This skier's poles are tucked under his arms.

Ski Stocks (sometimes incorrectly called "poles") are used by skiers to improve balance, speed and acceleration. They probably evolved from walking sticks carried while traveling^{[citation needed]}, and possibly from spears as well^{[citation needed]}.

In the days before turning techniques had been properly developed, one long pole was normally used on sloping ground. The skier would lean or sit on the pole in order to increase friction with the ground, so slowing or stopping.

In modern skiing one stock is held in each hand, and each stock has a circular "basket" attached close to the lower end to prevent the stock sinking significantly into deep snow. At the upper end of the stock a strap is attached, which is normally slipped over the wrist to improve the grip and to prevent the loss of the stock in the event of a fall. When skiing the backcountry (off piste) in trees, the wrist strap is not normally used, since there is a risk of wrist injury if the pole should catch on an unseen branch or root. You can also ski without stock as some freestyle skiers do.

Wooden cross-country ski stock, circa 1950.

Modern aluminum alpine ski stock.

Very Thin PURE Carbon Fiber Ski stock; circa 1990

[edit] Cross-country and Alpine ski stocks

When used in cross-country skiing, stocks enable the user to gain more speed than by using the skis alone, as well as offering improved balance.

Alpine skiers use stock as well. While they serve the same purposes as they do in cross-country, they can also help with the timing of the more advanced ski turns. By making contact with the ground between each turn in a process known as "pole planting", Alpine skiers are given greater stability as they move their mass down the hill, creating more acceleration and a tighter turning radius, but more force can be efficiently channeled down the arms onto the legs to allow for use of hands while skiing.

A ski stock is the correct length for Alpine skiing if, when placed tip to the ground at rest, the skiers elbow forms a right angle. Longer stocks are used for cross-country to enable a longer thrust, the longest ones being used in free-style. Poles used for ski touring may be telescopic, so that they may be adjusted to suit snow conditions or the steepness of the slope.

Some racers in the high speed skiing disciplines (Giant Slalom, Super Giant Slalom, downhill, speed skiing) use curved stock that are bent to shape around their bodies while they are in a tuck position, in order to minimize air drag.

Early ski stocks were simply sticks, then bamboo (1930s), then steel (1940s and early 1950s). In 1958, Ed Scott invented the aluminum ski stock. Now, Composite Ski stocks are much lighter and stronger than aluminum stocks and account for most of the market share.

Ski jumping and skiboarding are the only varieties of skiing in which no stocks are used. Ski stocks were first used to test the snow one would be skiing over. That way one could get a rough mental picture of what you were skiing over. Now ski stocks should be used as a timing device not for balance.

[edit] Stock selection

Ski stocks are an important piece of a skier's equipment. Many skiers benefit from the advantages of more technologically advanced materials. Stocks made of carbon fiber, for instance, are very light and durable.

There are also more convenient alternatives to the traditional wrist strap - for instance "trigger" or "Inter-Loc" system mechanisms that will come off of the skier's wrist in case of a crash.

There is some debate about what styles of stocks should be allowed. Swedish skier Gunde Svan added more fuel to the debate by introducing the unipole. During summer training, he sat in a canoe and paddled upstream using two paddles. When he became tired, he switched to just one paddle and found that it was much easier, so he tested skiing using a single long pole. At the 1985 World Championships, he brought his homemade unipole and used it on a training day. Later the same day, the unipole was banned.

[edit] Trivia

• In historic times the Finnish hunters and warriors used long ski stocks that were also spears - there was a spearhead on the upper end of the stock.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

• Skiing and skiing topics
• History of skiing