northwestern Virginia decided to break away from Virginia, although they included many secessionist counties in the new state. West Virginia was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863, was a key border state during the war. West Virginia was the only state to form by separating from a Confederate state, the first to separate from any state since Maine separated from Massachusetts, was one of two states admitted to the Union during the American Civil War.
While a portion of its residents held slaves, most of the residents were yeomen farmers, the delegates provided for gradual abolition of slavery in the new state Constitution. The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States; however the Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies West Virginia as a part of the Mid-Atlantic. The northern panhandle extends adjacent to Pennsylvania and Ohio, with the West Virginia cities of Wheeling and Weirton just across the border from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, while Bluefield is less than 70 miles from North Carolina. Huntington in the southwest is close to the states of Ohio and Kentucky, while Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry in the Eastern Panhandle region are considered part of the Washington metropolitan area, in between the states of Maryland and Virginia; the unique position of West Virginia means that it is included in several geographical regions, including the Mid-Atlantic, the Upland South, the Southeastern United States.
It is the only state, within the area served by the Appalachian Regional Commission. The state is noted for its mountains and rolling hills, its significant logging and coal mining industries, its political and labor history, it is known for a wide range of outdoor recreational opportunities, including skiing, whitewater rafting, hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, hunting. Many ancient man-made earthen mounds from various prehistoric mound builder cultures survive in the areas of present-day Moundsville, South Charleston, Romney; the artifacts uncovered in these give evidence of village societies. They had a tribal trade system culture. In the 1670s during the Beaver Wars, the powerful Iroquois, five allied nations based in present-day New York and Pennsylvania, drove out other American Indian tribes from the region in order to reserve the upper Ohio Valley as a hunting ground. Siouan language tribes, such as the Moneton, had been recorded in the area. A century the area now identified as West Virginia was contested territory among Anglo-Americans as well, with the colonies of Pennsylvania and Virginia claiming territorial rights under their colonial charters to this area before the American Revolutionary War.
Some speculative land companies, such as the Vandalia Company, the Ohio Company and Indiana Company, tried to legitimize their claims to land in parts of West Virginia and present day Kentucky, but failed. This rivalry resulted in some settlers petitioning the Continental Congress to create a new territory called Westsylvania. With the federal settlement of the Pennsylvania and Virginia border dispute, creating Kentucky County, Kentuckians "were satisfied, the inhabitants of a large part of West Virginia were grateful."The Crown considered the area of West Virginia to be part of the British Virginia Colony from 1607 to 1776. The United States considered this area to be the western part of the state of Virginia from 1776 to 1863, before the formation of West Virginia, its residents were discontented for years with their position in Virginia, as the government was dominated by the planter elite of the Tidewater and Piedmont areas. The legislature had electoral malapportionment, based on the counting of slaves toward regional populations, the western white residents were underrepresented in the state legislature.
More subsistence and yeoman farmers lived in the west and they were less supportive of slavery, although many counties were divided on their support. The residents of this area became more divided after the planter elite of eastern Virginia voted to secede from the Union during the Civil War. Residents of the western and northern counties set up a separate government under Francis Pierpont in 1861, which they called the Restored Government. Most voted to separate from Virginia, the new state was admitted to the Union in 1863. In 1864 a state constitutional convention drafted a constitution, ratified by the legislature without putting it to popular vote. West Virginia abolished slavery by a gradual process and temporarily disenfranchised men who had held Confederate office or fought for the Confederacy. West Virginia's history has been profoundly affected by its mountainous terrain and vast river valleys, rich natural resources; these were all factors driving its economy and the lifestyles of its residents, who tended to live in many small isolated communities in the mountain valleys.
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Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region, which borders Austria. Nearby is Zugspitze, at 2,962 m; the town is known as the site of the 1936 Winter Olympic Games. Garmisch and Partenkirchen were separate towns for many centuries, still maintain quite separate identities. Partenkirchen originated as the Roman town of Partanum on the trade route from Venice to Augsburg and is first mentioned in the year A. D. 15. Its main street, follows the original Roman road. Garmisch is first mentioned some 800 years as Germaneskau, suggesting that at some point a Teutonic tribe took up settlement in the western end of the valley. During the late 13th century, the valley, as part of the County of Werdenfels, came under the rule of the prince-bishops of Freising and was to remain so until the mediatization of 1803; the area was governed by a prince-bishop's representative known as a Pfleger from Werdenfels Castle situated on a crag north of Garmisch.
