Posted by Robert Dilley on January 02, 2004 at 17:30:19 from 216.211.4.236 user rdilley.
In Reply to: Re: Winter Holiday (skiing) posted by David Brooks on January 02, 2004 at 14:17:24:
What is not widely known is that the sport of downhill skiing was initiated by (of all unlikely people) the British. A group of sporty Victorian travellers had come across cross-country skiing in Scandinavia (where it has a history centuries old) and took some skis with them to Switzerland. One early enthusiast wrote of his experiences in the Strand magazine, which introduced the idea to a wider audience. The sporty Victorian writer was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (his other main sporting achievement was bowling WG Grace in a first-class cricket match).
However, as David observes, it never really took off until an enterprising individual in Vermont hooked up a tow rope to an automobile engine, and did away with the need to climb all the way back up to the start of the run.
When I was living in the Lake District in the 50s and 60s there was an intermittent ski hill (when there was enough snow) on the slopes of Raise, with a simple rope tow. I was quite unaware of any cross-country skiing; something I never came across until I came to Canada. I am not claiming no-one practised cross-country skiing: just that they never did it where I could see it, or hear or read about it.
Even so, given AR's (and his characters') familiarity with Nansen and other Arctic explorers, you would expect at least a mention of skiing: even if only to have it dismissed as impracticable because of lack of equipment (though surely Dick would have been keen to advise Mr Dixon on how to fashion some workable skis).
I gave up cross-country on marrying a wife who wasn't interested. Nowadays my only snow-related activity is shovelling the stuff.