It is practised in regions with snow-covered landscapes, including Europe, Canada, Russia, the United States, Australia[1] and New Zealand.

[8] Egil Skallagrimsson's 950 CE saga describes King Haakon the Good's practice of sending his tax collectors out on skis.

[12] Ski warfare, the use of ski-equipped troops in war, is first recorded by the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus in the 13th century.

Norwegian workers on the Buenos Aires - Valparaiso railway line introduced skiing in South America around 1890.

In Norwegian, langrenn refers to "competitive skiing where the goal is to complete a specific distance in groomed tracks in the shortest possible time".

It became widespread during the 1980s after the success of Bill Koch (United States) in 1982 Cross-country Skiing Championships drew more attention to the skating style.

Norwegian skier Ove Aunli started using the technique in 1984, when he found it to be much faster than classic style.

He further noted that in some competitions the skier "is also required to show his skill in turning his ski to one side or the other within given marks" at full speed on a steep hill.

Nansen regarded these forms (i.e., jumping and slalom) as "special arts", and believed that the most important branch of skiing was travel "in an ordinary way across the country".

[30] The German term, Schneeschuh, was supplanted by the borrowed Norwegian word, Ski, in the late 19th century.

For example, the Norwegian Trekking Association maintains over 400 huts stretching across thousands of kilometres of trails which hikers can use in the summer and skiers in the winter.

Trail preparation employs snow machines which tow snow-compaction, texturing and track-setting devices.

Groomers must adapt such equipment to the condition of the snow—crystal structure, temperature, degree of compaction, moisture content, etc.

Standards address course distances, degree of difficulty with maximums in elevation difference and steepness—both up and downhill, plus other factors.

The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships have been held in various numbers and types of events since 1925 for men and since 1954 for women.

Notable ski marathons, include the Vasaloppet in Sweden, Birkebeineren in Norway, the Tartu Maraton in Estonia, the Engadin Skimarathon in Switzerland, the American Birkebeiner, the Tour of Anchorage in Anchorage, Alaska, and the Boreal Loppet, held in Forestville, Quebec, Canada.

Depending on the shooting performance, extra distance or time is added to the contestant's total running distance/time.

Standard orienteering maps are used, but with special green overprinting of trails and tracks to indicate their navigability in snow; other symbols indicate whether any roads are snow-covered or clear.

Upper body strength is especially important because of frequent double poling along narrow snow trails.

These are divided into several categories for people who are missing limbs, have amputations, are blind, or have any other physical disability, to continue their sport.

[45][46] The classic style is often used on prepared trails (pistes) that have pairs of parallel grooves (tracks) cut into the snow.

In "V1" the skier pushes with a double pole plant each time the ski is extended on a temporarily "dominant" side, this technique is optimal for climbing.

In "V2 alternate" the skier performs the double pole plant before the "dominant" ski is extended, this technique allows for maintaining a higher speed and is often used on slightly downhill terrain.

In "V2" the skier performs the double pole plant each time the ski is extended on either side, on flat ground and in slight inclines this technique is often the fastest and most efficient of the 3.

Skiers climb hills with these techniques by widening the angle of the "V" and by making more frequent, shorter strides and more forceful use of poles.

The base of the gliding surface is a plastic material that is designed both to minimize friction and, in many cases, to accept waxes.

Either combined with the wax or applied after in a spray, powder, or block form, fluorocarbons significantly improve the glide of the ski.

[45] Hard grip waxes do not work well for snow which has metamorphosed to having coarse grains, whether icy or wet.

Modern cross-country ski poles are made from aluminium, fibreglass-reinforced plastic, or carbon fibre, depending on weight, cost and performance parameters.

They feature a foot (called a basket) near the end of the shaft that provides a pushing platform, as it makes contact with the snow.