The discovery of America at the turn of the 15th century led to a boom in shipping and a sharp decline in overland trade, which plunged the region into a centuries-long economic depression. The valley floor was difficult to farm. Bears and lynxes were a constant threat to livestock; the population suffered from periodic epidemics, including several serious outbreaks of bubonic plague. Adverse fortunes from disease and crop failure led to a witch hunt. Most notable of these were the trials and executions of 1589–1596, in which 63 people — more than 10 percent of the population at the time — were burned at the stake or garroted. Werdenfels Castle, where the accused were held and executed, became an object of superstitious terror and was abandoned in the 17th century, it was torn down in the 1750s and its stones used to build the baroque Neue Kirche on Marienplatz, completed in 1752. It replaced the nearby Gothic Alte Kirche, parts of which predated Christianity and may have been a pagan temple. Used as a storehouse and haybarn for many years, it has since been re-consecrated.
Some of its medieval frescoes are still visible. Garmisch and Partenkirchen remained separate until their respective mayors were forced by Adolf Hitler to combine the two market towns in 1935 in anticipation of the 1936 Winter Olympic games. Today, the united town is casually referred to as Garmisch, much to the dismay of Partenkirchen's residents. At least in Polish, the abbreviated name is "Ga-Pa". Most visitors will notice the more modern feel of Garmisch while the fresco-filled, cobblestoned streets of Partenkirchen offer a glimpse into times past. Early mornings and late afternoons in pleasant weather find local traffic stopped while the dairy cows are herded to and from the nearby mountain meadows. During World War II, Garmisch-Partenkirchen was a major hospital center for the German military. After the war, it was used by the U. S. military as a recreation center for U. S. military men stationed in their families. Garmisch-Partenkirchen leans towards an oceanic climate, it has colder winters than the rest of Bavaria.
It has a wet and snowy climate with high precipitation year round. The town is served by the B 2 as a continuation of the A 95 motorway, which ends at Eschenlohe 16 km north of the town. Garmisch-Partenkirchen station is on the Munich–Garmisch-Partenkirchen line and the Mittenwald Railway. Regional services run every hour to Munich Central Station and Mittenwald and every two hours to Innsbruck Central Station and Reutte. In addition there are special seasonal long-distance services, including ICEs, to Berlin, Dortmund and Innsbruck, it is the terminus of the Außerfern Railway to Reutte in Tirol / Kempten im Allgäu and the Bavarian Zugspitze Railway to the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany. There are several accessible high and low-level hiking trails from the town that have good views. In 1936 it was the site of the Winter Olympic Games. A variety of Nordic and alpine World Cup ski races are held here on the Kandahar Track outside town. Traditionally, a ski jumping contest is held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on New Year's Day, as a part of the Four Hills Tournament.
The World Alpine Ski Championships were held in Garmisch in 1978 and 2011. Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a favoured holiday spot for skiing and hiking, having some of the best skiing areas in Germany. Garmisch-Partenkirchen was a partner in the city of Munich's bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics but the IOC vote held on 6 July 2011 awarded the Games to Pyeongchang; the Winter Olympics were last held in the German-speaking Alps in 1976 in Austria. 1 January - New Year´s Ski Jump 6 January - "Hornschlittenrennen" January / February - FIS Alpine Ski World Cup February - Historic bob-race on the olympic track at Riessersee 30.04. - "Georgimarkt" Partenkirchen May - October - "Musik im Park" 16.06. - 18.06. - Zugspitz Ultratrail June - Richard-Strauss-Festival the first weekend in July - BMW Motorbike Days 15.07. - White night July / August "Festwoche" Festival in Garmisch and Partenkirchen 04.08. - 06.08. - "Alpentestiva
Kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits facing forward, legs in front, using a double-bladed paddle to pull front-to-back on one side and the other in rotation. Most kayaks have closed decks, although sit-on-top and inflatable kayaks are growing in popularity as well. Kayaks were created thousands of years ago by the Inuit known as Eskimos, of the northern Arctic regions, they used driftwood and sometimes the skeleton of whale, to construct the frame of the kayak, animal skin seal skin was used to create the body. The main purpose for creating the kayak, which translates to "hunter's boat" was for hunting and fishing; the kayak's stealth capabilities allowed for the hunter to sneak up behind animals on the shoreline and catch their prey. In the 1740s, Russian explorers led by Vitus Bering came in contact with the Aleutians, who had taken the basic kayak concept and developed multiple designs for hunting and environmental conditions.
