Earth’s First Ski Boots | Sami of Northern Norway Skied 5,000 Years Ago

The first ever ski boot and one of Santa’s elves shoes

Ya know those goofy shoes that Santa’s elves wear with the curly toes?  Those are a stylized version of the original ski boot worn by the Sami people of northern Norway.  Yep, Eskimos made it across Siberia, through Alaska, over Canada, yonder to Greenland, down to Iceland, and on to northern Europe before the Europeans did.  By the time the Norse showed up, the Sami were had already rippin’ all the best lines.

Sami with crossbow and skiis. Samisk jeger med armbrøst på ski 1674

The history of skiing is bluntly fascinating.  The Sami people of northern scandinavia started the skiing movement and they did so a long long time ago.  The first evidence of skiing comes from 4,500 – 5,000 year old rock drawings in Rødøy & Steinkjer, Norway.

sami skiing

The skis they used were large wooden boards with a single leather strap.  The boots were designed with the curly cue at the end to keep your leather strap (aka binding) from coming off the ski.

Now you know where the first ski boots came from and why elves have curly cue shoes.

Sami ski boots in the Arctic Museum in Norway