Abstract
This work deals with the
beginning of the sport of skiing in Catalonia and the existence of repair shops
and small industries engaged in the manufacture of skis and skiing equipment.
The subject has been scarcely studied in the historiography of either design or
skiing, other than mere anecdotes. Information was obtained based on interviews
and a bibliographical review. The work also covers the initial outfitting of
ski runs with the first ski tows and chairlifts, as well as the birth of ski
resorts and, with them, winter tourism in the Pyrenees and the Pyrenean
foothills of Catalonia. The work points out that, due to the existence of
locally produced skis and skiing equipment, the sport became accessible to a
broad sector of the population, thereby driving the phenomenon of winter
tourism.
Introduction
There are few
bibliographical references related to the history of the design of sports
materials, especially materials for hiking, rock climbing and skiing, and very
few pieces of these materials have been preserved in museums of Catalonia. A
large part of the documentation for this work comes from the initiative to
collect testimonials about aspects related to the design and manufacturing of
sports materials. The initiative began a few years ago due to the gradual
disappearance of the protagonists and their most direct peers. With this
purpose in mind, we obtained information about repair shops and small
industries, mainly for the manufacturing of skis, backpacks, footwear and rock
climbing materials (Puig, 2014). The skiing sector has created products that
are relevant but little known outside of this sphere. Ever since the beginning
of skiing as a sport at the beginning of the 20th century, it has required
equipment produced by craftsman or specialised small industries. They used to
manufacture skis (initially made of wood), poles, footwear and bindings, but
they eventually disappeared as technological advances in the sector occurred
and as borders opened up and industries from other countries became established.
The main objective of
this paper is to leave record of the design and manufacturing activity of
skiing equipment. Secondly, the work seeks to establish a relationship between
the boom of snow sports in Catalonia, the origin of the birth of winter tourism,
and the existence of a local industry that was able to supply the demand for
the materials needed for this sport to a broad sector of the population. At the
beginning of the 20th century and during the post-war period, owning quality
skiing equipment was limited to an elite group who could purchase it in other
countries or as an import at local businesses (Cardona and Dupré, 1985). Our
hypothesis is that the reason why skiing became significantly successful is, to
a large extent, because of the repair shops and small industries that existed
until the seventies of the 20th century and that had their own designs or
manufactured versions of foreign models for skis, poles, bindings, boots, sleds
and other gadgets (Rodrigo and Niñerola, 1964). The majority of skis were made
using simple techniques and common woods, but some were the result of
high-quality production using good materials, such as hickory wood, and they
incorporated the first synthetic laminates for the bases. At the same time, the
equipping of ski runs with ski tows and chairlifts, planned and built in the
country using the precarious resources of the period, was crucial to the birth
of ski resorts and their subsequent development (Guilera, 1958). The
improvement of road access and the construction of hotels in the vicinity of
resorts represented the starting point for the development of snow tourism in
Catalonia, with the subsequent and consequent urban development and real estate
problem (O.A.C, 1973).
Josep Puig i Cabeza
Entradas
