The new powder generations
Canada. In those early days, Hans was using a Bell 47B1 helicopter, which had an engine about the size of a small car,” says Charlie Brooksbank from The Oxford Ski Company (oxfordski.com).
“The machine could only lift two guests at a time and so had to shuttle the group up the mountain.” activity and lifestyle up to a wider audience, while Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards helped boost British interest in skiing as a professional sport.
Despite the odds, Eddie became the first competitor since 1929 to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping in the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. He may have finished last but he was a hit with the public.
Loud ski fashion had its heyday in the Eighties too. Onesies were all the rage, snow boots were in vogue, and bright colours and geometric patterns could be seen in resorts all over Europe and North America.
From the Eighties onwards, improved technology meant skiers were able to use skis more effectively by ‘carving’ (transferring pressure from one edge of the ski to the other edge), instead of having their legs ‘glued’ together. holiday companies arrived on the scene to make a ski break more affordable (although Inghams has been around since the Thirties).
As carving gained in popularity, ski shapes started to evolve too.
“Shaped ‘sidecuts’ (the extent to which a ski is narrower at the waist than the tips) made turning easier, and the length of the skis was generally shortened to make the whole experience more accessible to learners and intermediates alike,” says Sam.
“This decade also saw the start of the fat ski revolution for skiing in deep powder – it was very much inspired from the design of snowboards, which, with their big surface area, floated well in fresh snow and made riding off-piste a much more accessible option than old-school skinny skis that sunk in the deep stuff.” IT might seem ridiculous now, but it was quite rare to see recreational skiers wearing helmets before the Noughties. Today, they’re ubiquitous on the slopes. Ski technology is forever being updated and, in 2004, rocker skis were first introduced – with tips and ends that curve upwards, instead of the traditional camber-style which curved the other way. “Then the trend went from fully inverse camber skis for great flotation, to a compromise between the old style and this new idea,” explains Sam. “It resulted in the combination of rockered tips and/or tails, but still with standard tradition camber underfoot in the middle of the ski to keep it performing well on harder or groomed snow.” Puffy jackets were the biggest ski fashion trend in the Noughties, and today breathable layering systems in skiwear make temperature-control a lot more practical and comfortable.