The Scottish Mountain Heritage Collection
1072.2013.1
Dachstein ski boots
18/04/2013
Hermione Cooper
18/04/2013
Pair of brown ski boots with 4 metal clips and rubber soles.
leather, metal, rubber
26(l) x 8 (w) cms
1 pair
On side of boot gold circle with " DACHSTEIN MADE IN AUSTRIA INTERNATIONAL" written inside in gold lettering. "MADE IN AUSTRIA " on sole
brown
Dachstein
Austria
The arrival of ski tows on Cairngorm and in Glencoe in the 1960's changed the style of Scottish skiing dramatically. Prior to that skis and boots were multi-purpose...you skied up the mountain, along the top and down the other side with the same gear. You probably had to hike through some bog and heather to find snow in the first place.
Boots did not need to be so flexible and versatile to be hauled up by a ski tow and the more rigid they were, the more control the downhill skier had over his or her skis, so they became vice-like in their rigidity and it was not long before Scottish skiers were using boots like we have here in the collection imported from the continent.
Dachstein had been making mountaineering boots from the 1920's and they very quickly moved into the downhill market with boots like these which date from the 1960's. With the foot so firmly clamped into the boot, what became known as 'boot top fractures' were common amonst downhill skiers in these early days, though the bindings were as much the guilty party as the boots and new, quick release bindings helped reduce visits to A&E.
We are not quite sure who donated this particular pair of boots but they are an interesting link in the evolutionary chain of skiing.
Donated by Scottish Ski Club
18/04/2013
18/04/2013
Spectrum : UK Museum documentation standard, V.3.1 2007
18/04/2013