They soon recognized the Aleutians were skillful at hunting sea otters by kayak. Because otters were a popular commodity in Europe and Asia, they would exploit and kidnap Aleutians and keep them aboard their ships to work and hunt. By the mid-1800s the kayak became popular and the Europeans became interested. German and French men began kayaking for sport. In 1931, Adolf Anderle was the first person to kayak down the Salzachöfen Gorge, believed to be the birthplace of modern-day white-water kayaking. Kayak races were introduced in the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936. In the 1950s, fiberglass kayaks were developed and used, until 1980s when polyethylene plastic kayaks were introduced. Kayaking progressed as a fringe sport in the U. S. until the 1970s, when it became a mainstream popular sport. Now, more than 10 white water kayaking events are featured in the Olympics. While kayaking represents a key international watersport, few academic studies have been conducted on the role kayaking plays in the lives and activities of the public Kayaks can be classified by their design and the materials from which they are made.
Each design has its specific advantage, including performance, manoeuvrability and paddling style. Kayaks can be made of metal, wood, plastic and inflatable fabrics such as PVC or rubber, more expensive but feather light carbon fiber; each material has its specific advantage, including strength, portability, resistance to ultraviolet and storage requirements. For example, wooden kayaks can be built by hand. Stitch and glue, plywood kayaks can be lighter than any other material except skin-on frame. Inflatable kayaks, made from lightweight fabric, can be deflated and transported and stored, are considered to be remarkably tough and durable compared to some hard-sided boats. There are many types of kayaks used in flat whitewater kayaking; the sizes and shapes vary drastically depending on what type of water to be paddled on and what the paddler would like to do. The second set of essentials for kayaking is an off-set paddle where the paddle blades are tilted to help reduce wind resistance while the other blade is being used in the water.
These vary in length and shape depending on the intended use, height of the paddler, the paddler's preference. Kayaks should be equipped with one or more buoyancy aid which creates air space that helps prevent a kayak from sinking when filled with water. A life jacket should be worn at all times, a helmet is often required for most kayaking and is mandatory for white water kayaking. Various other pieces of safety gear include a whistle for signaling for help. Proper clothing such as a dry suit, wetsuit or spray top help protect kayakers from cold water or air temperatures. "Sit on top" kayaks place the paddler in an shallowly-concave deck above the water level. This style is used for non-white water activities as most find it harder to stay inside the kayak while preventing them from "rolling" which allows the user to upright themselves if they flip over. There are some benefits to sit on tops such as the ability for a "dry hatch" these are a compartment, that runs the length of the kayak, which in addition to providing more buoyancy allows for the kayaker to store various equipment in.
"Sit on top" kayaks use "through holes" which allows any water that got in the boat to make it through the deck and dry hatch to drain. "Cockpit style" involves sitting with the legs and hips inside the kayak hull with a spray deck or "spray skirt" that creates a water-resistant seal around the waist. There is a wide range of "cockpit style" boats which allow for more user control of the boat as they are able to push against the walls of the boat to tip in order to complete maneuvers. A common variant of "cockpit style" kayaks are "play boats" these are very short kayaks in which the user does tricks and maneuvers: "Inflatables" are a hybrid of the two previous configurations; these boats are subject to more instability due to the way the boat sits higher in the water. They are used in a more commercial setting, they are affectionately called "Duckies". "Tandems" are configured for m
Whitewater
Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to generate so much turbulence that air is entrained into the water body, that is, it forms a bubbly or aerated and unstable current. The term is loosely used to refer to less turbulent, but still agitated, flows; the term "whitewater" has a broader meaning, applying to any river or creek itself that has a significant number of rapids. The term is used as an adjective describing boating on such rivers, such as whitewater canoeing or whitewater kayaking. Four factors, separately or in combination, can create rapids: gradient, constriction and flow rate. Gradient and obstruction are streambed topography factors and are consistent. Flow rate is dependent upon both seasonal variation in precipitation and snowmelt and upon release rates of upstream dams. Streambed topography is the primary factor in creating rapids, is consistent over time. Increased flow, as during a flood or high rainfall season can make permanent changes to the streambed by displacing rocks and boulders, by deposition of alluvium or by creating new channels for flowing water.
