Objects Database

Folding skis (Parachute Skis)

Accession Number

1349.2016.1

Object Name

Folding skis (Parachute Skis)

Created

25/08/2016

Creator

Hermione Cooper

Accession Date

25/08/2016

Brief Description

Pair of wooden skis with hinged middle and Geze bindings

Materials

Hickory,

Dimensions

2015(L) x 8.5(W) cms

Number Of Objects

1 pair

Inscription Description

on bindings "GEZE JIX" and a ski jumper logo

Colour

brown

Object Production Place

Possibly Germany

Provenance

"These were requisitioned by the German Army in WW2 when ski resorts were stripped of anything that could be used in mountain warfare. After 1945 a group of RAF officers formed a company to bring the 'liberated' equipment' to sell in the UK speculating that skiing would become popular after the war. They were ahead of their time and the company folded, leaving a veritable timber yard of skis with the contractor who had transported them from Germany.
I was a student in 1953 and in a roundabout way I received a tip-off that a dump of skis could be found 'at the back of a garage in Windsor'. With only that information I hitchhiked to London with 'a guid Scots tongue in my head I could speir' and eventually found this treasure trove and paid a few shillings for as many as I could take away. Many were run of the mill planks of modern army issue but others were high quality handmade skis and some even had steel edges! Some had cable bindings and others had leather straps.
The folding skis were curiosities which I thought would be useful in Scotland where uplifts on mountains were limited to rope tows e.g the Fordson tractor on Gulabi in Glenshee. These would be useful for ski mountaineering"
The donator of these fabulous skis, Allan Forsyth, gave us this fascinating account of how he acquired them. Since the Geze bindings are German the skis could be too, though they have no manufacturer's name. We also suspect these are paratrooper's skis since military parachutists strap their equipment to their legs when jumping from a plane - it's later released to hang below them on a short rope. Skis were too long to fit through the small door of a WW2 plane - hence the hinge. Modern day ski troops exit from the rear of the plane - 'tailgating' - where there is no height problem.

Acquisition Method

Donated by Allan Forsyth

Acquisition Date

25/08/2016

Condition Check Date

25/08/2016

Rules

Spectrum : UK Museum documentation standard, V.3.1 2007

Modified

25/08/2016

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