Ski acrobatics have been practiced since the 1930s. Aerial skiing was popularized in the 1950s by Olympic gold medalist Stein Erikson. Early US competitions were held in mid 1960's.The International Ski Federation (FIS) recognized freestyle as a sport in 1979 and brought in new regulations regarding certification of athletes and jump techniques in an effort to curb the dangerous elements of the competitions. Read more to watch a video of the Freestyle skiing history in Vail.

If you’ve ever watched a gender-confused gorilla on snow blades glide over—or crash into—an icy pool to the delight of a jubilant crowd, and, thought, “boy, I wish I could be like them,” it’s time you took the plunge (pun intended). For tips on how to receive the most amount of cheers, laughs and high fives, check out our guide to pond skimming—skiing’s silliest spring pastime.

One year later, after the original Mr. Poppen built for his daughter, his idea was put into production: Carried out together with a bowling-ball manufacturer, the now called "snurfer" (=snow-surfer) found its way through toy-stores under the Christmas trees. For the unbeatable price of $15, one million snurfers were sold in the 10 years following, and Mr. Poppen soon began to establish a competition series.  

Ski boots were leather winter boots, held to the ski with leather straps. As skiing became more specialized, so too did ski boots, leading to the splitting of designs between those for alpine skiing and cross country skiing.

Modern skiing developed as an all-round sport with uphill, downhill and cross-country portions. The introduction of the cable binding started a parallel evolution of binding and boot. The binding looped a strap around the back of the boot to hold it forward into a metal cup at the toe. Boots with the sole extended rearward to produce a flange for the cable to firmly latch to become common, as did designs with semi-circular indentations on the heel for the same purpose.