The gradient of a river is the rate at which it loses elevation along its course. This loss determines the river's slope, to a large extent its rate of flow. Shallow gradients produce gentle, slow rivers while steep gradients are associated with raging torrents. Constrictions can form a rapid when a river's flow is forced into a narrower channel; this pressure causes the water to flow more and to react differently to riverbed events. A boulder or ledge in the middle of a river or near the side can obstruct the flow of the river, can create a "pillow". If the flow passes next to the obstruction, an eddy may form behind the obstruction; as with hydraulics, the power of eddies increases with the flow rate. In large rivers with high flow rates next to an obstruction, "eddy walls" can occur. An eddy wall is formed when the height of the river is higher than the level of the water in the eddy behind the obstruction; this can make it difficult for a boater, who has stopped in that particular eddy, to reenter the river due to a wall of water that can be several feet high at the point at which the eddy meets the river flow.
A marked increase or decrease in flow can create a rapid, "wash out" a rapid or make safe passage through previously-navigable rapids more difficult or impossible. Flow rate is measured in cubic metres per second, or in cubic feet per second, depending on the country; the most used grading system is the International Scale of River Difficulty, where whitewater is classed in six categories from class I to class VI. The grade reflects both the technical difficulty and the danger associated with a rapid, with grade I referring to flat or slow moving water with few hazards, grade VI referring to the hardest rapids which are dangerous for expert paddlers, are run. Grade-VI rapids are sometimes downgraded to grade-V or V+ if they have been run successfully. Harder rapids are portaged, a French term for carrying. A portaged rapid is where the boater lands and carries the boat around the hazard. A rapid's grade is not fixed, since it may vary depending on the water depth and speed of flow. Although some rapids may be easier at high flows because features are covered or "washed-out", high water makes rapids more difficult and dangerous.
At flood stage rapids which are easy can contain lethal and unpredictable hazards. Class 1: Very small rough areas, requires no maneuvering. Class 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, small drops, might require maneuvering. Class 3: Medium waves, maybe a 3–5 ft drop, but not much considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering. Class 4: Whitewater, large waves, long rapids, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. Class 5: Whitewater, large waves, continuous rapids, large rocks and hazards, maybe a large drop, precise maneuvering. Characterized by "must make" moves, i.e. failure to execute a specific maneuver at a specific point may result in serious injury or death. Class 5 is sometimes expanded to Class 5+ that describes the most extreme, runnable rapids Class 6: While there is some debate over the term "Class 6", in practice it refers to rapids that are not passable and any attempt to do so would result in serious injury, near drowning or death. If a rapid is run, once thought to be impassible, it is reclassified as Class 5.
On any given rapid there can be a multitude of diff
Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is practiced as a sport and recreational activity. Variants of cross-country skiing are adapted to a range of terrain which spans unimproved, sometimes mountainous terrain to groomed courses that are designed for the sport. Modern cross-country skiing is similar to the original form of skiing, from which all skiing disciplines evolved, including alpine skiing, ski jumping and Telemark skiing. Skiers propel themselves either by striding forward or side-to-side in a skating motion, aided by arms pushing on ski poles against the snow, it is practised in regions with snow-covered landscapes, including Northern Europe, Canada and regions in the United States. Competitive cross-country skiing is one of the Nordic skiing sports. Cross-country skiing and rifle marksmanship are the two components of biathlon, ski-orienteering is a form of cross-country skiing, which includes map navigation along snow trails and tracks.
