When was skiing first introduced as a sport?

Answer 1

Three answers after a merger:

1. According to Wikipedia:

The first primitive evidence of Skis (carvings) were found in circa. 50000 BC, in Norway. The oldest ski found is from Greenland, dating back to about 1010.

In 1850 in Norway, Telemark skis with Camber and stiff bindings were being produced, followed by Sidecut and todays 'Stem/ Parallel' skiing styles.

"Before skis were used for fun and leisure, the ski was used for work and transportation. The oldest known version is a wide, short ski found in Sweden that has been shown to be over 4500 years old, and cave and rock drawings suggest that skis were used even long before then."

http://www.speedski.com/HistoryofSkiing.htm

2.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia states, "Skiing was originally a practical way of getting from one place to another in packed or crusted snow. In Norse Myth, skiing was invented by Skadi, the snowshoe goddess. The word "ski" entered the English langauge from Norwegian in 1890. Previous to that time, English speakers considered skiing to be a type of shoeshoeing. In countries where loose snow dominates, the indigenous population developed snowshoes that did not slide rather than skis which do."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skiing

3.

Believe it or not since the last ice age; in the Scandinavian countries Skis as old as 8,000 years old have been found. In fact, one of the female jotun of Norse mythology was a woman named Skadi, after whom Skiing is named. Skadi was an adept skier, so skilled she could outrun falcons while in a dive, and she could maintain that speed for hours. The skiing the old Norse peoples of Europe did, was cross country; in ancient times in southern Sweden, where Scandinavian peoples come from, it was the fastest way to get around before the introduction of the horse. Again, Viking peoples did not do downhill skiing, the oldest form of skiing is in fact cross country, cross country came first and indeed cross country skiing was used as a mode of transportation. The fastest skiers in Scandinavian society, were often made chieftain or king's messengers. Chieftain's messengers I mean, not actually chieftains. And yes to answer your question all Viking soldiers were adept skiers it was kinda of a necessary skill in their geographic region.

Answer 2

1850 in Norway, but the use of ski's have been around at least 2500 years.