Originally skis were invented so hunters could move over great distances of snow to track game for food. The construction may well have been similar to a snowshoe, with animal hide stretched over a willow branch frame.

It evolved in Norway by the 1860s to include many of the features we recognize today. A blacksmith and skilled woodcarver, Sondre Norheim, in the province of Telemark,  became a local legend because of his daring skiing and his making of fine skis. His was the first execution of the turn now called the Telemark.

The  popular slopes to ski in Nova Scotia are at Ski Martock and Ski Wentworth. Located in the Annapolis Valley, Ski Martock is 600 feet high with seven trails. And for a little bit of money, you get a lot of choices. If you want to ski at night, the trails are lit.

Ski Wentworth has seventeen alpine trails and four snowtubing trails. Ski Wentworth is in the WentworthValley, about an eighty minute drive from Halifax on Highway #4.

Check out the Ski Martock and Ski Wentworth websites; you won't be able to stay away after you peek at the pics.