The word ski comes from the Old Norse word skíð. Skiing started as a technique for traveling cross-country over snow on skis, starting five millennia ago with beginnings in Scandinavia, it may have been practised as early as 600 BCE in Daxing ` anling, in. Early historical evidence includes Procopius's description of Sami people as skrithiphinoi translated as "ski running samis". Birkely argues that the Sami people have practiced skiing for more than 6000 years, evidenced by the old Sami word čuoigat for skiing. Egil Skallagrimsson's 950 CE saga describes King Haakon the Good's practice of sending his tax collectors out on skis; the Gulating law stated that "No moose shall be disturbed by skiers on private land." Cross-country skiing evolved from a utilitarian means of transportation to being a worldwide recreational activity and sport, which branched out into other forms of skiing starting in the mid-1800s. Early skiers used one long pole or spear in addition to the skis; the first depiction of a skier with two ski poles dates to 1741.
Traditional skis, used for snow travel in Norway and elsewhere into the 1800s comprised one short ski with a natural fur traction surface, the andor, one long for gliding, the langski—one being up to 100 cm longer than the other—allowing skiers to propel themselves with a scooter motion. This combination has a long history among the Sami people. Skis up to 280 cm have been produced in Finland, the longest recorded ski in Norway is 373 cm. Ski warfare, the use of ski-equipped troops in war, is first recorded by the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus in the 13th century; these troops were able to cover distances comparable to that of light cavalry. The garrison in Trondheim used skis at least from 1675, the Danish-Norwegian army included specialized skiing battalions from 1747—details of military ski exercises from 1767 are on record. Skis were used in military exercises in 1747. In 1799 French traveller Jacques de la Tocnaye recorded his visit to Norway in his travel diary: Norwegian immigrants used skis in the US midwest from around 1836.
Norwegian immigrant "Snowshoe Thompson" transported mail by skiing across the Sierra Nevada between California and Nevada from 1856. In 1888 Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen and his team crossed the Greenland icecap on skis. Norwegian workers on the Buenos Aires - Valparaiso railway line introduced skiing in South America around 1890. In 1910 Roald Amundsen used skis on his South Pole Expedition. In 1902 the Norwegian consul in Kobe imported ski equipment and introduced skiing to the Japanese, motivated by the death of Japanese soldiers during a snow storm. Norwegian skiing regiments organized military skiing contests in the 18th century, divided in four classes: shooting at a target while skiing at "top speed", downhill racing among trees, downhill racing on large slopes without falling, "long racing" on "flat ground". An early record of a public ski competition occurred in Tromsø, 1843. In Norwegian, langrenn refers to "competitive skiing where the goal is to complete a specific distance in groomed tracks in the shortest possible time".
In Norway, ski touring competitions are long-distance cross-country competitions open to the public, competition is within age intervals. A new technique, skate skiing, was experimented with early in the 20th Century, but was not adopted until the 1980s. Johan Grøttumsbråten used the skating technique at the 1931 World Championship in Oberhof, one of the earliest recorded use of skating in competitive cross-country skiing; this technique was used in ski orienteering in the 1960s on roads and other firm surfaces. It became widespread during the 1980s after the success of Bill Koch in 1982 Cross-country Skiing Championships drew more attention to the skating style. Norwegian skier Ove Aunli started using the technique in 1984, when he found it to be much faster than classic style. Finnish skier, Pauli Siitonen, developed a one-sided variant of the style in the 1970s, leaving one ski in the track while skating to the side with the other one during endurance events. While the noun ski originates from the Norwegian language, unlike the English skiing there is no corresponding verb in Norwegian.
Fridtjov Nansen, for instance, describes the crossing of Greenland as På ski over Grønland "On skis across Greenland", while the English edition of the report was titled, The first crossing of Greenland. Nansen referred to the activity o
Ivrea
Ivrea is a town and comune of the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley, it straddles the Dora Baltea and is regarded as the centre of the Canavese area. Ivrea lies in a basin. Today five smaller lakes — Sirio, San Michele, Pistono and Campagna — are found in the area around the town. On July 1, 2018, the site, known as "Industrial City of the 20th Century" was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Ivrea and its surroundings have been inhabited since the Neolithic era. However, the town first appears in history as an outpost of the Roman Empire founded in 100 BC built to guard one of the traditional invasion routes into northern Italy over the Alps, its Latin name was Eporedia. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Ivrea became the seat of a duchy under the Lombards. Under the Franks, Ivrea was a county capital. In the year 1001, after a period of disputes with bishop Warmund, ruler of the city, Arduin conquered the March of Ivrea.
