It’s one of the world’s most popular winter sports and is a great way for all ages to have fun and enjoy a form of exercise at the same time. But did you know these fascinating facts about skiing?

Skiing is a form of sport or leisure pursuit that involves moving over snow wearing a pair of long and flat skis attached to your boots or shoes.

Cross country skiing is a great way of burning calories. In fact, it burns more calories per hour than any other sport. It’s also a low-risk, low-impact form of aerobic exercise.

One of the largest artificial skiing surfaces in the world is at the Ober Gatlingburg Ski Resort in Gatlingburg, Tennessee. It consists of a five acre site, mimicking ski conditions, and anyone can ski there all year around.

If you’re out on the slopes, wearing layers of clothing is recommended to cope with your body’s constantly changing temperature. It can be really chilly, yet you may feel warm as you ski. Polypropylene underwear absorbs sweat well, but dries quickly, so you’re still kept warm.

It’s vitally important that skiers take care of their skin and use skin protection. The snow reflects 85% of the sun’s harmful (UV) rays, which can cause burning and up the risk of skin cancer.

Bjorn Dahlie of Norway is one of the most prolific Winter Olympic cross-country skiing medal winners. He’s notched up 12 medals in the Winter Olympic Games for cross-country skiing so far.

Cross-country skiing was first introduced to the Special Olympic World Winter Games in 1977. There are usually up to eight different events, consisting of skiing various distances, plus team relays.

Alpine skiing originated from mountainous areas of Europe, especially Norway, but now it’s practiced all over the world.

Rather than being a leisure pursuit, skiing started off as being a crucial means of transport.

In Scandinavia, skis over 4,000 years old have been discovered.

Skiing became a popular sport in America from the 1930s onwards, probably as a result of people being inspired by the Winter Olympics.

Early skis were usually made out of wood, but these days they’re mostly made of plastic, a type of polyurethane foam and other man-made materials. They come in a variety of different styles and sizes, depending on the type of skiing the user wants to do.

Most skiers use a pair of poles when they’re skiing. They have a sharp tip on the bottom and a circular ring, which stops the poles sinking too far into the snow.

Freestyle skiing is where skiers come up with new ideas, such as jumps and tricks, and telemark skiing is a specialised form of turning technique that is effectively mastered by only a small number of skiers.

By Rachel Newcombe