Skiing is a sport, hobby, and form of transportation involving traveling over snow using a pair of long, flat runners known as skis attached or bonded to shoes or boots. Alpine, Nordic, and freestyle competitions are the three types of competitive skiing, and speed skiing and snowboarding are two more sports that have competitions.

Skiing is used for transportation, hunting, and warfare.

Skiing was a prehistoric activity; Russia’s oldest skis were unearthed between 8000 and 7000 BCE. Early skis have been discovered in several parts of northern Europe: a 4,000-year-old rock carving portraying skis was found near the Arctic Circle in Norway, and hundreds of ski fragments dating from 1,000 to 3,500 years have been discovered in bogs in Sweden, Norway, and Finland. The early skis were short and wide, more akin to snowshoes than modern skis. However, skiing was not limited to Europe; the oldest documented references to skiing date from the Han era (206 BCE–220 CE) and refer to skiing in northern China.

Nordic skiing is a type of skiing that takes place.

Nordic skiing, often known as classic skiing, is a collection of techniques and competitions developed in the steep terrain of Norway and other Scandinavian countries. Cross-country races (including relay races) and ski-jumping events are the modern Nordic events. The Nordic combination is a separate test that consists of a 15-kilometer cross-country run and a specific ski-jumping competition, with the winner chosen by points awarded for both events.