He became King of Italy and began a dynasty that lasted until the 11th century, when the city fell again under the bishops' sovereignty. In the 12th century Ivrea became a free comune, but succumbed in the first decades of the following century to the rule of Emperor Frederick II. Ivrea was disputed between the bishops, the marquisate of Monferrato and the House of Savoy. In 1356 Ivrea was acquired by Amadeus VI of Savoy. With the exception of the brief French conquest at the end of the 16th century, Ivrea remained under the House of Savoy until 1800, it was a subsidiary title of the king of Sardinia, although the only Marquis of Ivrea was Benedetto of Savoy. On May 26, 1800 Napoleon Bonaparte entered the city along with his victorious troops, establishing control that ended in 1814 after his fall. During the 20th century its primary claim to fame was as the base of operations for Olivetti, a manufacturer of typewriters, mechanical calculators and computers; the Olivetti company no longer has an independent existence, though its name still appears as a registered trademark on office equipment manufactured by others.
In 1970 about 90,000 people, including commuters from Southern Italy and worked in the Ivrea Area. The Arduino electronic platform was created in Ivrea, takes its name from the historical figure of Arduin of Italy. Castle of Ivrea, built during the reign of Amadeus VI of Savoy, it has a quadrangular plan in brick with four round towers at the corners. In 1676, a tower, used as an ammunition store, exploded after being struck by lightning, it was never rebuilt. Once a prison, the castle today houses exhibitions. Cathedral of Ivrea, which originated from a church here built in 4th century at the site of a pagan temple. Around 1000 AD, it was reconstructed by bishop Warmondus in Romanesque-style: of that edifice the two bell towers, some columns, the frescoed crypt remain; the latter houses an ancient Roman sarcophagus which according to tradition, preserves the relics of St. Bessus. In 1785, it was rebuilt again in a Baroque style; the current neo-classical façade was built in the 19th century. One of the old frescoes of the interior is the A Miracle of the Blessed Pierre de Luxembourg.
The sacristy has two altarpieces by Defendente Ferrari. The cathedral houses the tomb of Blessed Thaddeus McCarthy; the Biblioteca Capitolare, near the Cathedral, houses an important collection of codices from the 7th-15th centuries. Church and convent of San Bernardino: small Gothic church built by the Minorites starting from 1455, it houses a cycle portraying the Passion of Christ by Giovanni Martino Spanzotti. The Museum Pier Alessandro Garda has some interesting archaeological findings and a collection of Japanese art pieces, it is located on the large Piazza Ottinetti. The Open Air Museum of Modern Architecture, inaugurated in 2001, is a show of the main edifices built by Olivetti from the 1950s onwards; the remains of a 1st-century Roman theatre, located west of the city centre. It could hold 10,000 spectators; the Old Bridge leads over to Borghetto. Constructed of wood, it was rebuilt in stone in 1716; the Town Hall, built in 1758. It has a bell tower decorated with the symbol of Canavese. St. Stephen Tower, dating from the 11th century.
This Romanesque bell tower is the remains of St. Stephen Abbey, built in 1041 by the Benedictine order, it is located between Hotel La Dora Baltea. Church of San Gaudenzio Cappella dei Tre Re There are two main festivals in Ivrea, both celebrated during Catholic festivity but both rooted in more ancient city's traditions. One is its main celebrations taking place 40 days before Easter; the other is the patronal festival of St. Savino, celebrated the week of July 7. During the latter festivity, a horse fair takes place with horse shows; the core celebration of Ivrea carnival centres around the Battle of the Oranges. This involves some thousands of townspeople, divided into nine combat on-the-ground teams, who throw oranges at tens of cart-based teams — with considerable violence — during the last three fat carnival days: Sunday and Tuesday; the carnival takes place 40 days before Easter and it ends on the night of "Fat Tuesday" wit
